This is a totally deluxe recipe for Chicken Lasagna. It has layers of tender lasagna noodles, chicken, mozzarella cheese, pesto ricotta, and a garlic béchamel sauce with artichokes and spinach. This is not a 20 minute dinner, lasagna is a labor of love, so plan this recipe when you have a little extra time in your day!
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If you are looking for a traditional red sauce Lasagna, we have that too. As well as a Skillet Lasagna that takes 30 minutes to make!
Ingredient Details
There are 3 main components of putting together a Chicken Lasagna: assembly, spinach artichoke béchamel, and the ricotta mixture. See the details for each one below.
- Assembly – which contains the lasagna noodles, cooked chicken, and shredded mozzarella cheese.
This is a great recipe to use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or Costco! If you already have chicken breasts you want to use I recommend poaching the chicken, or baking it at 350°F for about 20-25 minutes until they reach 165°F internal temp.
Tip for Shredding Chicken
To easily shred WARM chicken (it needs to be warm to do this!), place the chicken breasts in the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment run the mixer for about 20-30 seconds and it shreds the chicken perfectly!
Shredding your own mozzarella cheese is the best way to ensure you have creamy melted cheese in your lasagna. It is my LEAST favorite kitchen task, but I still do it because it makes such a huge difference over buying pre-shredded cheese.
- Spinach Artichoke Béchamel Sauce – which is a flavorful creamy white sauce. It contains butter, olive oil, flour, milk, onion, garlic, seasonings, thawed spinach, and chopped artichokes.
Thaw your frozen chopped spinach in the fridge overnight, or in the microwave. Make sure you squeeze all of the water from the spinach. You can do this by twisting it up really tight in a clean kitchen towel, or the method I use is placing it in a mine mesh colander and pressing it very hard.
- Pesto Ricotta – which contains a whole milk ricotta, pesto, egg, parmesan cheese, and garlic.
You can use homemade pesto, which will be the most flavorful. The second option is to use a store bought refrigerated pesto. If you buy a shelf stable pesto, look at the ingredients and make sure basil is one of the first two ingredients.
How To Make Chicken Lasagna
Below are the general steps required to make an amazing Chicken Lasagna, including pictures to accompany the steps. For more detailed descriptions and measurements pop down to the recipe card.
Step 1
Boil the lasagna noodles in salted water. Drain.
Step 2
Lay the noodles on a rimmed baking sheet coated with non-stick spray until you are ready to use them.
Step 3
Mix the Pesto Ricotta ingredients together and set aside.
Step 4
On the stove top sauté the onions in the oil. Add the butter and flour, making a roux. Whisk the milk into the roux, ensuring there are no lumps. Add the heavy cream, seasonings, thawed and drained spinach and the chopped artichokes.
Step 5
Time to assemble! Layer the lasagna in a deep 9×13 pan. (a video showing the exact layering process is in the recipe card below)
Step 6
Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes. Broil for 3-5 minutes to brown the top.
Step 7
Let cool for 15-20 minutes to set up and then cut into squares to serve.
Layering Video
Watch the video in the recipe card below to see exactly how to layer the Chicken Lasagna so all the layers cook perfectly. Here is an overview:
How To Layer Chicken Lasagna
- 1 ½ cups béchamel sauce
- 3-4 lasagna noodles
- ½ the ricotta mixture
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- ⅓ of the béchamel sauce
- 3-4 lasagna noodles
- ½ the ricotta mixture
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- ⅓ of the béchamel sauce
- 3-4 lasagna noodles
- remaining béchamel sauce
- remaining shredded cheese
What To Serve with Chicken Lasagna
Chicken Lasagna makes a wonderful Italian dinner, so pair it with some traditional Italian side dishes! A salad and garlic bread makes a great duo. I would recommend serving a vinaigrette on the salad over a Caesar salad, because the lasagna is already so creamy.
How To Make Ahead
This White Chicken Lasagna can definitely be assembled a day ahead and baked the next day for dinner. Although I wouldn’t recommend freezing this lasagna because of the cream content.
If you are baking straight from the fridge, bake covered for 1 hour at 375°F, then remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes. Finally broil for 3-5 minutes to brown the top.
Recipe Tips To Remember
- Make sure to squeeze all the water from the spinach. I like to use a fine mesh colander and press it firmly.
- Spray non stick spray on a rimmed baking sheet and lay the cooked lasagna noodles out to cool. This prevents the noodle from sticking together while you assemble the other ingredients.
