The classic but easy to make bechamel sauce gets some serious flavour boosts in this easy to make- ahead + weeknight and hosting friendly White Sauce Chicken Pasta Bake which is full of flavour, easily customizable for your favorite veggies, and ready to go in the oven in 30 minutes!
🔍 Quick Look: White Sauce Chicken Pasta
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 40 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 50 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 6
- 🔥 Cook Method: Stovetop + Oven
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
- Key to Success: Seasoning! Make sure your bechamel tastes a little punchy before you add the pasta!
"Made this for iftar at my place, doubled the recipe and its all gone. Seriously so so easy and good! " - Farwah
Jump to:
What is White Sauce Pasta?
I say White Sauce because that is what we always called it - the 'correct' name is Bechamel and 'correctly' made it is a very different being than the desi-fied version I am about to present today. A traditional bechamel has 3 base components (butter, flour, milk) and milder seasonings.
Why I make this recipe
Growing up in Jeddah and Karachi if there was a dinner party then one of two dishes was always at the table. My mama's epic Chicken and Cheese or a White Sauce Chicken Pasta. The deciding factor was always the number of people. Chicken and Cheese doesn't go as far (make it and you'll see) as this Creamy Chicken Pasta which has a similar base, but additional bulk.
It also makes ahead and reheats beautifully which is a win for busy families whether it's a weeknight or a dinner party - since this isn't a cream based alfredo sauce it doesn't congeal and retains it's velvety texture.
The fact that it is SO easy to customize makes this a winner too. I mean I will be honest and say I grew up making this with chicken and corn, the spinach and mushrooms were a later addition!
Desi-fied White Sauce Explained
While a bechamel has a roux base (butter and flour) which are thinned out with milk this version has some elements that are decidedly non traditional, but add so much flavour making it perfect for South Asian tastebuds.
- Minced onions
- Chilies
- A bouillon cube
- Cheese - You can use whatever cheese you like, but do remember it greatly alters flavor. Personal favorites: monterey jack or cheddar
- Veggies: In this incarnation I have used Mushrooms and Spinach, but you throw in anything your heart desires. Just saute' them off in the begining (or roast) and mix them in at the end. Corn works super well here too.
How to make White Sauce Chicken Pasta
Start off by prepping your add ins!
- Season your bite sized chicken and cook until just golden. Remove from the pan.
2. Turn the heat up and cook your mushrooms (if using) until they darken and season with a little salt.
3. Cook the spinach until wilted, and remove.
4.) Now add your butter to your pan followed by green chilies and onions
5. Whisk in the flour and cook till toasty smelling
6. Slowly whisk in the milk and simmer to thicken.
7. Add your prepped ingredients and nutmeg, mix well and adjust seasoning
8.) Stir in your cooked pasta.
9. Eat as is or transfer to your dish and top with shredded cheese
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 till bubbly and golden
Make Ahead Tips & Storing
This pasta does great made a day (or two!) ahead. Just remember not to over boil your pasta! Take it out from the fridge a few hours before baking so it heats up faster or simply add ten minutes to bake time.
It is also worth nothing that the leftovers reheat beautifully in the microwave!
Chicken White Sauce Pasta FAQs
Absolutely not, it is fabulous as is.
I like anything that is easy to spear and eat here and tend to avoid the smaller shapes. In other words: no spaghetti, small macaroni, etc. Preferred shapes: shells, penne, bow tie, rigatoni, etc.
As someone who ate this growing up, yes. You can customize add ins to their favorites and even eliminate the chilies if you want to!
Simply add a splash of milk or water to adjust the consistency.
If you want to prevent it you can use half butter half oil, but a little browning is really not going to hurt the flavour, if anything it will give it a little depth so carry on!
Yup, this doubles VERY easily!
More Non Pakistani Recipes that just HIT
More delicious inspiration for when you aren't feeling like making your tried and tested Pakistani recipes.
Tried this recipe? Would love to hear from you so please do leave a rating and comment below! Share your recreations with me on Instagram @flourandspiceblog - happy cooking!
White Sauce Chicken Pasta Bake
Equipment
- pot for cooking
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter (110g)
- ½ cup flour
- 1 litre milk
- 150-200 g chicken (half a chicken breast) shopped into bite size pieces
- 100-125 g mushrooms remove stems and slice
- 150 g spinach washed, roughly chopped
- ½ cup minced onion
- 3-4 minced green chilies (for a spicy dish increase the green chilies to 6 as they mellow when they cook)
- ½ chicken boullion cube
- nutmeg - ⅛ tsp grated (optional)
- 200 g shredded cheese (monterey jack or cheddar preferred) (see notes!)
