Chicken Lasagna Recipe

Chicken Lasagna Recipe, a simple easy to put together lasagna made with chicken. This baked lasagna is made with no cook lasagna sheets, meat sauce, creamy white béchamel sauce and mozzarella cheese. This lasagna can be assembled two days in advance, bake at the time of serving for quick weeknight meal just like my red sauce pasta and white sauce pasta. We usually serve a generous slice of lasagna with side salad for a satisfying meal. But you can enjoy it with garlic bread. Learn how to make best chicken lasagna with step by step pictures and video. 

Chicken Lasagna

One of the dish which we make at home at least once a week is this lasagna. We enjoy veggie lasagna but this chicken one definitely is a family favourite. During our monthly grocery shopping, I always stock up on few packets of lasagna noodles. It is easy to put together and taste absolutely delicious. 

Jump to:

• What is Lasagna?
• Watch Chicken Lasagna Video 
• About Chicken Lasagna 
• Meat Sauce for Lasagna Ingredients 
• Bechamel Sauce Ingredients
• Make Chicken Lasagna Tasty (Tips)
• How to Make Chicken Lasagna (Stepwise Pictures)
• Expert Tips
• 📖 Recipe Card

One of the main thing I like about this dish is the convenience. You can assemble the whole dish whenever you have time. Wrap it tightly with foil and pop into the fridge. So you can bake this straight from the fridge whenever you need. We usually serve a generous slice of lasagna with side salad for a satisfying meal. But you can enjoy it with garlic bread. 

What is Lasagna?

Lasagna is a type of pasta which is a popular recipe originated in Italy during the middle age. The words Lasagne or Lasagna originated from the ancient Greece name “Laganon” which is said to be the first form of pasta . Laganon  refers to strips of flat pasta sheets. 

It is made with lasagna sheets, meat sauce, béchamel sauce and mozzarella cheese layered in a deep baking dish and baked till golden and bubbly. Traditionally lasagna sheets are made fresh and boiled in water which is layered with sauce and cheese and baked. But nowadays no cook lasagna sheets are available in the market for ease and convenience. 

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• Vegan Lasagna Sheets
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• Creamy Tomato Pasta
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• Mac & Cheese
• Arrabiatta Pasta

Watch Chicken Lasagna Video 

About Chicken Lasagna 

Lasagna is one of the most popular pasta recipe in and around Italy. Traditional lasagna recipe uses freshly made lasagna pasta, rich meat sauce, ricotta mixture and cheese layered in a baking dish and baked. Ground or mince meat like turkey, lamb or beef is used in the meat sauce. Sauce is slow cooked for many hours to get the rich thick meat sauce. Also modern recipe used béchamel sauce which acts as a glue for the lasagna pasta, but authentic recipe uses ricotta cheese with herbs, egg added as the white layer. 

This recipe uses lasagna pasta, tomato based meat sauce, béchamel sauce and mozzarella cheese which makes for easy meals. If you are looking for a quick week night meal, then this dish is the best choice.  I used no cook lasagna sheets so you don’t need to cook the pasta sheets, hence the whole process is easy and quick. Instead of chicken, you can use any ground meat of choice.  

Lasagna is quite easy to make but it can feed a crowd. All you need is to make some tomato sauce and white sauce and you are good to go. You can make a huge batch of it and make multiple pans of lasagna and freeze it. Directly bake frozen lasagna and enjoy on busy week nights. You can make lasagna sheets on your own too. Here is a recipe for homemade lasagna sheet recipe.

Meat Sauce for Lasagna Ingredients 

Olive Oil - try to use best quality olive oil which makes a whole lot of difference. I like to use extra virgin olive oil which is perfect.

Garlic - Like all pasta dishes, I like to load my chicken sauce with lots of finely chopped garlic. 

Onions - white onion or red onion can be used. Make sure to finely chop onions so it disintegrates in your sauce. 

Carrots & Peppers - chop carrots and bell peppers finely so it melts into the sauce and also it adds sweetness to the dish. 

Chicken - I like to use chicken which is chopped very finely. You can use ground chicken, lamb or meat of choice. Make sure to saute them in the onion mix before adding the tomato puree. Since this is made with chicken, you don’t need to simmer too long. It can be done in few minutes.

Tomatoes - I used tomato pasta and tomato puree in the recipe for the intense tomato flavour which adds taste to the dish. 

Dried Herbs & Seasonings - dried oregano, basil, red chilli flakes, salt and sugar are the basic seasoning for the dish. I like to add lots of chopped parsley in the end for flavour and fresh flavour. 

