White Sauce Pasta with Caramelized Broccoli Recipe
If you are wondering what to make for dinner, then try this delicious white sauce pasta with caramelized broccoli. It’s easy to make and ready in less time. It has a creamy, velvety flavor with caramelized broccoli. This white sauce pasta recipe is my all-time favorite pasta, and I make it frequently using various seasonings, vegetables, and cooking methods. I will share with you my recipe for the perfect white sauce, which is rich in flavor as well as very creamy.
About this Recipe
You can change this recipe by adding different vegetables as well as meat, whatever you like. You can use whole wheat pasta and gluten-free pasta with different shapes depending on your preference.
Other than broccoli, black olives, mushrooms, bell peppers, and sweet corn are the best veggies for white sauce pasta. You can also add cheese if you like.
I use caramelized broccoli rather than just adding boiled broccoli. Broccoli becomes sweeter when caramelized, bringing out its natural sweetness. If you want to use the above-mentioned veggies, then sauté them in olive oil until they become light golden and don’t add water to them for cooking.
This white sauce is also called Bechamel sauce, and it requires flour, butter, and milk. One of the five mother sauces, it is a rich base with a tasty basis that can be used alone or to make other sauces.
Ingredients of White Sauce Pasta with Caramelized Broccoli
The pasta is basically made of boiled fettucine pasta, white sauce, broccoli, and chicken bologna slices. You can either skip the bologna slices or add boneless chicken to the pasta.
Pasta: I use fettuccine in this recipe. I also liked to make white sauce pasta with penne. You can use whole wheat pasta or homemade pasta or gluten-free pasta in any shape you like.
White sauce: white sauce is made of butter, flour, and milk, with Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. You can use whole wheat flour as well, but its color will change from white to a light brown in color. If you want to make it cheesy, you can add cheese as well as cheddar or mozzarella cheese.
Veggies: I use caramelized broccoli. Use other veggies, especially seasonal ones, to make it more tempting.
Bologna slices: I used chicken bologna slices. You can use salami slices if you have them in your fridge, or stir-fry or grill chicken is also a good option. If you don’t want to add meat, just skip it.
How to Make White Sauce Pasta with Caramelized Broccoli
To make caramelized broccoli in a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add broccoli and cook it on medium heat for a few minutes until it is light golden in color.
Add water to it. If you like crunchy broccoli, then add less water, but if you want to make it soft, then adjust the water accordingly.
When the water is reduced, add salt and pepper and fry for 1-2 minutes. Simple is also extremely tasty, but you can also add garlic and red chili flakes if you’d like.
To make white sauce in a saucepan, add butter and let it melt over a medium flame. Add flour to it and cook the flour on a medium-low flame. Make sure to cook it properly. If it is not cooked properly, then the taste will not be amazing.
When it changes color, add chilled milk to it. Keep on stirring so that lumps are not formed and cook until it has thickened.
Add nutmeg, salt, pepper, and mixed Italian herbs. You can adjust the thickness of the white sauce as you like by adjusting the flour quantity.
Boil the pasta by adding salt and a little bit of oil. Drain the water and wash it under cold water.
Mix the pasta in the sauce with the caramelized broccoli, then add the bologna slices and mix well. Serve hot.
Suggestions and tips
- If you want to make it in advance and store it for a very long time, the pasta will absorb all the sauce, so it is better to not mix sauce with pasta in advance. If you want to make it in advance, just mix it at the time of serving.
- You can adjust the thickness of your sauce by adding more flour or less, or by adjusting the milk quantity.
- To make it cheesy, you can add regular cheese or grated cheese to it. Add cheese to the sauce after the addition of seasonings.
- You can add the seasoning of your choice. If you want it a bit spicy, you can also add chili flakes.
- You can add any vegetable of your choice. But I would recommend mushrooms, black olives, and sweet corn. These veggies go very well with white sauce pasta.
- You can add chicken as well, instead of bologna sauce. Take a chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper and grill it on a grill pan. While serving, cut the chicken breast into strips and top the white sauce pasta with them.
Try These Other Popular Recipes
White sauce pasta with caramelized broccoli
Fried donuts with chocolate glaze
White Sauce Pasta with Caramelized Broccoli
Ingredients
caramelized broccoli
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper according to taste
white sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp crushed black pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg optional
pasta
- 8 oz dried fettuccine
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
additional ingredient
- 3-4 slices bologna slices
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the broccoli and cook on medium heat for a few minutes.
- Add the water, cover, and cook until the broccoli is tender, and the water has evaporated.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry for 1-2 minutes. Season the broccoli with salt and crushed black pepper.
- In another pan, add butter and let it melt, then add flour and let it cook until it changes its color on a medium-low heat.
- Then add the milk and cook until it thickens, continuously stirring it. At last, add mixed Italian herbs. with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Boil pasta in another pan with salt and a little bit of oil. Drain off the water and add cold water. Drain it off as well.
- Mix pasta into sauce with bologna slices. At last, mix caramelized broccoli into pasta and turn the flame off. Garnish with chopped parsley.