Aurora Sauce and Broccoli Easy Pasta Bake

This rich, creamy aurora sauce, also called palomino sauce, makes for a delightful baked pasta dish.

Don’t like broccoli? Leave it out or try zucchini instead!

You may enjoy my vegan garlic bread or my frozen garlic bread in the air fryer with this recipe as well.

What is aurora sauce?

Aurora sauce is named for its lovely pink color, reminiscent of the sky at dawn. The color comes from mixing tomato sauce into a base of creamy béchamel sauce. In France, some people call this sauce aurore.

You can use either tomato sauce or tomato puree for a fairly traditional aurora sauce. I used crushed tomatoes in tomato puree to add some texture, and so you can tell that there are tomatoes in the sauce.

(Not sure about mixing dairy and citrus? Try my Gouda mac and cheese!)

What is béchamel sauce?

Béchamel sauce is made with milk, flour, onions, and butter. The butter and flour base is considered a white roux. People use this base of equal parts fat and flour to thicken sauces. If you cook a white roux too long it will change to blond and then brown, which will still thicken your sauce, but then it adds a nutty flavor.

Renowned French chef Auguste Escoffier, among other French food writers, and who you may remember as the inventor of the Peach Melba, has called béchamel sauce one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine. The idea is that if you master these mother sauces, you will be able to adapt them into daughter sauces (petites sauces in French) and pretty much cook anything.

The other four mother sauces are: 1) espagnole sauce (made with a brown roux, stock, and tomatoes), 2) tomato sauce (also called tomat or tomate sauce, typically made with tomatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, butter, flour, and stock), 3) veloute sauce (clear stock thickened with a white roux), and 4) hollandaise sauce (made with egg yolk, butter, and lemon juice or vinegar).

There is some scholarly debate as to whether that last one, hollandaise, should be included. For this reason, some claim there are only four mother sauces. However, some of those same people then call mayonnaise (a cold version of hollandaise) a base or mother sauce for cold sauces.

Curious if you are familiar with any of the daughter sauces? You can read more about them here.

What is béchamel sauce supposed to look like/how do I know it’s done?

When you add the flour to the melted butter, it doesn’t meld right away. Keep breaking down clumps with your spoon and stirring until it looks a bit sandy. Then you’re ready to slowly stir in the milk.

If you stir too fast at first, the milk will slosh over the edge of your pan, so there’s no need to rush or go about it too athletically. By the time the milk comes to a simmer or a boil, the raw flour taste will have cooked out.

Around this same time, you will notice the sauce thickening dramatically from milk to béchamel sauce. When you take your spoon out, you will be able to see the sauce coating the spoon. (If you’re using a white spoon you could always let it cool a bit and run a finger down a stripe of the spoon to see how much it has thickened.) At this point, it’s done!

Aurora Sauce Baked Pasta with Broccoli Ingredients

Before you begin, you will need:

Edible Ingredients

• 1 pound of pasta (I used farfalle, but feel free to use sacchetti for a richer dish, or whatever you have lying around)
• 1/2 of a white onion
• 1 head of broccoli
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups of milk
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Fresh basil, to garnish
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs, to garnish (optional)

Tools and Equipment

• A saucepan for cooking the pasta
• A colander (or be careful draining the pasta with the lid – no steam burns please!)
• Knife and cutting board
• Measuring cups and spoons
• A skillet for cooking the aurora sauce
• A slotted spoon or whisk for stirring the sauce (if you are using a nonstick skillet you won’t want to use a metal whisk)
• One large or two small casserole dishes

How to Make Aurora Sauce Baked Pasta and Broccoli

1. To begin, start a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Add salt if desired.
2. While the water is coming to a boil, wash the broccoli and chop it into florets.
3. Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and stir. Cook for 12 minutes or to taste.
4. While the pasta is cooking, peel and chop the onion.
5. Then, preheat the oven to 400°.
6. On a different burner, place the butter in a skillet over medium heat to melt. After that, add the chopped onions.
7. Once the onions are fragrant and becoming translucent, slowly add in the flour. Stir in until thoroughly mixed.
8. After that, slowly blend in the milk. You can use a whisk or just a slotted spoon. Keep stirring until the sauce comes to a simmer. You just made béchamel sauce!
9. Next, stir in the crushed tomatoes (and some basil if you want). Now it’s aurora sauce!
10. After that, drain the pasta.
11. Now, spray a large casserole dish with oil.
12. If your skillet is large enough, you can mix the broccoli and pasta into the aurora sauce right in the skillet. If you have a small skillet like me, you may need to use the pot you cooked the pasta in. Add in fresh basil, to taste.
13. After that, pour your pasta mixture into your casserole dish. (I had to use two dishes.)
14. Then, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese over the top. Add breadcrumbs if desired. If you garnish with basil, it will crisp up, so you may not want to bother.
15. Finally, once the oven is hot, place your casserole(s) in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden. Garnish with more basil if desired and enjoy!

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Variations on this recipe

A traditional béchamel sauce includes a bit of nutmeg, and sometimes cloves. Since I was using aromatic fresh basil I didn’t bother, but it might add some depth.

Baking this dish is optional. You can just pour the aurora sauce over your pasta (or gnocchi) and eat right away.

If you are not baking this dish, or if you just want your broccoli softer, throw it in with the pasta for the last few minutes of cooking.

All the extras are also optional – cheese, breadcrumbs, broccoli, and basil. You can make this dish as plain or complex as you want.

Zucchini would be delicious in place of the broccoli. Try any veggies you’d like – eggplant, spinach, mushrooms, etc.

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I hope you enjoy this recipe for aurora sauce baked pasta with broccoli!