Perfect Meat Sauce for Lasagna

It is important to make the meat sauce perfect because this is going to flavour the lasagna as well as cook the pasta sheets. I like to taste and adjust seasonings and herbs as per my liking. 

Along with carrots, onions, peppers, you can use use chopped celery. Don’t skimp on garlic, use lots of it. I used chicken breast which I chopped into small pieces so I cooked it for a total of 8 to 10 minutes. Instead of chopped chicken, you can use ground chicken mince, lamb mince or beef.

If you don’t have pureed tomatoes, add crushed canned tomatoes instead. You might need to use extra sugar to balance the taste. This meat sauce can be made and stored in fridge for 3 to 4 days or even in the freezer upto a month. 

Bechamel Sauce Ingredients

Butter - use unsalted or salted butter for making bechamel sauce. Good quality butter imparts flavour to the dish. For lighter version you can swap butter with olive oil.

Plain Flour - all purpose flour is added to butter. some times when I am making white sauce pasta for kids, I like to swap plain flour with wheat flour which imparts nutty aroma.

Milk - full fat milk is added in white sauce. I like to use cold milk when making bechamel sauce which prevents lump in the sauce

Seasonings - salt, white pepper are the main seasoning. white pepper will add peppery taste without changing the colour of sauce.

Ground nutmeg - one of the main flavouring in white sauce which adds nutty and warm note to the sauce.

Optional - herbs like oregano, basil can be used. I like to add garlic in my white sauce which adds aroma to the pasta

WHITE SAUCE FOR PASTA BASIC FORMULA & TIPS

The main ingredient for this pasta is the white sauce. it is also known as bechamel sauce which we use in white sauce pasta. Making bechamel sauce is easy. The measurement for white sauce is 1:1:10 which is 1 part butter, 1 part flour and 10 part milk.

Sometimes when making white sauce, when you pour milk into the flour, the sauce might get lumpy. To avoid this and to get smooth, creamy, lump-free bechamel sauce (white sauce) there are two tips which I follow.

Always turn off the flame when you pour in the milk. Make sure the milk is cold when you pour in the flour mixture which helps to get lump free bechamel sauce.

Make Chicken Lasagna Tasty (Tips)

No Cook Lasagna Sheets - this can be found in super markets or online stores. These are great for making quick meals. No need to cook the sheets before we assemble the lasagna . The liquid from the chicken sauce, Creamy white sauce and cheese is enough to cook the lasagna in the Oven when baking it.
 
Cheese to use - Mozzarella is an Italian traditional cheese used in lasagna. When baking, this cheese gives the melted texture for the meat or spinach we use in lasagna. I like to sprinkle extra cheese on top which melts and broils in the heat of the oven. 

Best Baking pan to use - The best pan for baking lasagna is Glass or Ceramic pan. These pans are slower in heating process than Metal pan. 

Broiled Look - If you notice the cheese doesn’t comes as browned and bubbly, Then turn the oven to broil mode and broil the lasagna for 4 to 5 minutes in the end right before you remove the chicken lasagna from the oven. 

Resting is Important - Allow lasagna to sit for about 30 minutes before you cut into it. This will help you get clean slices. Chicken Lasagna is usually served with fresh veggie salad or garlic bread. 

Making lasagna in 3 Easy steps

Chicken Sauce aka Meat sauce

Heat olive oil in a pan, add onions, garlic and green chillies. Saute this for a minute. Now add in carrots and bell peppers and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add in tomato paste and cook that for 4 to 5 minutes till the flavours deepens. Now add in chicken along with oregano, basil, red chilli flakes, salt and sugar. Now add in marinara sauce and mix well. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add in chopped parsley and mix well.

Bechamel sauce aka white sauce

Heat butter and olive oil in a pan, add flour and use a whisk to mix the flour into the butter. Cook the flour in the butter for 3 to 4minutes till raw smell leaves. now take the sauce pan from the heat, whisk in cold milk slowly so there is no lumps and keep cooking and mixing till it thickens. Now add in salt, white pepper powder, ground nutmeg and mix well. This is your bechamel sauce.

Assembling & Baking

Preheat oven to 220 degree C ( 428 degree F). Take a baking dish, spread meat sauce in the bottom. Place 3 lasagna sheets, Spoon some of the white sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, now place lasagna sheets on top and repeat this two more times. The top layer should be lasagna sheets with white sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish with a layer of parchment paper, followed with aluminium foil and cook for 40 mins in a 220 degree C ( 428 degree F) preheated oven. In the last 5 minutes of baking, remove the foil from the top, set the oven top broil mode and broil for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the baking dish from oven. Allow it to rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Now slice and serve the lasagna.

