This Chicken Lasagna with Spinach is layered with juicy chicken, green spinach, a rich and creamy white sauce, and a gooey three cheese blend of Parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella. It's truly comfort food at its finest!
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Why this recipe works
This chicken lasagna with spinach is a delicious, comforting dish that makes a perfect elegant meal for guests or a cozy family meal. Chicken and spinach lasagna may look like a daunting recipe, but the extra effort that goes into this lasagna recipe is worth every ounce of love put into it.
Plus, since we use a bechamel sauce, you can easily make a large batch and freeze the extras, but if your house is anything like mine there will not be any leftovers!
Ingredient Notes for Chicken Lasagna with Spinach
For this chicken lasagna recipe I use a garlic parmesan cream sauce that is similar in flavor to an alfredo sauce. But, since it's thickened with a roux, it will not break as easily as alfredo does. If you prefer to make a chicken alfredo lasagna you can substitute my easy alfredo sauce recipe for the cream sauce. You'll also need:
- Cooked Chicken - Shredded chicken works best for this recipe. You can make your own or a rotisserie chicken works great too.
- Spinach - I used frozen spinach but you can absolutely use fresh spinach (about 6-8 cups) in its place. When using frozen spinach, thaw it and make sure to drain it well by using a dish towel and wringing out as much water as possible. Nobody wants a runny lasagna!
- Cheese, Cheese, Cheese - You can’t have lasagna without tons of ooey, gooey cheese, right?! For this White lasagna with chicken and spinach, I used a 3 cheese blend made of ricotta, parmesan and a block of low-moisture mozzarella for the perfect mixture.
- Lasagna Noodles - I used packaged lasagna noodles in this recipe, but homemade lasagna noodles will make it even more delicious. You can make them using my fresh pasta recipe.
How to prepare the lasagna
- Start by cooking the lasagna noodles according to the package directions and set aside.
- While the noodles cook, start the béchamel sauce by heating a Tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan to cook the onion until it’s softened. Then add garlic and cook for 30-45 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the butter and let it melt, then add the flour. Whisk constantly until the mixture turns a light golden brown. Don’t let it get too brown or you won’t end up with a white sauce!
- Add cream and chicken broth to the pan and whisk for 1 minute. Now add salt and pepper and bring it to a low simmer. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and add ¼ cup of parmesan cheese and parsley then stir to combine.
- For the filling mixture, in a separate bowl stir together the ricotta, ½ cup of parmesan, eggs, salt and pepper until well combined. Then stir in chicken and spinach.
How to assemble Chicken Spinach Lasagna
Now to make your lasagna layers. Here’s the simple step by step instructions:
- Add ½ cup of the cream sauce to a baking dish and spread it evenly over the bottom of your dish.
- Add 3 lasagna noodles side by side, lengthwise in the dish.
- Top the noodles with about ⅓ of the chicken and spinach filling mixture.
- Sprinkle a ¼ of the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese and then add a ½ cup of the bechamel sauce and spread evenly over top.
- Repeat the layers- noodles, chicken with spinach mixture, sauce, and cheese two more times. You should have 3 hearty layers. Put the remaining 3 noodles on, the last of the sauce and the last of the mozzarella and parmesan.
Cooking your lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover the dish with foil and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese and sauce start to bubble and the top is browned.
- Remove chicken lasagna with spinach from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. This allows the lasagna to set so you get nice thick layers without the filling oozing out.
What To Serve With Chicken Lasagna
This lasagna recipe puts a twist on classic homemade lasagna when you are looking for something different than your traditional lasagna with red sauce. Pair it with a simple, nutritious kale salad and you’ll have a well rounded meal.
Chicken and spinach lasagna is an easy way to get an extra serving of leafy greens in your family's diet. And if you’re looking for a tasty side dish idea, serve a side of roasted veggies drizzled with homemade pesto with your homemade white chicken lasagna.
Recipe Variations
While this chicken lasagna with spinach recipe is incredibly delicious just as it is, sometimes it’s fun to try other variations to a recipe. Here are some of my favorite ideas to give a try.
- Vegetarian: Make a Vegetarian White Lasagna by swapping the chicken broth out for vegetable broth. And, omit chicken and use other options, like mushrooms or artichokes instead.
