White Chicken Lasagna
Creamy, hearty and oh sooo comforting! Love a good classic Lasagna but wouldn't mind changing things up a bit? Give this family-friendly white chicken lasagna a go! This recipe is filled with chicken mince, vegetables (mushrooms and zucchini). By the way, you can easily swap chicken mince out with shredded rotisserie chicken. A fantastic way to use up leftover roast chicken!
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Servings: 6 people
Calories: 633kcal
Ingredients
- 250 g / 9 ounces dried lasagna sheets or 375g fresh
- 1½ cup grated cheddar cheese alternatives: mozzarella or parmesan
Chicken and vegetable filling
- 500 g / 1 pound chicken mince or shredded rotisserie chicken (note 1)
- 300 g / 11 ounces button mushrooms sliced
- 3 zucchinis diced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- ⅓ cup heavy cream aka thickened cream
- ½ cup fresh parsley finely sliced
- ⅔ bechamel sauce (below)
Bechamel sauce (white sauce)
- 2 cups milk full cream or reduced-fat
- 60 g / ½ stick unsalted butter
- ½ cup plain flour
- 3 cups chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the chicken and vegetable filling
- In a large non-stick frypan saute mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high heat until golden and nutty. Season with salt and pepper. About 7 minutes. (note 2)
- Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil, onions and garlic, saute for 1 minute then push mushrooms mixture to the rims of the pan. Add chicken mince. Break chicken mince apart with a spatula into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- After about 3 minutes of stir-frying and chicken browned, add zucchini. Cook for a further 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Set the pan aside.
Make the bechamel sauce (white sauce)
- In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium-low heat then add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk until a thick paste is formed. This will happen quickly.
- Pour half of the milk into the saucepan. Whisk well until no lumpy bits then pour in the remaining half of the milk. Increase heat to high. Whisk well until creamy.
- Add chicken stock and bring up to boil. Whisk regularly. This sauce should thicken and once it coats the back of a spoon then the bechamel sauce is ready. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Assemble the chicken lasagna
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- To assemble the white chicken lasagna, use a rectangular oven-safe dish. A standard sized baking dish is ideal to use, at approx. 23x33cm (9x11inch).
- Pour heavy cream, ¾ of bechamel sauce and fresh parsley into the pan of chicken and vegetable filling. Mix well over high heat for 1 minute. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper if required. (note 3)
- Scoop a thin layer of creamy chicken and vegetable filling into the base of the baking dish. Then, lay a single layer of lasagne sheets, breaking up sheets to fill in the gaps.
- Now, evenly spread ⅓ of the remaining filling followed by a second layer of lasagna sheets. Repeat.
- Spread the last ⅓ of filling then evenly pour remaining bechamel sauce.
- Scatter grated cheese all over the bechamel sauce.
- Bake for 30 - 40 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven or until cheese blisters and turns deep golden.
- Allow lasagna to rest for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving for the perfect layers!
Notes
1. Swap chicken mince with rotisserie chicken. Perfect way to use up any leftover roast chicken!
2. Saute mushrooms till golden requires a bit of patience but definitely worth it! The trick and secret to flavour-packed cafe-style nutty, golden sauteed mushrooms is by not stirring it much whilst cooking. First, get the pan and oil nice and hot. Add sliced mushrooms into the pan, spread it out evenly and leave it. Do not stir the mushrooms. Let it sizzle on medium-high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes. You'll find the mushrooms will start to sweat and shrink in size. Check 1 piece by lifting it up with a spatula. If the pan side has turned golden, it's time to turn the mushrooms. Once turned, let it be again, undisturbed until golden then it's safe to stir every 30 seconds or until completely nutty, and size reduced by about half.
3. If chicken and vegetable filling is not thick enough. If, for whatever reason, the filling has turned out a little too runny, add a cornstarch and cold water mixture into the pan and stir over high heat until the sauce thickens. Use a 1:3 cornstarch to cold water ratio.
Use other types of vegetables in filling. Mix things up, there are no rules here. I also like adding some frozen corn kernels or baby spinach leaves.
Use a mix of different mushroom varieties for depth and complexity of flavour. Some suggestions: shiitake, porcini, portabello, wild mushrooms, oyster or brown mushrooms.
Prepare in advance. Simply cover the prepared lasagna (done up to step 13 in the recipe card) well with cling film (plastic). Can be made 1 day in advance before baking.
Fridge/freezer. Lasts 3 to 4 days in the fridge and 2 to 6 months in the freezer. Store in airtight containers. Best freeze a portion per container so you only defrost and reheat what you will consume on the day.
Love a good classic? Also check out my flavour-packed, morish tomato-based beef lasagna!
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!
Nutrition
Calories: 633kcal | Carbohydrates: 37.9g | Protein: 34.1g | Fat: 34.6g | Saturated Fat: 16.6g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Potassium: 1012mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 8.6g | Calcium: 350mg | Iron: 4mg