- Use a deep dish 9×13 casserole pan so the lasagna will fit!
- Place the lasagna pan on a rimmed baking sheet so if the lasagna boils over you avoid a mess in the oven.
- Spray the underside of the foil before placing it on the lasagna, it will help prevent the cheese from baking to the foil.
- Let the lasagna cool for 15-20 minutes so it sets up before you cut it.
More Lasagna Recipes To Love
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Deluxe Chicken Lasagna Recipe
Equipment
- Deep dish 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
Assembly
- 9-10 lasagna noodles - cooked until al dente
- 4 cups cooked chicken - shredded
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese - shredded
Spinach Artichoke Bechemel Sauce
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 1 onion - finely diced
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach - thawed and all liquid squeezed out of it
- 14 oz artichoke hearts in water - drained, chopped
Ricotta Mixture
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta
- ¼ cup pesto
- ½ cup parmesan cheese - grated
- 1 large garlic clove - minced
- 1 large egg
- ¾ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 375℉, and grab a deep dish 9×13 baking pan.
- Thaw the frozen chopped spinach in the microwave and then press/squeeze out all the liquid. Set aside.To remove the liquid you can – twist in a clean kitchen towel or place the thawed spinach in a fine mesh colander and press firmly until it is dry.
Lasagna Noodles
- Boil lasagna noodles to al dente in salted water according to the package instructions (about 8 minutes).9-10 lasagna noodles
- Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Drain the noodles and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet to cool.
Ricotta Mixture
- While the noodles boil you can make the ricotta mixture.
- Combine all of the ricotta ingredients in a medium sized bowl and stir to combine. Set aside15 oz whole milk ricotta, ¼ cup pesto, ½ cup parmesan cheese, 1 large garlic clove, 1 large egg, ¾ tsp. kosher salt, ¼ tsp. pepper
Béchamel Sauce
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and sauté the onion until softened.1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 onion
- Add the butter, once it is melted sprinkle the flour over and whisk/stir until combined + 2 minutes.4 Tbsp. butter, ⅓ cup flour
- Whisk in the whole milk to the flour mixture and whisk vigorously to prevent lumps from forming.2 ½ cups whole milk
- Add in the 1 cup heavy cream and continue to whisk and cook until the mixture thickens – another 2-3 minutes.1 cup heavy cream
- Stir in the minced garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, spinach and the chopped artichoke hearts. Remove from the heat.3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp. onion powder, 2 tsp. kosher salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, 14 oz artichoke hearts in water
Assembly – Layering
- To assemble the lasagna, add approximately 1 ½ cups bechamel sauce to the bottom of a deep dish 9×13 casserole dish.
- Layer 3 noodles, ½ the ricotta mixture, 2 cups chicken, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, then ⅓ of the bechamel sauce.
- Repeat the process 3 noodles, ½ ricotta mixture, 2 cups chicken, 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Finally, top with 3 more noodles, remaining bechamel sauce and remaining cheese.
Baking
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake on the center rack for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes.Tip: spray the under side of the foil with non-stick spray to prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil.
- Finally, to brown the top, broil for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes uncovered before serving.
Serving
- Cut the lasagna into 8-12 squares and serve with a salad dressed with vinaigrette and garlic bread.
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Recipe Tips and Notes:
MAKE AHEAD – To make this Chicken Lasagna a day ahead and cook the next day, assemble completely, cover with foil and pop in the fridge overnight. The next day remove from the fridge and bake at 375°F for 1 hour, then remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes. Finally broil for 3-5 minutes to brown the top. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this lasagna because of the cream and milk content. If you are looking for a freezer meal prep lasagna, pop over to this Classic Lasagna Recipe.
RECIPE TIPS TO REMEMBER:
- Make sure to squeeze all the water from the spinach. I like to use a fine mesh colander and press it firmly.
- Spray non stick spray on a rimmed baking sheet and lay the cooked lasagna noodles out to cool. This prevents the noodle from sticking together while you assemble the other ingredients.
- Use a deep dish 9×13 casserole pan so the lasagna will fit!
- Place the lasagna pan on a rimmed baking sheet so if the lasagna boils over you avoid a mess in the oven.
- Spray the underside of the foil before placing it on the lasagna, it will help prevent the cheese from baking to the foil.
- Let the lasagna cool for 15-20 minutes so it sets up before you cut it.
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