White Sauce Pasta with Vegetables
on Apr 09, 2019, Updated Oct 20, 2020
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This White Sauce Pasta with vegetables is comforting and satisfying. It’s a really basic, creamy, cheesy pasta recipe that also packs in the veggies and comes together in just one pot. Easy, nutritious, and a hit with everyone, including kiddos!
This white sauce pasta recipe is seriously taking me back to my childhood. Back then we didn’t really know all the fancy pasta names and recipes, so this is what my mom made at home. A basic bechamel sauce pasta that was whisked to creaminess along with lots of veggies and macaroni – it was pure comfort food!
Obviously, my recipe is slightly more fancy. Instead of macaroni, I now use rigatoni pasta and mozzarella cheese (a step up from the highly processed Amul cheese from 20 years ago), but the satisfaction of eating homemade pasta is still the same.
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White Sauce Pasta Ingredients
Dried pasta: I have used rigatoni, but penne, macaroni, fusilli or orecchiette also work. These types of pasta help to hold the sauce well
Water: With lots of salt to cook the pasta
Fats: We use a mix of butter and olive oil to create that rich base for this pasta
Base of White Sauce Pasta – Bechamel Sauce
Bechamel sauce is a simple sauce made usually with butter, flour and some kind of liquid (milk/stock). Equal amounts of butter and flour are used and the flour is generally cooked in melted butter for a minute or so to get rid of the raw flour. After which, milk is added slowly to the pot while whisking continuously. As the milk mixes with the flour and warms up, it gradually starts to thicken and after a few minutes of whisking and simmering what you are left with is a silky smooth sauce.
The Secret to One Pot White Sauce Pasta
I’ve realized that you can use the same method even if you add veggies before you add the flour and milk. This way you reduce one step where you make the sauce separately and then mix everything together. Which is what we’ve done here. Saute the veggies in oil and butter and then add milk and flour to the same pan. You will still need to keep whisking continuously but this is so much faster and you don’t dirty an extra pan!
Frequently Asked Questions
This white sauce pasta recipe packs in a good 4-5 cups of veggies which makes it really nutritious and if you have kids, it’s a great way to get them to eat veggies sneaked into this white sauce pasta. I have used red, yellow, and green bell peppers, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, and onion.
You can use your favorite pasta or whatever you have at hand. I love using rigatoni because the big tubes of pasta are just so much fun to eat, and the sauce sneaks into the middle so that when you take a bite, you have sauce oozing out of the pasta.
I feel like this is almost a one pot recipe, except for boiling the pasta. Which makes it such a big mess-free hit for dinner! You can also easily add some shredded chicken or cooked shrimp if you want to add some protein. Just mix it up when you are adding the pasta. If you add more veggies or protein, you may have to increase and adjust the amount of milk in the recipe so that you still have enough sauce.
This is such a fun, easy recipe that I’m sure you’ll be making it on repeat!
Watch How to make White Sauce Pasta Recipe Video (Step by Step)
White Sauce Pasta with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 150 grams Dried Pasta, Macaroni /Penne /Fusilli / Orecchiette / Rigatoni
- 2 tablespoon Salt
- 5 cups Water
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 cup Onion, diced
- 1/2 cup Broccoli florets
- 6-7 Mushrooms, halved
- 1/2 cup Corn Kernels
- 1 cup Bell Peppers, cubed (colored)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup Cream
- 1 cup Mozzarella, grated
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard, optional
- 2 tablespoon Basil, shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot bring 5 cups water to a rolling boil, add 2 tablespoons of salt to this along with uncooked pasta. Cook according to package instructions till al dente. Drain, wash with cold water and set aside.
- In another pan, add olive oil and butter and heat till the butter has melted. Add minced garlic and onions, cook for a minute or two till the onions are translucent. Add broccoli florets, corn, mushrooms and the peppers. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add flour and cook stirring for a minute or two. Slowly start adding milk while stirring continuously till the sauce starts to thicken. Simmer for two minutes and add cream. Mix the cream and add the drained cooked pasta and cheese.
- Add dijon mustard and fresh basil (if using) and stir to mix everything together. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Always add the pasta to boiling water. Never add pasta to warm or room temperature water. Time it and cook it till al dente.
- Reserve some of the pasta water as the starch present in this will help thicken the sauce.
- Cook veggies on medium high heat instead of low heat. Slow cooking tends to make them lose their crunchiness and leave out water. Do not overcook.
- Time it so that the pasta gets cooked just about the same time the sauce gets ready. This way the pasta won’t harden.
- Feel free to swap the vegetables for something else like protein, chicken, shrimp or other veggies like zucchini.
You forgot to include adding the cheese
Hey Susan, it is mentioned in step 3, cheese to be added with pasta. Hope this helps.
what if you can’t eat flour?
Hey Desirae, the flour is used in the recipe to make the pasta sauce thick. however, you may skip the flour & use only cream and milk.
Quick and delicious! Perfect weeknight meal.
Hey Lindsey, so so glad you liked the recipe.