White sauce pasta is one of the universally acclaimed pasta especially by kids, and today I am going to share the how to make that yummylicious white sauce with white cheddar cheese and how to incorporate some veggies as well. Here comes my white cheddar cheese pasta with spinach and mushrooms.
I think I have mentioned this many times before. I pack pasta one day every week. I do play with different sauces, and this one is our absolute favorite and easy to prepare as well. In the traditional white sauce, you don’t see any veggies, but I always try to sneak in some in all possible way. Kiddo is not a big fan of spinach, but he doesn’t complain spinach if it’s in this white sauce. Corn adds a nice texture and color, but I ran out of corn when I prepared this hence skipped. But you can include corn too. Also, I did not add any onion and garlic as well.
White Cheddar Vs Yellow Cheddar:
Now coming to cheese part, you may wonder why white cheddar? White cheddar cheese is the original form of the cheddar cheese. But you can find light yellow to bright orange colored cheddar cheese in the grocery stores. A natural plant-based odorless coloring agent called annatto is added to make the cheese yellow. It doesn’t affect the flavor or texture. It’s not a chemical either. So basically it’s your preference for the color.
I buy both but depending on the situation. I opt for white cheddar especially for sauces, and when it comes to the cheese platter, I prefer yellow. Kiddo loves yellow cheddar with Ritz crackers. I love snacking yellow cheddar. The hard and sharp taste makes you addicted for sure. Also, finding rennet free cheddar is easy. So you can always find a block of cheddar cheese in my fridge. 
No Milk White Sauce:
For my white sauce, I don’t use milk. This is again, because of Vaandu’s preference. He is not lactose intolerant, but somehow he doesn’t like the creamy texture, so I mix my all-purpose flour in the pasta water and add it. The quarter cup of white cheddar provides the sufficient creaminess to this sauce. But you can always use milk and even heavy cream.
Now without any further ado, here is my White Cheddar Farfalle pasta with mushrooms and spinach,
White Cheddar Cheese Pasta with Mushrooms and Spinach
A universally acclaimed pasta by kids – yummylicious white sauce pasta with white cheddar cheese, spinach, and mushrooms.
Ingredients:
- Pasta – 2 cups (I used Farfalle)
- Water – 4 cups
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Chopped Spinach – ½ cup
- Chopped Mushroom – ½ cup
- Mixed Italian Herbs – 2 tsp
- Butter – 1 tbsp
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
- APF – 1 tbsp
- Pasta Water – ½ cup
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Freshly grated Pepper – ½ tsp
Prep-Work:
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. I bought 4 cups of water to boil by adding one tsp of salt and one tsp of oil. Then added 2 cups of pasta and cooked for 8 minutes.
- I reserved ½ cup of pasta water and drained the rest.
- Mix the 1 tbsp of APF in the reserved pasta water and set aside.
- Clean and chop the mushrooms and spinach.
- Shred ¼ cup of white cheddar cheese.
Steps:
- Heat a pan or skillet and melt the butter.
- Now add the chopped spinach, mushroom, salt, and mixed Italian herbs.
- Cook until the spinach wilts and the mushroom is soft and tender.
- Now add the pasta water with APF and the cheddar cheese.
- Followed by the cooked pasta.
- Toss them all together.
- Cook until the cheese melts.
- Finally, add the olive oil and freshly grated pepper and gently mix once.
That’s it. White sauce pasta is ready.
How I Pack:
- Spread the pasta on a plate and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Then transfer it to the tiffin box and wait for two more minutes before putting the lid.
- As I used merely a ¼ cup of cheese, it doesn’t harden, but cheddar tastes decent when it is not warm. So far no complaints from vaandu.
Notes:
- You can include corn and other veggies of your choice. Also, skip spinach or mushroom.
- I did not add any onion by my Italian herb mix contains dried onions. If you can’t source it, just add a blend of dried basil and oregano is sufficient or fresh basil leaves will do all the magic.
- You can replace pasta water with milk.
- Adjust the salt and pepper as per your preference.
- Pasta – 2 cups I used Farfalle
- Water – 4 cups
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Chopped Spinach – ½ cup
- Chopped Mushroom – ½ cup
- Mixed Italian Herbs – 2 tsp
- Butter – 1 tbsp
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
- APF – 1 tbsp
- Pasta Water – ½ cup
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Freshly grated Pepper – ½ tsp
-
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. I bought 4 cups of water to boil by adding one tsp of salt and one tsp of oil. Then added 2 cups of pasta and cooked for 8 minutes.
