Veggie Loaded White Chicken Lasagna

A piece of chicken lasagna on a white plate.

Veggie Loaded White Chicken Lasagna

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 55

This Veggie Loaded White Chicken Lasagna recipe is packed with healthy ingredients and layered with the most delicious white sauce.

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Sauce Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk
4 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Other Ingredients:

9 oz No-boil lasagna noodles, (see note 1)
2 cups shredded chicken, (see note 2)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Filling Instructions

Blend: Put all filling ingredients in a food processor. Blend/process until well combined and you've reach your desired consistency. For a chunkier filling, blend for a shorter time. For a smoother filling blend for a longer time.

Sauce Instructions

Prep Veggies: Peel and dice the onion. Peel and mince the garlic.
Cook Onion: Put the butter and onion in a large deep pan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and becomes translucent (about 5 minutes).
Add Garlic: Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute. It will smell divine!
Add Flour: Add the flour to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. The flour will stick to the onion and garlic and appear sticky/pasty.
Add Milk: Switch to a whisk if you aren't using one already. Add the milk about one cup at a time while whisking until all the milk has been added.
Thicken Sauce: Increase the heat to medium/high. The goal is to heat up the sauce just enough to see a little movement with a few bubbles. Continue to whisk every minute or so until the sauce has thickened. This usually takes 5-7 minutes. You will know the sauce is done when you can draw a line through the sauce on the back of a wooden spoon (see note 3).
Add Remaining: Once the sauce has thickened, remove the sauce from the heat. Add the cream cheese, salt, pepper and lemon juice to the sauce. Stir until the cream cheese has melted and well combined.

Assembly Instructions

Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Assemble: Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Then start the layering process! First add a single layer of lasagna noodles. Then spread 1/3 of the filling over the noodles followed by 1/3 of the shredded chicken. Next add 1/4 of the remaining sauce and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering process two more times for a total of three layers. Lastly, top off the lasagna with a final layer of lasagna noodles following by the remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Cook: Cover the lasagna with foil and put it in a 350°F preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and put the lasagna back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes for a total cook time of 55 minutes.

Notes

Note 1 - Lasagna Noodles: No-boil lasagna noodles can be found in the same aisle as normal dried lasagna noodles. Look for packaging that says "no-boil" or "oven-ready". These noodles do not need to be pre-boiled and can be used in the recipe as is. If you do not have no-boil lasagna noodles, normal lasagna noodles will work just fine! Simply cook them according to package instructions prior to using them in Step 2 of Assembly Instructions.

Note 2 - Shredded Chicken: A 1 lb. package of boneless skinless chicken breasts makes about 2 cups of shredded chicken.

Note 3 - Thicken Sauce: Dip a wooden spoon or spatula in the sauce. If you can draw a line down the back of the spoon or spatula with your finger, the sauce has thickened enough. To see exactly how this is done and what it looks like, watch the how-to video about starting at 45 seconds. Reminder, the sauce will become thicker as it cools.

Nutrition

Have you tried this recipe? Let me know what you think! Rate this recipe and leave a comment below.