A couple weeks ago, I asked for recommendations on a really good chicken lasagna recipe via my Facebook page.
I got several links to various recipes, along with a few typed out recipes that all sounded delicious — but since I obviously wasn’t going to make multiple different lasagnas just for Dave and myself, I decided to take bits and pieces of several different recipes (along with tweaking things based on the ingredients I had on hand) to try a brand new recipe.
The results were completely delicious — neither Dave or I complained about eating an entire 9″ x 13″ pan of lasagna on our own (although we did share the leftovers with family who stopped by for lunch one day).
This recipe is actually 100% from scratch — but don’t let that intimidate you. I had some pre-cooked chicken and frozen chicken broth in the freezer, so the prep work for this dish was only about 20 minutes — and then I just shoved it in the oven for another 40 minutes. Not bad!
Although I’m definitely a fan of semi-homemade recipes, I’ve never had great luck with semi-homemade chicken lasagnas (the cream of chicken soup and Velveeta cheese just bother me for some reason). None of the semi-homemade recipes I’ve tried in the past came anywhere close to how delicious this Creamy, Cheesy, Chicken Lasagna tasted — and I honestly didn’t spend much extra time in the kitchen (I promise!)
If you’re looking for a fabulous chicken lasagna recipe to make on a cool fall evening, to take to a holiday party, or even just to shove in the freezer for later, this recipe is definitely one I’d suggest!
Recipe for Creamy, Cheesy, Chicken Lasagna
Makes one 9″ x 13″ pan and should easily serve 8-10
SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1 onion; chopped
- 1 t. minced garlic (about one clove)
- 1 7 oz. can mushrooms; chopped
- 1.5 c. milk
- 1/2 c. flour
- 1 t. salt
- 2.5 c. broth or water
- 2 to 3 c. cooked chicken; chopped or shredded
- 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach; defrosted (optional and not pictured above)
- 1 c. Italian style shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
CHEESE INGREDIENTS:
- 2 c. Cottage or Ricotta cheese
- 2 c. Italian style shredded cheese (I used one 8 oz. bag of Italian blend)
- 1 large egg
- 1 t. dried Basil
- 1 t. dried Oregano
- 2 t. dried Parsley
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
- 12 lasagna noodles (I used the “regular” kind, not the oven ready kind)
- 1 c. Italian style shredded cheese for the topping (I mixed mozzarella and parmesan)
DIRECTIONS FOR THE SAUCE:
- In a large, high-rimmed frying pan, melt butter over medium heat
- Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and sauté until onions are tender
- Whisk milk, flour, and salt in a small bowl or measuring cup and add to veggies in pan. Whisk until sauce begins to thicken (this should happen very quickly)
- Add broth (or water) and continue stirring until nice and creamy
- Add in cooked chicken, spinach and 1 c. cheese. Stir until incorporated and set aside
NOTE: this makes an AWESOME pasta sauce — so feel free to serve this over any of your favorite boiled noodles. You can make the sauce ahead and store it in the fridge for a couple days — or even put it in the freezer for later.
DIRECTIONS FOR ASSEMBLING LASAGNA:
- Preheat oven to 350*F
- Boil 12 lasagna noodles until al-dente
- While noodles boil, mix cottage cheese, Italian shredded cheese, egg, and seasonings in a medium bowl and set aside
- To assemble the lasagna, spread a little of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan
- Layer with 4 lasagna noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce
- Repeat layers 3 times, ending with sauce mixture
- Sprinkle remaining 1 c. shredded cheese over the top
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes
I realize that it might seem like there are a lot of steps involved in making this dish — but I promise, it didn’t take long at all (especially if you have the chicken already cooked).
I was so pleased with how this recipe turned out that I will most definitely be making it several times over the course of the winter — but we might have to invite company over unless we want to be eating lasagna leftovers ALL winter long!
Also, I should mention that for the VERY first time, Nora ate meat (besides a hot dog) without gagging and spitting it out. She gobbled up this lasagna before I could even try to pick out the chicken or mushrooms, and kept saying, “more sgetti mommy!”
That, along with Dave’s triple helping, told me this was some GOOD lasagna!
Oh, and for the record, the “regular” lasagna recipe I make (with red sauce and ground beef) is the one on the back of the lasagna noodle box 🙂
Do you have a favorite lasagna or chicken lasagna recipe?
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Faith Deferio says
Do you have a gluten free version of this recipe?
Thank you!
Katie says
We made this tonight and it was a huge hit! I had tried to make it into 3 smaller meals instead of 1 big one, but Nick liked it so much that “meal #2” is now in the oven as well 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Andrea says
yay! thanks for sharing!
I almost always make the full pan, we eat it for leftovers, and then I free a couple “squares” for Dave’s lunches.
Jennifer says
Oh, yum! We tried this tonight and it was delicious. So happy my hubby liked it since I was ambitious and made an extra to freeze without even testing it out. I forgot lasagna noodles at the store–duh!!–but I used whole grain penne.
I boiled the chicken with some stock scraps (I save ends and peels of carrots, celery, onions, garlic, etc.), then cooked the pasta in the broth leftover after removing the chicken, so the chicken and pasta became very flavorful. My hubby informed me that he does not like lasagna noodles, so the penne worked out great.
I think I want more chicken next time, or I need to leave it in bigger chunks, and the hubby wants salt…always adding salt.
Thank you for a great alternative to beef lasagna that can really just seem like a fancy spaghetti bake. Sometimes I crave cheesy chicken and pasta, and I know this dish will satisfy that call any time. I want to raid the leftovers now.
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing Jennifer — so glad your hubby approved!!
Ramsey says
I tried this a few months back and was just revisiting the recipe (from your recipe list post today).