- More Veggies: Make veggies the star by creating a fantastic Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna (for another mushroom pasta try my Creamy Mushroom Pasta). Or add chopped artichoke hearts for a Spinach Artichoke Lasagna (just think spinach artichoke dip in lasagna form).
- Miss the Tomatoes?: Love the idea of a cream sauce but want a bit of tomato too? Add in sundried tomatoes to your lasagna for a Tuscan chicken lasagna.
- Swap the white sauce: This Chicken Lasagna and Spinach recipe has a creamy garlic parmesan sauce that is similar in flavor to an alfredo sauce. But, since it's thickened with a roux, it will not break as easily as alfredo does. If you prefer to make a chicken alfredo lasagna you can substitute my easy alfredo sauce recipe for the cream sauce.
Chicken Lasagna Tips and FAQs
Cover leftovers in the baking dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or transfer to an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze any cooked lasagna leftovers as well. Transfer the leftovers in a freezer safe container, or a foil pan and cover. Freeze for up to 3 months.
How to reheat frozen, uncooked lasagna: Let the chicken lasagna with spinach thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then bake the lasagna according to the normal baking instructions, adding around 10 minutes to the cook time.
How to reheat frozen, cooked lasagna: Let the white lasagna with chicken and Spinach thaw overnight in the fridge. Cover it with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F until heated through.
You can also reheat lasagna directly from frozen, but this will take around 30 minutes longer. I recommend using a foil pan if you want to reheat from frozen.
How to reheat refrigerated lasagna: Cover and reheat lasagna in a 350°F oven until warmed through. Or reheat smaller portions in the microwave in 30 second intervals until warm.
You can also freeze this lasagna assembled and uncooked, or pre-cooked. This is a perfect meal prep lasagna recipe. Feel free to double the recipe and make an extra pan of this delicious chicken and spinach lasagna to freeze for later.
Serving lasagna is a great option when hosting guests for dinner and this spinach chicken lasagna recipe is perfect for a make ahead lasagna.
Using a white sauce thickened with a roux helps the sauce hold together. You can make it all the way through the assembly then cover and refrigerate for 1 day.
When you are ready to cook it, remove the dish from the refrigerator for around 30 minutes prior to cooking to take the chill off. Then bake as directed, but add about 10 minutes longer to the covered cooking time.
No one wants to cut into their lasagna and have the filling run out all over the plate. One of the keys to preventing this is allowing the lasagna to rest after cooking. This allows the cheese and filling time to cool and firm, keeping your layers in tact.
Another key to preventing a runny lasagna is getting as much water out of the spinach as possible. So be sure to thoroughly drain the spinach.
More tasty pasta recipes to try!
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Homemade Fresh Pasta
- Alfredo Sauce
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
- Oven Baked Mac and Cheese
📖 Recipe
Chicken Lasagna with Spinach
Equipment
Ingredients
For the white sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, or 2 tsp dried
For the Lasagna:
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 1 32 oz container ricotta cheese
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Cook lasagna noodles to al dente according to package instructions.
Prepare the white sauce
- While the noodles cook, heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30-45 seconds, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
- Melt butter in the pan, then add flour and whisk constantly for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden brown. Don't let it get too brown or the finished sauce will be brown.
- Add chicken broth and cream and whisk constantly for a minute or so, then add salt and pepper and bring to a low simmer. Whisk occasionally for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add ½ cup of parmesan and chopped parsley, then stir to combine.
Prepare the chicken filling
- In a separate bowl mix together the ricotta, ¼ cup parmesan, eggs, salt, and pepper. Then stir in the spinach and chicken.
Assemble and cook
- Spread ½ cup of sauce in the bottom of your baking dish. Add 3 lasagna noodles length wise in the dish, side by side.
- Spread ⅓ of the chicken spinach mixture over noodles, then top ½ cup of the sauce. Top with ¼ of the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Repeat with two more layers of noodles, chicken mixture, cheese, and sauce. for final layer add noodles, sauce, and cheese.
- Cover with foil and place in oven for around 25 minutes, then remove foil and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes until bubbly and browned on top.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
Dar
Very good. Made a few variations - added mushrooms and a bell pepper; used cottage and mozerella cheeses. Will make again and work to get it thicker next time.
Marion Mulcahy
What happens if I forgot to mix mozzarella into my ricotta mixture before I baked it.
Scott
Shouldn't be a problem. You still have the cheese layer on top of the ricotta layer to give it that melty cheese in between the noodles.