Chicken Lasagna Recipe

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This Chicken Lasagna is a culinary masterpiece—shredded chicken and spinach layered between blankets of pasta and two types of cheese.

Chicken is so often overlooked when cooking a lasagna. Ground beef, the traditional meat filler, is so synonymous with those layers of pasta and cheese that fowl rarely gets a look in. Which is a shame because shredded chicken can revolutionize your lasagnas if you’ve never tried it.

That’s because chicken knows how to play well with others. The magic of a lasagna is in how, despite containing so many ingredients, it still manages to taste like one dish. I’ve always thought of chicken as a neutral meat that works well in a sandwich, on a salad, atop pasta, in a pie, in a taco… everywhere! Well, I can add lasagna to that list.

Though the talking point here is the inclusion of chicken, a word or two should be spared for the two cheeses—cheddar and mozzarella—plus the cream and whole milk. No tomatoes were harmed in the making of this meal. Instead, we have what might happen were someone to combine pasta with a homemade bowl of cream of chicken soup. The result is mesmerizing.

How Should I Cook The Chicken?

This is entirely up to you. Don’t give it too much thought though. It will be buried under several other ingredients, so the nuances of the chicken when cooked in different ways will most likely be lost. With that in mind, I usually opt for whichever method is most convenient. Grill, bake, smoke, air-fry, or sauté the chicken—it really doesn’t matter, just so long as the chicken is fully cooked, seasoned how you like it, and shredded (I ‘scratch’ at the breasts with two forks) before adding it to the rest of the lasagna ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups spinach, shredded
• ¼ cup butter
• ⅓ cup flour
• 6 oz cream
• 4 cups whole milk
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup cheddar, shredded
• 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 9 lasagna sheets
• 1 ½ cups mozzarella, shredded

How To Make Chicken Lasagna

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 2: Drizzle olive oil into a large heavy-based pot over MEDIUM heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the shredded spinach and cook for another 5 minutes.

Step 3: Remove the onion and spinach and set them aside. In the same pot, melt the butter. Use a whisk to mix the flour into the melted butter to create a roux. Whisk continuously to remove all lumps. As you whisk, slowly pour in the cream and milk. Continue until the sauce starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.

Step 4: Take the pot off the heat and mix the cheddar into the sauce. It should thicken up nicely.

Step 5: Scoop out 2 cups of sauce. Add the onion, spinach, and chicken to the remaining sauce. Mix until all is well coated.

Step 6: In a large 9×13-inch casserole dish, spread out half of the chicken mix into the bottom of the dish. Layer on lasagna sheets. Repeat until you have three layers.

Step 7: Spread the cheese sauce that you kept aside over the top. Sprinkle the mozzarella over it.

Step 8: Cover the dish with foil and then place into the oven in the middle to bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Cheese should be golden brown.

Top Tips For a Perfect Chicken Lasagna

• Let the lasagna settle for 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. Doing so will make it easier to cut and serve.
• Add mushrooms and/or bell peppers if you feel the lasagna needs more veggies.
• Break up the lasagna sheets if you find you’re having difficulty making them fit the pan; don’t overlay them.
• Use frozen spinach if you like. Let it thaw then squeeze out as much moisture as you can muster.
• Want to give the nutmeg some company? Add cinnamon.

FAQs

Serving Suggestions

No lasagna should ever be served without a nice crusty loaf of bread (though you can make a loaf of my Honey Wheat Sunflower Bread, if you’re due for a change) and a glass of wine. Beyond that, you have options. A Kale Caesar Salad with Parmesan Crisp Croutons would make a nice appetizer/side, as would this Easy Sauteed Broccoli Recipe. If you want something green but aren’t feeling the broccoli, Grilled Asparagus is another way to go. It’s also quick and easy, and won’t take away from the time needed to do the lasagna. To finish off, I recommend Zabaglione, an Italian dessert comprising berries, whipped cream, and a marsala custard.

How to Store Chicken Lasagna

Let the chicken lasagna cool completely then store it in an airtight container and put it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Instead of moving it to another container, you can just reuse that foil from earlier and cover it up. If you’d like to keep it around longer, cover it with plastic wrap then aluminum on top (or stick it into an airtight container); this should prevent freezer burn. The lasagna should keep for up to 3 months while in a deep freeze. To reheat, you can either let it thaw overnight in the fridge or you can bake it for 2 hours covered with the aluminum foil (not the plastic wrap).