How to Make Chicken Lasagna (Stepwise Pictures)

Make Meat Sauce

1)Heat olive oil in a pan. Add in finely chopped garlic, onions and green chillies in the oil. Sprinkle some salt over the onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until the onions turn translucent.

2)No need to cook the onions till golden brown. saute the onions till translucent. It will take around 2 to 3 minutes.

3)Now add in finely chopped carrots and bell peppers. You can also add in chopped celery in this mixture.

3)Cook the carrots and capsicum till slightly golden and translucent. The raw smell should be gone.

5)Add in tomato paste. This helps deepen the flavour of the gravy. Tomato paste has an intense flavour which helps the chicken sauce become slightly thick and delicious.

6)Saute the tomato paste in the onion carrot mixture for 3 to 4 minutes until the tomato flavour deepens.

7)Now add in chicken. I used boneless chicken which I cut into small cubes. Instead of boneless chicken, you can use chicken mince.

8)Add in oregano, basil, red chilli flakes, salt and sugar into the chicken and mix well.

9)Now the chicken is well mixed with the spices, onions and herbs.

10)Add in tomato puree or jarred marinara or passata.

11)Mix that really well. You can add some water or chicken stock, if you find the gravy to be too thick.

12)Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Since I am using chicken breast, it will cook faster. If you are using chicken thigh, then it might take more time.

At this point you can taste and adjust the seasoning.

13)Add in coriander leaves or parsley. Mix well. You meat sauce is ready.

Make Bechamel Sauce

14)Heat butter and olive oil in a sauce pan. You can skip the oil, but it helps prevent the butter from burning.

15)Add in plain flour into the melted butter and oil mixture.

16)Whisk the plain flour into the butter. You can use a wooden spoon or a whisk to do this job. Stir fry and cook the flour in the butter till the raw smell leaves.

17)Once the raw smell from the flour leaves, remove the pan from heat. Add in cold milk while whisking constantly. This helps prevent lump forming in the sauce.

18)Now the milk has combined into the sauce. There are no lumps in the sauce as well.

19)Whisk and cook the sauce until it thickens.

20)Dip the spoon into the sauce to check. If you draw a line in the sauce, the line stays. This is the correct texture.

Assembling Lasagna

21)Preheat oven to 220 degree C ( 428 degree F). Take all your prepared dishes for assembling the lasagna. You will need the meat sauce, white sauce, no cook lasagna sheets, mozzarella cheese and a baking dish.

22)take a deep baking dish. I am using a 9x13 ceramic baking dish.

First layer has to be the sauce. Spoon some of the meat sauce in the base of the baking tray.

23)Place the lasagna pasta sheets over the tomato chicken sauce. You can break the lasagna sheets to fit the baking tray.

24)Spoon few ladles of the meat sauce on top of the pasta sheet.

25)Spoon some white sauce or bechamel sauce over the chicken gravy.

26)Sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese over the white sauce.

27)Repeat this step 3 more times. Now this is the top layer of the lasagna. In the top layer, you place few sheets of the no cook pasta sheets, drizzle generous amount of the white sauce.

28)Sprinkle the top with grated mozzarella cheese.

29)Now cover the whole baking dish with parchment paper and aluminium foil to seal the baking dish. Place the dish into a 220 degree C preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.

In the last 5 minutes of baking, remove the foil and set the oven to broil mode and broil the lasagna for 3 to 5 minutes. The top will get golden and bubbly.

30)Remove the lasagna from oven. Allow it to sit for 30 minutes before slicing.

31)Enjoy.

Expert Tips

• Make sure the lasagna sheets you used doesn’t require any cooking. Some brands needs pre cooking, so pick one that doesn’t need pre cooking.
• You can use minced chicken instead of chopped chicken. 
• Instead of puréed tomatoes, you can use passata or marinara sauce. 
• Along with carrots and bell pepper, you can use one chopped celery.
• Any of your favourite seasoning blend like Italian seasoning can be used in the chicken filling. 
• The chicken filling has to be slightly thick and gravy like, because it helps with the cooking of the lasagna sheets. 

Meal Prep Ideas

You can make ahead the chicken sauce and the béchamel sauce in advance and store in fridge upto 3 days. 

Once the lasagna is assembled in the baking dish, you can cover it well and place in fridge upto 2 days. Bake straight from the fridge when needed. 

Serving & Storage

We usually serve a generous slice of lasagna with side salad for a satisfying meal. But you can enjoy it with garlic bread. Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container in fridge upto 3 days. Reheat in microwave or oven before serving. 

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