Creamy Hen Lasagna | Cookies and Cups

This Creamy Hen Lasagna recipe is brimming with layers of juicy hen, tender noodles, and velvety selfmade white sauce with loads of gooey, melty cheese. It’s the final word consolation meals that’s make-ahead pleasant!

Tacky White Hen Lasagna Recipe

Except for desserts, when you ask me what considered one of our favourite consolation meals is on this home, it must be selfmade lasagna. We make it so typically, I even discovered a shortcut within the type of quick, straightforward Prompt Pot Lasagna.

This creamy white hen lasagna recipe is oven-baked the great old style method. It’s comprised of layers of essentially the most irresistibly creamy white sauce, tender hen, and a mix of melty cheese and spinach, stacked between lasagna noodles. It bakes up deliciously golden in underneath an hour, and it’s value each minute! 

Make this white lasagna forward and freeze it, or maintain it within the fridge for simple lunches all week lengthy. The tacky flavors are wealthy, comforting, and excellent for any time of the yr.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This creamy hen lasagna is a enjoyable twist on conventional lasagna that’s simply as comforting. Right here’s why we find it irresistible:

• Burn up leftover hen. You probably have a rotisserie hen readily available, or hen breasts from final night time’s dinner kicking across the fridge, this lasagna is a superb method to make use of it. The remainder of the components are easy, too, so there’s a great likelihood they’re already within the pantry!
• Filled with taste. This lasagna is actually layer upon layer of hearty taste. It has juicy hen, seasoned cheese filling, plus a wealthy, buttery white sauce in between layers of tender noodles beneath golden, melty cheese. 
• Make-ahead pleasant. This hen lasagna is simple to make forward and stow away for last-minute freezer meals. 

Components You’ll Want

Beneath is a brief overview of the components you’ll must make your hen lasagna. You should definitely scroll to the recipe card under the publish for the total ingredient particulars and quantities.

• Lasagna Noodles: You’ll want 16 lasagna pasta sheets in complete. 
• Hen: This recipe is a good way to make use of up leftover cooked Hen Breast. Alternatively, you should buy a ready-cooked rotisserie hen, or make shredded hen at dwelling.
• Spinach: I like together with chopped contemporary spinach in my lasagna, for additional diet and a pop of inexperienced.
• Cheese: This lasagna recipe combines ricotta and mozzarella for the cheese filling. Put aside further mozzarella for sprinkling over prime of the ultimate layer.
• Egg: Including an egg to the filling layer helps to bind the components, for extra secure slices.
• Seasonings: I combine Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into the cheese for much more taste.

For the Cream Sauce

• Butter: As a result of each good cream sauce begins with butter.
• Shallot and Garlic: You too can use finely diced white or yellow onion rather than shallots, together with garlic for aromatics. 
• Flour: You’ll stir a little bit of all-purpose flour into the butter for a roux, which acts as the bottom and thickener for the sauce.
• Hen Broth: Use low-sodium hen broth or Do-it-yourself Hen Inventory. 
• Half and Half: Or heavy cream, so as to add richness to the white sauce.
• Cream Cheese: I like to recommend utilizing the kind of cream cheese that is available in blocks, delivered to room temperature earlier than you begin. Reduce it into cubes in order that melts simply into the opposite sauce components.
• Parmesan: No white sauce is full with out parmesan cheese. Freshly grated is finest, however the common pre-grated form is ok, too.
• Salt and Pepper

The right way to Make Hen Lasagna

Whereas the oven preheats to 375ºF, flippantly spritz a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray. You’ll begin with some fast prep:

• Cook dinner the Pasta: Carry a big pot of salted water to a boil, and prepare dinner the lasagna sheets al dente in accordance with the bundle instructions. Drain, then return the noodles to the pot with chilly water to 1) cease the noodles from persevering with to prepare dinner and a couple of) maintain them from sticking when you put together the filling.
• Shred the Hen: Shred up or cube up your cooked hen. I nearly all the time have a batch of Shredded Hen stashed in my freezer, too. It actually is useful for recipes like this!