My roommate ADORED this, but personally I found it just a bit too cheesy for my liking. Still, RM absolutely devoured this! It came out perfectly – a nice, super thick sauce, and the greens were delicious. We used baby spinach instead of regular spinach, which we both prefer as it’s less bitter (I can’t stomach regular spinach, cooked or not!) and we tend to buy tons of baby spinach anyway.
I think if I were to remake this I’d downsize the cheese quotient, use a bit more chicken, and maybe try to fit in an extra layer of noodle if possible.
Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Suzi says
I’m new to freezing food but am hoping to stock the freezer a bit before our first baby arrives in February… Would you make this and freeze it prior to baking? And how would you reheat it – defrost first or cook from frozen??? Any help would be great!
Mel says
I just made this today and I noticed the sauce seemed really runny, but I went ahead and made the lasagna and sure enough it boiled over in the oven and I have liquid sitting in my pan. I followed the steps, and I’m wondering where I went wrong! It became really runny after I added the water (obviously)…..do you have any tips for how to thicken it once the water is added?
My house does smell DELICIOUS though, and I think we’ll eat it anyways.
Thank you for all the great recipes (that I can’t seem to follow!).
Andrea says
Hmmm.. that’s interesting. My sauce was SUPER thick and creamy — and I’ve gotten loads of emails and comments from people who have just been making the sauce because they love it so much.
I’m guessing that either you accidentally added too much water (or milk) or your didn’t add enough flour. The flour will instantly thicken the sauce — so it would almost certainly have to be one of those two factors. I actually almost added more than 2.5 c. broth to my sauce because it was so thick… so I’m thinking maybe just make sure you add a full 1/2 c. of flour next time (if you ever make it again!)
Sorry for the troubles 🙂
Jenny says
I’m making it for the first time tonight but saw your comment, and I was wondering if you cooked and stirred the white sauce (butter, onion, garlic, mushrooms, flour and milk) till thick, and then after you added the broth/water, did you cook and stir again for awhile till it bubbled and thickened up again? Maybe that was the problem. Let me know if you make it again.
Danielle H says
Made this for a new momma today so didn’t taste the end product but tasted the sauce. It was so delish! Can’t wait to make it for our family. Thanks for a great recipe!
Elizabeth Post says
This was delicious! My husband and kids-4, 3, and ,17 months loved it! I love all your recepies!
Andrea says
Thanks Elizabeth — glad you found another meal the whole family will eat!
Laura says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. My 2 year old liked it for the most part, too, which is an saying a lot these days 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe!
Michele says
Made this sauce over curly noodles for dinner tonight. Was expecting to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Nope, my kids devoured it!
Thanks for such a simple and delicious recipe. We will be making this again!
Becky says
This sauce is amazing. I had to tweak for what I had ( basil and oregano fresh garlic salt rice noodles) and my girls layered the noodles a little differently but it smells heavenly and we are looking forward to this!
Andrea says
Thanks Becky, I’m honestly thinking of making a double batch of just the sauce and then freezing it in smaller portions for sort of a “Alfredo” sauce on pasta. We LOVE pasta and Nora loved this sauce!!
Kristen says
Yum!! I wonder if I could make a double or triple batch and freeze some before cooking ….
Ree Klein says
I’m drooling…no, really, I’m actually drooling!!! I’m making a chicken pot pie tonight, but you can bet this will be on the table soon. Thanks for helping me get away from my tried and true recipes. It seems like I have only six or seven. Good thing I have an easy-to-please man!
Ree
shelly says
Thank you for sharing this recipe.Going to try it soon! Little Nora sure is growing by leaps and bounds with everything lately it seems. That is a blessing I know for you all and will help when her little brother arrives. 🙂
Nessa says
I make lasagna recipes in two 9X9 pans and freeze one – lining the second pan and popping it out one it is frozen into and putting it in a freezer bag. Then my pan is free but it will pop back in the pan for baking later.
That size is way better for our family to eat dinner and have left overs for lunches. Can’t wait to try a version of this one.
Becky says
I have to try this next time or even loaf size for heavenly repeats on long days!
Debbie says
Can we skip the step of boiling the noodles and just put it in the dish directly to bake? Also, can we substitute whole wheat lasagna noodles?
Karyn says
I don’t know about substituting whole wheat noodles, but I NEVER boil the lasagna noodles before baking. And you don’t have to buy the special “no boil” noodles either. I use the regular ones, and put the lasagna together, and bake. Saves so much time and frustration. (and a pan)
Debbie says
I’ve done lasagna using the whole wheat noodles and it’s delicious. I’m just wondering if it would also work for this recipe. Guess I’ll just have to try.
Krista says
It does work with whole wheat noodles. Just be careful to make sure all the edges have sauce on them. I also always cover my lasagna with foil to start with then uncover after a while, because the whole wheat noodles take longer to cook and I don’t want to burn the cheese on top.
Janice says
This looks like a great recipe and I must try it. When I make lasagna, I never boil the noodles even to al dente stage. I just assemble all of it in layers with noodles right out of the box and refrigerate overnight, then bake before serving. The moisture from the sauce and cheeses softens the noodles perfectly. A friend gave me this tip and I was so glad because I’ve always hated to mess with cooking pasta of any shape or size. I also make spaghetti this way and that’s next on my menu. Really happy for you that Nora is eating more adventurously.
JoAnn C. says
Congrats on Nora eating meat. I can tell how thrilled you are and I am thrilled for you. Thanks for the recipe sounds yummy.
Andrea says
Yes, it was a big accomplishment — and since then, she’s eaten chicken a few more times!! yahoo 🙂
Deni says
That looks delicious! I will definitely try it this week, after I get a few of the ingredients. I too, always use the lasagne recipe on the noodle box.