In my house, lasagna is the perfect meal for any occasion. It’s easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner but impressive enough to serve to party guests. Lately, I’ve been playing around with recipes and trying more creative versions of lasagna and came up with this Garlic Chicken Parmesan Lasagna. A homemade white sauce in lieu of classic red sauce makes this recipe special, but that doesn’t mean it’s more difficult to make! (In fact, it can be assembled ahead of time and baked in the oven the next day, if you’re pressed for time.)
First, heat the oven to 375°F and grease a 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Gather your ingredients.
Prepare the sauce first. To do this, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the garlic, cooking a couple of minutes or until the garlic is fragrant. Whisk the flour in and cook for another minute. Next, add the stock and milk, one cup at a time, whisking and cooking after each addition until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Italian seasoning. Pour one cup of the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.
Top with three of the lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the chicken and 1/3 of the spinach.
In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and egg. Spoon 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of the chicken and spinach, followed by three more lasagna noodles. Repeat this layering process two more times, starting with one cup of the milk mixture, the chicken, spinach and ricotta mixture followed by the lasagna noodles until all the ingredients are used. Finish with the last three lasagna noodles and the remaining milk mixture. Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese.
Pour 3/4 cup water on top of the lasagna (this will help cook the noodles but won’t make the lasagna watery!) and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Then, remove the foil and top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes more. Cool slightly before cutting into pieces and serving.
Ingredients
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Sauce
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1/2cup unsalted butter
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2cloves garlic, finely chopped
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1/2cup all-purpose flour
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2cups whole milk
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2cups Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
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1tablespoon Italian seasoning
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Lasagna
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12no-boil lasagna noodles
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2cups shredded deli rotisserie chicken
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3cups baby spinach leaves
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1container (15 oz) whole milk ricotta cheese
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1egg, beaten
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1cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
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3/4cup water
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3tablespoons Progresso™ Italian-style bread crumbs
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1/2cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions
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1Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
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2In 4-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until garlic is fragrant. Slowly beat in flour with whisk; cook about 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in milk and broth, 1 cup at a time, beating until thickened after each addition. Remove from heat. Beat in Italian seasoning.
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3Pour 1 cup of the milk mixture into baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Sprinkle one-third of the chicken and 1 cup of the spinach on top. In small bowl, stir together ricotta and egg. Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture on top of chicken and spinach.
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4Place 3 lasagna noodles on top of the ricotta, followed by 1 cup of the milk mixture, one-third of the chicken, 1 cup of the spinach and one-third of the ricotta mixture.
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5Repeat with another layer of 3 lasagna noodles, 1 cup milk mixture, remaining chicken and spinach and remaining ricotta. Finish with last 3 lasagna noodles and remaining milk mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Pour the water on top of lasagna; cover pan with foil.
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6Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until topping is bubbly and golden brown. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.
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