-
I reserved ½ cup of pasta water and drained the rest.
-
Mix the 1 tbsp of APF in the reserved pasta water and set aside.
-
Clean and chop the mushrooms and spinach.
-
Shred ¼ cup of white cheddar cheese.
-
Heat a pan or skillet and melt the butter.
-
Now add the chopped spinach, mushroom, salt, and mixed Italian herbs.
-
Cook until the spinach wilts and the mushroom is soft and tender.
-
Now add the pasta water with APF and the cheddar cheese.
-
Followed by the cooked pasta.
-
Toss them all together.
-
Cook until the cheese melts.
-
Finally, add the olive oil and freshly grated pepper and gently mix once.
-
That’s it. White sauce pasta is ready.
-
Spread the pasta on a plate and let it cool for 10 minutes.
-
Then transfer it to the tiffin box and wait for two more minutes before putting the lid.
-
As I used merely a ¼ cup of cheese, it doesn’t harden, but cheddar tastes decent when it is not warm. So far no complaints from vaandu.
- You can include corn and other veggies of your choice. Also, skip spinach or mushroom.
- I did not add any onion by my Italian herb mix contains dried onions. If you can’t source it, just add a blend of dried basil and oregano is sufficient or fresh basil leaves will do all the magic.
- You can replace pasta water with milk.
- Adjust the salt and pepper as per your preference.
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My kids like the ‘colored sauces’ pasta and then loads of cheese on top. Personally I like the white pasta and you have made it yummier with the addition of mushrooms!
I always look ways for sneaking up some veggies. :-) Thanks PJ
Pasta is always kids favorite and such an amazing pasta with white cheddar looks so delicious and perfectly cooked pasta there !! I love how you have used the pasta water in the recipe .. very inviting lunch box !!
Thanks Manjula.
Cheesy pasta is what my daughter carries for her lunch box without getting bored. As you mentioned, pasta is a kid friendly dish and your version sounds wonderful.
Very True. Thanks Suma
We love cheesy pasta dishes in our lunch boxes and thankfully my boys love spinach and mushroom. They would absolutely love this pasta recipe. I will make it for them during the summer break to try.
Thanks. Please do try Sandhya. I am sure your boys will love it.
Wow what an inviting lunch box you got there Srividhya! I would love to pack this for my daughter. Making without milk sounds great too as you can make it instant and not worry about stocking the extra portion. Very nice choice. We only get the white cheddar in our place. must check if yellow one is available or not.
Thanks much, Valli. Tastewise they are same so white or yellow doesn’t matter. :-)
My girls aren’t fond of cheese so trying cheesy pasta dish is really hard for me. I am getting them cheese only on pizza as that’s the only thing they love with cheese. Good one for lunchbox.
Oh ok… I know each and every child is different. :-) Thanks Sapana
I wouldn’t leave a teeny weeny piece in my lunch box if I got pasta like yours. Love pasta with cheese and spinach.
:-) :-) Same here. Thanks, Mayuri.
Didn’t know about white cheddar as we get only the light cream coloured one here. And making the sauce without milk is a nice idea. My daughter started having pasta only by 12 years and I could never make her taste it before that. I could try this now as she loves pasta. This one with mushrooms and spinach looks so good.
In a way, it’s good Gayathri. Pasta is all carbs and glad you were able to start late.
Yummy and tasty idea.. looks superb
Thank you.
I rarely make cream based pasta sauced for my kids — not sure why!!!!! I have to try this simple cheese pasta for them, may be they’ll like it. Thanks for the recipe and idea Vidhya.
Thanks, Pavani. Hope they like it too.
This is a lovely pasta dish. Sneaking in veggies makes the pasta healthy , even I always add some veggies to it. using white cheese is interesting, frankly I did not know the difference between the white and yellow one!
A perfect lunch box which every kid will love.
Thanks Vaishali. I recently figured out the difference.
Good one, Srividhya. My little one likes cheesy pasta and I always like to sneak in spinach and corn. I am sure she will love mushrooms as well but haven’t tried.
Please do try Harini. I am sure they will love it.
Such a creamy box of pasta with spinach and mushroom.. Yummy lb :)
:-) Thanks
Pasta looks so cheesy and delicious. With spinach and mushroom it could be more healthier. And useful info about the cheddar cheese colors. Learned something new today :-)
Thanks, Sandhiya.
Never a kid will say ‘no’ to this cheesy pasta, and simply i love the addition of both spinach and mushrooms here. MY pasta loving kids will go crazy if they see this pasta dish.
:-) :-)