White Pasta Sauce

This easy homemade white pasta sauce recipe is my favorite white sauce for pasta. How can you go wrong with cream, butter, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic? There isn’t anything in that sentence I didn’t like, haha.

This sauce is a great sauce to build upon. Instead of using chicken, use shrimp. Don’t like bacon? That is okay leave it out, and add a bit of olive oil instead. Lots of possibilities. If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get started!

For more yummy main dishes go here.

Step 1: Gather the ingredients and tools

This white pasta sauce is very versatile but you will want to start with some of the basic ingredients then go from there. You will need the following:

• Bacon – I always use 4 strips hehe. The bacon will add flavor along with a bit of protein.
• Onion – onions are a great flavor enhancer in pasta sauces.
• Garlic – It is hard to make a great tasting pasta sauce without fresh garlic. 🙂
• Unsalted butter – You can use salted butter too if you like just make sure to taste it before adding any additional salt to the sauce.
• Heavy cream – this is the star of this sauce. The cream will give the sauce a rich flavor as well as tie everything together.
• Tomatoes – I like to use grape tomatoes, they are small and look nice. But you can use whatever tomatoes you would like or leave them out altogether.
• Cheese – Use a nice white cheese. I generally use a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
• Cooked Chicken – for added protein add some chicken or maybe you would like to add some cooked shrimp or kielbasa or a number of other proteins.
• Spinach – For some nice color add in some spinach. It will also make that sauce “healthy” lol. 🙂
• Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasonings – add additional spices to taste
• Your favorite pasta – I generally use Penne pasta they are my favorite, but you can make this with pretty much any pasta that you want.

Tools

• Large pot or skillet
• Spatula
• Spoon

Step 2: How to make this white pasta sauce

First, take a skillet or saucepot and heat it on medium heat. Then add in your bacon. Let the bacon cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

*Note if you want this a little bit healthier after the bacon has been cooked, remove the grease and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to replace it.

Step 3: The onions, flavor time

Now let’s add in our onions and let them cook down a bit in that bacon grease. Onions are great flavor enhancers, I don’t recommend leaving them out of this sauce.

Step 4: Garlic and butter, mmm

Two of my favorite words are garlic and butter. So much flavor in those two ingredients. Add them to the pan with the bacon and onions.

First, add the garlic and let them cook down a bit, then add in the butter and allow it to melt.

Step 5: Cream, you know for that cream-based pasta sauce

Now we need to add in the cream. If you want your white sauce to be less thick you may add in more cream or some milk a little bit later. Allow the cream to heat up stirring the sauce occasionally.

Step 6: Those yummy tomatoes

Next, we are going to add in some sliced grape tomatoes, you can use whatever tomatoes that you want. I like the look of the sliced grape tomatoes so I always use those. Let the tomatoes cook in the sauce for a few minutes to soften up.

Step 7: Cheesy white pasta sauce

Now after our tomatoes have had a chance to soften up a bit add in the cheese. This is a mozzarella and parmesan cheese blend. Stir the cheese into the sauce until it is completely melted.

Step 8: Spices

Now give the sauce a little taste. You may want to add more salt. I also usually add pepper and garlic powder. Didn’t I already mention I like garlic?

It is very important to taste the sauce before adding extra seasonings especially extra salt. The bacon and cheese will have already added a certain amount of saltiness by themselves.

Step 9: Chicken and spinach

Now we need to finish that sauce off with some chicken and spinach. I always add the spinach in last because it cooks down really quickly.

Use precooked chicken or cook the chicken in a separate skillet. I normally get it from the deli or use leftover chicken that I cooked for something else.

When making pasta most people will advise you to add your pasta to the skillet or pot with your sauce. So cook your pasta, penne pasta, in this case, about a minute less than you normally would.

Then pour the pasta in with your simmering white pasta sauce. They will cook the rest of the way in the sauce.

Normally I won’t use two pans as I show here, but the stainless steel pan just looks nicer on camera. 🙂 After stirring in the pasta for about a minute your pasta is ready to serve.

Step 10: Enjoy that yummy pasta and white sauce

Enjoy that yummy white pasta sauce with your favorite pasta. Penne is always my favorite pasta of choice as I have mentioned.

But this same sauce works great with other pasta as well. And other proteins like shrimp instead of chicken, etc.

White Pasta Sauce Video Tutorial

Now watch those steps in action by checking out the video tutorial. 🙂

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

4.92 from 12 votes

White Pasta Sauce

This easy homemade white pasta sauce recipe is my favorite white sauce for pasta. How can you go wrong with cream, butter, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic? There isn't anything in that sentence I didn't like, haha. This sauce is a great sauce to build upon. Instead of using chicken, use shrimp. Don't like bacon? That is okay leave it out, and add a bit of olive oil instead. Lots of possibilities. If I can do it, you can do it. Let's get started!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bacon, cream, pasta, sauce

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 321kcal

Author: Matt Taylor

Equipment

• Large Pot
• Skillet
• Spatula
• spoon

Ingredients

• 2 to 4 strips of bacon I always use 4
• 1/2 of a medium onion about 1 cup chopped. (150g)
• 5 to 6 cloves of fresh garlic crushed/minced
• 1/4 cup of unsalted butter 57g
• 1 cup of heavy cream add more to thin sauce out or add milk (240ml)
• 3/4 cup of cut grape tomatoes 150g
• 1 1/2 cups of cheese mozzarella parmesan blend
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 2g
• 1/4 tsp. of ground pepper 1g
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning optional
• 1/2 tsp. of salt taste it first before adding in the salt
• 1 cup of diced pre-cooked chicken 125g
• 1 handful of fresh spinach
• 1 box 1lb. of penne pasta noodles (454g) cooked for 10 minutes in boiling water, then drained.

Instructions

• First take a skillet or sauce pot and heat it on medium heat. Then add in your bacon. Let the bacon cook for 5 to 6 minutes. If you want this a little bit healthier after the bacon has cooked a bit, remove the grease and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to replace it.
• Now let's add in our onions and let them cook down a bit in that bacon grease.
• Next add the minced garlic cloves and let them cook down a bit, then add in the butter and allow it to melt.
• Now we need to add in the cream. If you want your white sauce to be less thick you may add in more cream or some milk a little bit later. Allow the cream to heat up stirring the sauce occasionally.
• Next add the tomatoes. Let the tomatoes cook in the sauce for a few minutes to soften up.
• Then stir the cheese into the sauce until it is completely melted.
• Give the sauce a little taste. You may want to add in more salt. I also usually add in pepper and garlic powder, I like garlic. It is very important to taste the sauce before adding extra seasonings especially extra salt. The bacon and cheese will have already added a certain amount of saltiness by themselves.
• Finish that sauce off with some cooked chicken and spinach or use shrimp or another protein. Add your drained cooked pasta to the sauce. After stirring in the pasta for about a minute your pasta is ready to serve. *Note cook your pasta about 1 minute less then package says, usually right around 10 minutes.
• Enjoy that yummy white pasta sauce with your favorite pasta. Penne is always my favorite pasta of choice. But this same sauce works great with other pasta as well. And other proteins like shrimp instead of chicken, etc.

Notes

*Note – this includes the pasta with it. 

Tried this recipe?Mention @WPRecipeMaker or tag #wprecipemaker!

Nutrition

Calories: 321kcal

Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. 🙂 If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.

Here are a few other recipes you may like:

Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Garlic and Bacon

Amazing Homemade White Bread

Ground Beef Tacos

Homemade Glazed Donuts

Easy Breadsticks