• Combine the Cheese Filling: Mix ricotta, spinach, and mozzarella with an egg, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir every thing collectively and set the bowl apart for now.

Making ready the White Sauce

As soon as your different components are prepped and ready, you’ll make the white sauce:

• Sauté: Start by sautéing the shallots in a big skillet with melted butter. Subsequent, add the garlic, adopted by the flour. Let the flour prepare dinner off for a few minutes, to create what’s known as a roux. 
• Mix and Cook dinner: Whisk in your broth, half-and-half, cream cheese, and parmesan, then season to style with salt and pepper. Maintain whisking whereas the sauce bubbles and thickens, then take it off the warmth.

Assembling and Baking Hen Lasagna

Bear in mind to empty and pat dry your cooked lasagna noodles earlier than assembling your lasagna. Now, you’re able to put every thing collectively and bake:

• Assemble: Starting by spreading a layer of white sauce into the underside of your ready baking dish, adopted by a primary layer of pasta noodles. Prime the pasta layer with cheese filling, adopted by shredded hen, and at last one other skinny layer of white sauce. Repeat twice extra, ending with a remaining layer of sauce earlier than sprinkling over mozzarella cheese.
• Bake: Bake the lasagna for 35 minutes underneath foil, then take away the foil and bake for one more 10 minutes or so, till golden and bubbly on the edges. Permit the lasagna to relaxation for quarter-hour after it leaves the oven, then garnish with parsley, slice, and serve.

Ideas and Variation Concepts

I like lasagna recipes as a result of they’re almost fail-proof! Listed below are some further suggestions for the most effective selfmade hen lasagna, together with some ingredient variations:

• Pat dry the lasagna noodles. After you’ve drained the noodles for the second time and earlier than layering your lasagna, pat the noodles dry in order that your lasagna doesn’t come out too watery. 
• Tent the foil with toothpicks. Stick a number of toothpicks into the highest of the lasagna to maintain the foil from mendacity in opposition to the cheese.
• Let the lasagna relaxation earlier than slicing. Reducing into your lasagna whereas it’s nonetheless sizzling from the oven will lead to soupy, messy slices. Give the lasagna about quarter-hour for the cheese and filling to arrange for cleaner slicing.
• Make it spicy. Add a sprinkle of crushed purple chili flakes to the cheese filling for a refined, spicy kick.
• Use cottage cheese rather than ricotta. When you don’t have ricotta cheese, substitute it with the identical quantity of cottage cheese as a substitute.

Serving Recommendations

This creamy white hen lasagna is a meal by itself, or you’ll be able to bulk up a comfortable household dinner with Garlic Knots or a vegetable facet, like Air Fryer Asparagus. I’ve additionally served this lasagna for dinner events, main into the meal with a starter of Tomato Feta Soup and a facet of contemporary backyard salad tossed in Mediterranean Dressing. End issues off with Do-it-yourself Cheesecake for dessert! 

Storing and Reheating Leftover Lasagna

This white sauce lasagna could be very make-ahead pleasant. Typically I’ll make two: one to get pleasure from immediately, and one other to retailer or freeze for last-minute dinners down the highway (see the subsequent part for particulars on tips on how to freeze it). 

Retailer your baked and cooled hen lasagna hermetic within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Reheat the lasagna within the oven, lined in foil at 350ºF till warmed by way of. You too can reheat particular person servings within the microwave. Sprinkle a little bit of water over the lasagna previous to reheating, to assist retain among the moisture.

Can I Freeze Hen Lasagna?

Completely! You’ll be able to freeze the entire lasagna, or freeze parts. Merely wrap it tightly in plastic wrap plus a layer of foil, and maintain it frozen for as much as 3 months. Defrost the lasagna both within the fridge in a single day, or within the microwave, after which reheat as ordinary.

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