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This super simple and delicious White Sauce Pasta recipe is packed with flavor, loved by all and on the table in 20 minutes.
Too good NOT to Love!
We LOVE pasta so much that we have it for dinner every Tuesday night.
Our White Sauce Pasta recipe is one that is so simple and loved so much that it’s made at least once a month. In fact, it’s so easy that the older kids can make it on their own.
We love to serve it with some Fried Zucchini and Cheesy Garlic Bread (or Knots) and especially love that it’s made in no time. It’s honestly too good not to love.
Why you’ll love it:
- Simple and quick. You can make it start to finish in about 20 minutes.
- Basic ingredients. This type of sauce uses a flour roux made with flour, butter, and milk.
- Versatile. You can use the white sauce (also known as Béchamel sauce) as a base for other sauces (like Alfredo Sauce),or on pizza or in lasagna.
- Customizable. You can add any veggies or protein you like! Our favorite is adding chicken to make a Chicken Penne Pasta.
Ingredients
- penne – or another short pasta like macaroni or rotini
- unsalted butter
- minced garlic
- all-purpose flour – Make a gluten-free substitute using four parts potato starch to three parts cornflour. Once you have the mixture, measure out 3 tablespoons and use it in place of the flour.
- milk – Use whole milk for the creamiest pasta sauce, but you can also use 2% or fat free milk. If you want it extra thick, use half and half or heavy cream.
- chicken broth – or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version
- mozzarella & parmesan cheese – To make the cheese sauce extra cheesy, add up to ½ cup more of each.
- season with parsley, garlic salt & black pepper – You can also add a teaspoon of red chili flakes or nutmeg.
How to Make White Sauce Pasta
- PASTA. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- ROUX. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more.
- BOIL. Add milk and broth to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce boils and thickens about 5 minutes.
- SEASON. Add Parmesan, parsley, garlic salt, and pepper. Continue stirring until the cheese has melted.
- SERVE. Add pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. Add mozzarella and stir until melted. Serve warm.
Pro Tip!
When adding flour to the butter, make sure to cook it long enough or it will taste like flour. While adding milk, take your time pouring it slowly and whisk constantly or it may have lumps.
For even more tips, check out How to Make a Roux!
COMPLETE THE MEAL
- APPETIZERS: Easy Bruschetta, Mozzarella Sticks, Fried Zucchini
- SIDES: Garlic Knots, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Olive Garden Breadsticks, Focaccia Bread
- SALADS: Tomato Mozzarella Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad, Pesto Salad
- DESSERTS: Italian Cookies, Panna Cotta, Easy Chocolate Cake
Other Pasta Recipes: Spaghetti, Fettuccine Alfredo, Pasta Bake, Chicken Penne Pasta
More Collections: Sunday Dinner Ideas, Dinner Ideas for Kids, Italian Dinner
White Sauce Recipe
This super simple and delicious white sauce recipe is packed with flavor. This dish is perfect by itself or you can add chicken too!
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) package (about 4 cups) penne
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- garlic salt with parsley flakes or salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese or additional Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more.
- Add milk and broth and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce boils and thickens about 5 minutes.
- Add Parmesan, parsley, garlic salt, and pepper. Continue stirring until the cheese has melted.
- Add pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. Add mozzarella and stir until melted. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Variations. Try adding cubed grilled chicken, chicken sausage, diced ham or shrimp for protein, or adding vegetables like halved cherry tomatoes or steamed asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, or mushrooms. You can also change up the flavoring with spices and herbs such as red chili flakes (for heat), dried Italian seasoning, and fresh basil or parsley.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 191kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 43mg, Sodium: 512mg, Potassium: 117mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 450IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 251mg, Iron: 0.3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Can I add veggies or protein to this dish?
- Protein. Try adding meats such as grilled chicken, diced ham, or shrimp (we love our Chicken Penne Pasta).
- Produce. Add produce such as halved cherry tomatoes, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, or mushrooms.
How to best store?
- Leftover cream pasta sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- We typically REHEAT this pasta in the microwave, but this can also be done in a pot on the stove. You may need to add a little more broth if it’s too thick when reheating.
How to freeze?
- If you plan to freeze this dish, leave the pasta undercooked as the freezing process will make thoroughly cooked pasta mushy. Store the cooked dish in a freezer-safe airtight container for months.
- To reheat. Thaw this simple pasta recipe in the fridge and reheat on the stove top stirring constantly to keep the cream base from curdling. Adding a bit more milk will help smooth out the texture.
For more easy pasta recipes:
Recipe adapted from HERE.
This was a great recipe. My daughter doesn’t like red sauce so we tried this on our tortellini and it was an instant hit. Thanks, we will be making this again. And as a bonus, she was able to help make it!
Good idea!! Thank you for sharing that 🙂 I will have to try!
Funny story about this recipe, I was getting frustrated because I kept adding flour and it was not getting thicker. Finally I gave up and poured it on pasta. It was ridiculously sweet. I came to read the reviews and nothing said anything about it being ridiculously sweet. So I kind of just SUCKed it up and thought with every bite about how I’ll never make this recipe again. And then it hit me that i didn’t have anywhere to put the powder sugar 2 weeks ago so i put it in a container just like the container i used for my flour…. I think you can figure out the rest….?♀️
LOL…funny, but so sorry you were adding the wrong thing!! Well, I hope you try it with the flour & like it 🙂 Thank you for sharing that!
lol u were using sugar
?
Hi, I will try this for my family dinner tomorrow, but the only problem is that I don’t have chicken broth and the store where I will get this has an odd time of opening and closing due to the pandemic, so what do I do?
I would just google what some good substitutes are, then you can see what you have. You could use water & chicken bouillon, if you have it.
This was a great recipe. I added peas and bacon on the boW Tie pasta and it was amazing. Extra garlic was a plus!!
Good idea! Thank you for trying it & for letting me know 🙂
Wow it made Me and my wife’s day! We used mushroom broth and fresh parsley and black Truffles salt. Thank you so much!
You are so welcome!! I am glad it made your day 🙂 Thank you!
Thanks – this was perfect i added chicken and broccoli and all the kids finished their plates!
Those are great additions! Thank you for sharing that! I am happy your kids liked it!
The family enJoyed this recipe. I useD a little more garlic and added mozzarella. Really gReat and easy!!
I am so happy your family liked it! Thank you for letting me know. I am glad you tried it!
delicious
So happy you liked it! Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! It indeed was quick and the sauce was nice and creamy. However, I found the amount of sauce too little for even half the pasta. I kept half of it aside and the half that I put with the sauce was too dry so I had to make another batch of sauce. This quantity of sauce might be good for 4 oz of pasta, I’d estimate. 🙂
Thank you for giving it a try 🙂