If you’re looking for a delicious twist on this beloved baked pasta dish, you’re in luck.
Like most of us, we simply love lasagna, including our classic bolognese lasagna, but we can honestly say this chicken and spinach version has moved right up to the top of the list of our all-time favorites. And what makes it even better is how easy it is to prepare!
How To Make Chicken Lasagna
It is truly amazing how delicious this lasagna is, especially when you consider how easy it is to assemble.
Make it easy on yourself and go with a rotisserie chicken. You can often find roasted chicken that has already been shredded and packaged in the prepared food section of many well-stocked supermarkets.
No-boil noodles are a great option, too!
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How To Make a Béchamel Sauce with Spinach
Béchamel is one of the French five mother sauces and is what gives this lasagna the creamy, luscious taste and texture.
It’s so easy to make. You’ll need to create a roux first which is simply cooking equal amounts of flour with melted butter.
EXPERT TIP: We love using fresh spinach for this dish. We don’t recommend using baby spinach, it’s best used in salads. Simply trim away the stems of the fresh spinach and then drop it into the sauce. In a pinch, you could go with thawed (and squeezed dry) frozen spinach.
What Other Ingredients Can I Use
Chicken lasagna is the basis for so many options with ingredients.
In addition to fresh spinach, you could also try any of the following:
Vegetables
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Steamed broccoli
- Steamed or roasted cauliflower
- Roasted butternut squash
- Sautéed zucchini and/or yellow squash
Other protein options
- Cooked Italian sausage, sliced
- Ground turkey, simmered with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings
- Ground pork, simmered with salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings
- Uncooked seafood such as cleaned shrimp, scallops, lobster, oysters, or a combination of them all.
Go with veggies only for a spectacular vegetarian lasagna!
To add even more creaminess to this lasagna, we mix together fresh whole-milk ricotta with freshly chopped parsley, an egg, and freshly grated parmesan. This pairs perfectly with the béchamel, chicken, noodles, and spinach.
How To Layer Lasagna
A common mistake home cooks make when assembling a lasagna is to add too much of any given layer at first, and then not have enough to evenly finish off the dish.
We recommend using a spoon or spatula to spread thin layers of the ricotta as well as the béchamel sauce. It may seem like there’s not enough, but the thin layers work perfectly with the noodles and chicken.
Here is the order that we recommend:
- A thin layer of spinach béchamel
- Noodles
- ¼ of the ricotta mixture
- ⅓ of the chicken
- ¼ of the shredded mozzarella
- A thin layer of grated Parmesan cheese
- Repeat this two more times
- Add another layer of noodles
- Top with the rest of the ricotta mixture and then the rest of the mozzarella
- Add one more thin layer of grated Parmesan
Can I Make Chicken Lasagna in Advance?
Besides the great taste and ease of preparation, this phenomenal dish can absolutely be made in advance.
You can assemble the lasagna up to 24 hours in advance of baking, or you can assemble it and freeze it for up to 2 months.
EXPERT TIP: This lasagne is even amazingly delicious when reheated. Simply cover with foil and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes in a 350°F oven until bubbly.
How To Serve
We can assure you that this dish will be an instant hit with the family. The kids may be unsure of the spinach, but we are amazed at how quickly even the pickiest of eaters get past that and devour every bite.
It’s perfect to serve to guests for a wonderful dinner party, shower, or potluck dinner.
Serve it with homemade Caesar salad and garlic bread for one of the most amazing Italian dinners you’ll ever serve or eat!
We just can’t rave about the lasagna enough.
If you prefer, make it easy on yourself and go with a nice rotisserie chicken, no-boil noodles, and if you’re really crunched for time, frozen spinach.
The layers and layers of yumminess will keep your loved ones coming back for seconds time and time again.
Ready to make a dish that will become an instant family favorite? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
White Chicken Lasagna with Spinach
Equipment
- 1 lasagna dish, or 9"x13" dish
Ingredients
For the Béchamel Sauce with Spinach
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups spinach fresh
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese grated
For the Ricotta Mixture
- 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese whole milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
For Assembling the Lasagna
- 4 cups chicken cooked, shredded
- 13 lasagna noodles cooked, or use no-boil (may need more than 13)
- 2 cups mozzarella whole milk, shredded, plus a little extra for additional topping
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tbsp parsley fresh, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare the Béchamel and Cook the Noodles
- Get a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion, and sauté until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring often.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, and then chicken broth. Whisk to remove any clumps. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and then stir in the Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- During this process, add the noodles to the boiling water. Drain and spray with cool tap water.
Prepare the Ricotta Mixture
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, parsley, egg, and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a lasagna pan, or a large (9x13" dish, or larger) dish, start with a thin layer of the spinach béchamel (¼ of the sauce). Next, add a layer of noodles. Then, ¼ of the ricotta mixture. Then ⅓ of the chicken, then ¼ of the mozzarella, and a liberal sprinkling of grated Parmesan.
- Repeat this process two more times. Add one more layer of noodles and then the rest of the ricotta and then mozzarella. Finish off with one final liberal sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake the lasagna for 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve at once.
Delicious! I canโt believe how easy and delicious it is โค๏ธ
Hi Cecili!! Woo hoo! We are so so happy you made the white chicken lasagna and had such great success! Yay! And thank you so much for sharing and for the wonderful review. That means a lot to us! Please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Tellement bonne cette lasagne! Tout le monde demande la recette ! Merci Messieurs!
Fantastique!!! Merci beaucoup!!!
This was so good. Adding sauteed mushrooms to the sauce just took it to the next level. I also used romano instead of parmesan and added spinach very liberally. Delicious!
Hi Tris! Sautรฉed mushrooms are an amazing addition! We are so so happy you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for sharing and for the wonderful review. That means the world to us!! Please stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Looks great but your recipe does not say anything about the ricotta cheese mixture during layering. Am I missing it?
Hi Tami! So so sorry for the delayed response! And THANK YOU SO MUCH regarding when to add the ricotta layers! There should be a thin layer spread over each layer of noodles. This would mean a quarter on the first layer of noodles, and then repeated 3 more times. We’ve updated the recipe to reflect this! We hope you make the lasagna and if you do, please let us know what you think! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Thank you! We retired to Ecuador 12 years ago…you can get white lasagna here…kind of. There are lots of recipes out there and I haven’t found the one I want yet but this looks like the one I have been looking for. I will let you know, thank you again…I kind of stumbled upon your site…Phil B
Hi Phil! Congrats on retirement and we hope you are loving and soaking in Ecuador! So glad you found our site and please keep us posted as you make dishes! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Love you guys! Another great recipe. My biggest mistake was not following the listed steps for assembling. I was reading further down and ricotta was omitted on the first layer. Got all done and spotted my error. Oh well, snuck some in and baked it. The flavors are wonderful!
Hi Kathleen! That’s totally understandable! The layering can be a little tricky, but it’s all going to the same place so no doubt you made it perfectly! We are so happy you enjoyed the lasagna! That is one of our all-time favorites! Thanks so much for sharing! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Warning: This dish is REALLY delicious! Holy-rich-goodness-delicious.
We have a lot of vegetarian friends and plan to adapt it by substituting more spinach in place of chicken and using vegetable broth in the bechamel.
Wonderful!!! The vegetarian version sounds heavenly! Thank you so much for sharing and for the GREAT review. That means the world to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Lasagna is one of our most favorite dishes of all time. And this white chicken with spinach is quickly becoming one of our most favorite lasagna dishes of all time. It’s really that good!!!