White Chicken Lasagna with Pesto
White Chicken Lasagna with Pesto – The perfect spin on the classic lasagna recipe. Creamy, cheesy and absolutely delicious. The whole family will love this easy chicken lasagna!
We love recipes that you can throw together and bake in the oven. This chicken lasagna is a family favorite, along with cheesy baked ziti, baked ravioli and Mexican chicken casserole.
MY OTHER RECIPES
By The Food Charlatan for I Heart Naptime.
Chicken Lasagna
I threw this chicken lasagna recipe together one day, and I mean that literally. You can honestly ignore all of my specific instructions below about when to put in the spinach and when to add the cheese. Just throw it all in…the chicken lasagna will taste the same in the end. :) Lasagna is one of those meals that you just can’t mess up!
This easy chicken lasagna is full of pesto, chicken and spinach (that you can’t taste–let’s be real) and a lightened up white sauce. It’s cheesy, creamy and absolutely delicious. My whole family loved this chicken pesto lasagna and it will definitely be made on repeat. You can’t beat a meal where you literally just throw everything together and bake it!
Frequently asked questions about white chicken lasagna
How long do you cook a lasagna at 350 degrees? I cook my white chicken lasagna for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees F. After baking, I like to broil the chicken pesto lasagna for a few minutes, until the cheese looks a little brown and bubbly.
Do you have to cover lasagna when baking? For this chicken lasagna recipe, I did cover it with foil while baking. Covering the white chicken lasagna helps it to stay moist. If you don’t cover it, your lasagna will turn out dry.
Why is my lasagna soupy? If using lasagna noodles that need to be boiled, you probably included too much sauce when layering. Or you didn’t dry off the noodles well enough. I don’t typically see soupy lasagna with no-boil lasagna noodles, as these usually need lots of sauce included so that the noodles soak up moisture to cook through during baking.
How do I reheat lasagna? You can reheat your white chicken lasagna in the microwave or oven, however I prefer the oven the best. I typically will reheat in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. I like to add a dash of water to ensure my chicken lasagna doesn’t dry out.
White Chicken Lasagna with Pesto
White Chicken Lasagna with Pesto - The perfect spin on the classic lasagna recipe. Creamy, cheesy and absolutely delicious. The whole family will love this easy chicken lasagna!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 and 2/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 cup cooked chicken chopped (rotisserie is best)
- 1 15- ounce container ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup basil pesto homemade or store-bought
- 1 egg
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 2-3 cups fresh spinach
- 3-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 cup onions and saute 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft.
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Add 2-3 cloves of garlic and saute one more minute.
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In a small bowl combine the basil, salt, pepper, and flour. Add to the onion mixture and whisk together until all the oil is absorbed.
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In a large glass measuring cup, add milk, Greek yogurt, and chicken broth. Stir to combine.
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Gradually add the liquid to the pan, whisking constantly. Go as slow as you need to make sure the liquid gets absorbed.
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Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is thickened slightly. Add the chicken and turn off the heat.
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In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pesto, and 1 egg.
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To assemble: wet the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish with some of the white sauce. Just enough so the noodle don’t stick.
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Layer 3 no-boil lasagna noodles on top. Spread with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Top with a handful of fresh spinach. Add 1/3 of the white sauce and spread to the edges. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.
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Repeat twice more. Noodles, ricotta, spinach, white sauce, cheese.
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Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese.
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Spray a sheet of foil with nonstick spray and cover the lasagna.
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Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes, or until cooked and tender.
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Remove the foil and turn up the oven temperature to broil. Broil until golden brown and bubbly, 1 to 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it! Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
I’ve never done a chicken lasagna and I love pesto – so this sounds like a perfect dinner recipe. And, your writing style is fab! I feel like I’m in your kitchen with you in the midst of the flour… :)
Oh my heck, I am putting this on my menu immediately! I have always been a failure at making traditional lasagna, so I am afraid to even try any more. But I am going to try with this, because I love pesto and I just don’t see how this could be bad!
would love to know the calorie count
Thanks for the recipe, definitely trying-and wow, have all the ingredients!
Sounds delicous.
Hope you enjoy it Judy! :)
i would love to have the recipe for your corn and poblano casserole.
Just made this and loved it! Definitely adding it to my “Recipe Winners” board on Pinterest!
The lasagna looks delicious!
This looks fantastic! Can you assemble this ahead (in the morning) and put it in the oven at dinner time? Wasn’t sure with the white sauce if it works like traditional lasagna! Thanks!
Can you freeze this?
I haven’t tried, Shelly, but I think it would be perfectly fine! Assemble, freeze, and bake on a busy day when you’re ready. :)
This was delicious!!!!! I’ve had this pinned on Pinterest for a few weeks now. I had several all of the ingredients on hand so I gave it a shot. I loved it and will make this again! Delicious!
I love lasagna but have never made it like this before – what an incredible twist!
This looks so easy and delicious! I might have to make this tonight!
I love this twist of flavors on a comfort food classic! Great way for us to change up our chicken routine.
Wow this looks so delicious! I wonder if it would be okay to leave the chicken out?
Our family are huge fans of lasagna! This recipe looks incredible!
-Liz
Savoring the end of basil season right now. I have one plant left and I’m going to make this most of it with this recipe! Thanks!