Easy Penne Pasta recipe which is creamy in texture though no cream is added and is loaded with vegetables.
Are you on the hunt for a comforting Italian recipe? Who doesn’t loves Pasta!!
It is so versatile, it just mixes with everything. Hot Pasta or cold pasta salad, it tastes great every time
.As a busy mom, it’s important to have quick and simple meals that nourish my family but also taste great. I love that it’s loaded with vegetables and it is so easy and quick to make.
I love to make Vegetable pasta for my kids as I know they can enjoy a full meal without me worrying about much.I try to include Pasta two times in my whole week menu. After all it is so easy to make pasta and also it is a complete one pot meal.If you like pasta dishes I would definitely suggest you to try this one out.
I made this Pasta when my kids were home on president’s day. Since this kind of Pasta usually tastes best when it is hot, my kids don’t like to eat it when I pack it for their lunch for school. Usually by the time they open it , it gets cold and they like this pasta hot. So for their lunch I usually keep a pasta with is very simple and which has no white sauce added to it.
Yes, it is the homemade white sauce which gives this pasta a creamy texture. I also added regular pasta sauce to this recipe. So two sauces mixed together tossed with vegetables make this real one pot meal.
To make creamy Penne Pasta with Vegetables ( no added cream), First, you have to boil the pasta and save some pasta water.
Then prepare the white sauce.
I used Asparagus and bell peppers for this recipe, but you can use green beans, green peas, or any other vegetable of your choice.
For the final step I used both the home made White sauce and Store bought Red Pasta sauce. I used Classico Tomato Basil Pasta sauce.
Lets proceed towards the recipe.
- 2 cups Penne Pasta
- 10-12 Asparagus cut into 3 inches
- 1 small Red Bell pepper
- 4 cloves of chopped garlic
- 7-8 Pitted black olives
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- red chili flakes and dry basil for garnish.
- 1tsp + 3 tsp olive oil
- 5 tbsp of Red Pasta sauce
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- For white Sauce
- 1½ tbsp butter
- 1½tbsp Maida or all purpose flour
- 2 cups of boiling hot milk.
- Water to boil pasta
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne according to package instructions until Al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, save a cup pasta water and add a tsp olive oil.
- Now prepare the white sauce. For that heat the butter in a pan and once the butter is melted, add the flour. Keep stirring to avoid lumps.
- Now add boiling hot milk and stri well till the sauce is smooth and lump less. If you think that tha sauce is too thick add more milk.
- Add salt and pepper and turn off the flame.
- To prepare the creamy pasta in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute.
- Now add the asparagus and bell peppers and stri in for 1 minute on medium flame. Now add the Red Pasta sauce and 1/2 cup of pasta water. Let this cook for a minute and then add the white sauce, salt and pepper.
- Let this mixture cook for 1 minute and then add the boiled pasta. Add the rest of the pasta water and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low flame.
- Add the parmesan, olives and dry basil on top. Sprinkle some chili flakes on top and serve hot.
NOTES
-
- Make sure that you don’t cook the pasta more than the time described on its packet.
- You can add any other vegetables of your choice.
- You may add cream of you want to make it more rich.
Lovely share there 🙂