- 8 oz pasta - shells (as shown), penne, bow tie, small rigatoni
Instructions
- Put two pots on the stove - one with salted water to boil pasta and one with two tbsp of oil
- Preheat your oven to 400F
- When the oil is hot add the chicken pieces, cook one side on medium high for 2-3 minutes, then flip over and cook until the chicken is cooked through - another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot, leave any extra oil and add the mushrooms on medium high heat - saute until cooked through, season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the chopped spinach until it wilts and then remove the spinach into the same dish as the chicken
- Now add the butter and when it melts add in the green chilies and diced onions. Saute for a minute on medium heat.
- Sprinkle the flour over stirring frequently until the color changes and it smells a little toasty - 3-5 minutes
- Add a cup of the milk and whisk then gradually add the rest. Adding in stages makes it easier to break up clumps
- Put your pasta into boil - boil according to package directions until al dente if you like it soft (it will bake in the oven) or a minute less for more of a bite. Remember to reserve a cup of pasta water when you drain it
- Stir in the bouillon cube (crumble it by hand), and bring the mix to a boil then simmer (stirring frequently) until thickened - about 10-12 minutes.
- Once the white sauce has thickened turn off the stove and stir in the nutmeg, chicken, mushrooms, and half cheese (optional). Now taste for seasoning - you want to add a fat pinch of pepper, salt according to how salty the cheese is. As it bakes the pasta will absorb the flavor so you want it to be nice and punchy right now.
- Stir in the cooked pasta, adding the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed - how much tends to vary by shape. If you forgot to reserve pasta water then milk will do.
- Spoon the pasta into a lightly greased 9*9 pan or whatever similarly sized oven safe dish you have handy and scatter the remaining cheese on top
- Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes to meld the flavors then broil for another 2-3 to get that lovely crispy cheese.
- Wait for a few minutes before digging in - pasta will be HOT!
Notes
- If you want to skip the baking part you can always put the cheese on top and broil or breadcrumbs tossed with a little melted butter. You can also skip both entirely and serve as is
- This dish is HIGHLY customizable - put in whatever works for your family. If you add a 'bulkier' vegetable like broccoli then increase the sauce base by 20% (more butter, milk, flour)
- You don't have to add cheese into sauce, that is entirely optional! if you aren't adding it in then you just need enough to cover your pasta bake.
Shahana says
This recipe was amazing- I got so many compliments and everyone asked for the recipe- directed everyone to your blog
Sarah Mir says
Thank you so much Shahana for making it and for the review!!! Appreciate you sharing the recipe as well!
Patricia says
I made this tonight and it is absolutely delicious! Used Spinach and Broccoli, sautéed onions and garlic then added the previously baked chicken pieces. Proceeded with the remaining ingredients as you stated. It turned out PERFECT! I held off on too much salt since we watch our salt intake, then added everything after tasting. We are ready to eat as soon as we broil the casserole for 3 minutes. This recipe has everything we love to eat. Thanks for this fantastic recipe. Looking forward to fixing more of your lovely dishes. I love to bake and cook also. It’s so rewarding! Hubby enjoys everything I find to make for dinner. He’s a good husband and is happy even when my dishes don’t turn out like they should.
Sarah Mir says
Thank you patricia! I love that you made it and I love that you made it your own! Thank you so so much for this review!
Mishal says
Very good recipe flavor wise! I have to say - I didn't have cheese on hand so I used 2 cups of half and half, and it was also magic! I put some Parmesan at the end too before putting in the oven. Thanks for an easy recipe that is so customizable!
wally says
got to admit i was a little confused by the reference to "cor". didn't see it in ingredient list.
Sarah Mir says
Hi there - I am not sure I see the reference here. I do add it sometimes but not usually
Saba says
Step 4 mentioned corn….do you mean mushrooms ? If you use corn, do you sauté it? Going to try this tonight…looks so yummy.
Sarah Mir says
Yes sorry! I am in the middle of updating this one, but I should be done by EOD! Corn only needs to be sauteed if it's raw!
Farwah says
Made this for iftar at my place, doubled the recipe and its all gone. Seriously so so easy and good! Nobody could believe theres no red chilli added to it, green chilli gave such a distinct flavor and heat, this one won hearts. Thank you for such an easy and tasty recipe.
Ayesha Chagtai says
Allah Miyaan quboolofied my dua’as of wanting to eat a delicious tasting pasta through this recipe! Thank You, Sarah. ♥️
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
That's the sweetest thing, thank you so much!!!
saniya says
even my 21 month old loved it!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
that is AWESOME to hear!
T says
Hi Sarah, this looks awesome, but just wondering any subs for the bouillon cube?
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi! You can just adjust seasoning if you are omitting it!
shafaq says
I have made it twice now,its very flavorful and packs in a goood amount of vegetables. Wholesome and tasty!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hi Shafaq! thank you so much for sharing that!
Fatima says
I had to try it after the pictures on your Instagram. It was so simple to put together and turned out delicious!Enjoyed it with a chilled glass of coke ! Thank you for all the effort you put in your recipes and your blog!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
You know Fatima I gotta say two things - one is thank you and the second is just thinking about the chilled glass of coke makes me want one!