- You have to try this chicken lasagna.
It'll change the way you make your lasagna.
(upbeat music)
Hey, everybody.
It's Natasha from NatashasKitchen.com, and today,
I'm gonna show you how to make
a creamy, white sauce chicken lasagna.
It is so decadent, super cheesy,
and it's just incredibly good.
And to make it easy,
we are using a rotisserie chicken.
Oh, thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Using a rotisserie chicken is so easy.
It's already pre-cooked chicken.
You can cook your own chicken breast
or even use drained, canned chicken.
All of those work.
So let's do this.
Oh, so let's do this.
(fingers drumming)
(bell chimes)
We're gonna start by shredding four cups of cooked chicken.
I am using a rotisserie chicken,
which makes this process so easy, but if you prefer,
you can also cook two pounds of chicken breast and shred it.
Shred the meat into small bite-sized pieces,
so it can easily absorb the sauce.
And if you want to cook your own rotisserie chicken,
I have a great recipe for one,
and I will link to it in the notes.
Set the chicken aside,
and now we're gonna do some quick prep of our spinach.
We're using a five-ounce package of baby spinach leaves,
and this seems like a lot of spinach,
but once it's softened, it disappears into the sauce.
Adding spinach is also a great way to add some veggies,
making this a chicken and vegetable lasagna.
And you can get creative.
If you want to add even more vegetables to this,
feel free to add some cooked broccoli,
carrots, or even zucchini.
Now chop one onion,
and you can use a white, yellow, or a sweet onion,
and it may seem like a lot of onion,
but again, it disappears into the sauce.
Also, mince three garlic cloves,
because you can't have a lasagna without garlic.
You'll need to cook nine lasagna noodles.
And I do add a couple extra, just in case any of them break.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil
and cook the noodles until they're al dente
according to the package instructions.
Al dente means that the noodles should be firm to the bite.
You don't want to overcook your noodles.
We are still baking the lasagna,
and the noodles will continue to soak up
some of that great sauce and soften up.
Here's our best tip for keeping lasagna noodles
from sticking together.
Once you've drained the noodles,
add cold water right into the same pot.
This will stop the cooking process
and keep the noodles from sticking together.
Now we're going to make the easy spinach sauce,
which is also called bechamel sauce.
Place a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat
and add one tablespoon of olive oil.
Add the chopped onion and saute for three to four minutes
or until they're softened.
Now we're going to create a roux to thick in this mixture.
Add four tablespoons of unsalted butter
and stir in one-third cup of flour.
Continue stirring that until the flour is lightly golden,
or about three minutes.
Stir in two and a half cups of chicken broth
and one and a half cups of half and half.
If you don't have half and half on hand,
you can use equal parts of heavy cream and milk.
Season the sauce with two teaspoons of sea salt
and half a teaspoon of black pepper, or season to taste.
Stir until smooth, and let it come to a simmer.
You want to simmer it for a few minutes,
or until it's thickened to a light gravy consistency.
Now stir in your three garlic cloves
and your chopped fresh spinach.
Stir to combine and take it off the heat
as soon as the spinach is wilted.
This happens fast.
This is a great time to add more salt to taste if needed,
making sure that you have a well-seasoned sauce.
Set that aside to cool slightly,
and we're gonna go on to make our ricotta cheese sauce.
In a medium bowl, combine 15 ounces of ricotta cheese,
two cups of mozzarella cheese, keeping one cup for the top.
Then one fourth cup of Parmesan cheese.
Crack in one large egg
and add one-fourth cup of chopped fresh parsley.
There's no cooking required with this sauce.
Just stir it up until it's well combined.
All right,
we have every part of this chicken lasagna prepped,
and we're ready to assemble.
I have my oven preheating to 375 degrees Fahrenheit,
and I'm using a nine-by-13 casserole dish.
Spread some of the spinach sauce over the bottom of your pan
to keep the noodles from sticking.
Now add three drained lasagna noodles.
Because we had the noodles sitting in cold water,
they're really easy to work with,
and you shouldn't have any issues
with them sticking together.
Depending on the size and shape
of your lasagna casserole dish,
you may have to overlap some of the noodles.
Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
We've found it's easier to spoon it on
and then spread it over the noodles,
since this cheese sauce is thicker.
Top that with half of your shredded chicken.
Now, over that shredded chicken,
we're gonna ladle one third of the spinach sauce.
It feels like a generous amount,
but you really want the chicken to absorb some of the sauce
to become super tender and delicious.
Now, we'll repeat the process.
Add three more drained noodles.
Now, spread on the remaining one-half of ricotta sauce.
Then sprinkle on the remaining two cups of shredded chicken.
Now, cover your chicken with one-third of the spinach sauce.
I like to make sure that sauce goes all the way to the edges
to ensure that the chicken is well-coated.
Add your last three lasagna noodles
and pour the remaining spinach sauce evenly over the top.
Make sure you get every last drop
because this sauce is so good
and ensures that this chicken lasagna reheats really well.
And last but not least,
because every lasagna needs a great cheese crust,
sprinkle on the reserved one cup
of shredded mozzarella cheese.
We're gonna cover this with foil and bake.
And to make sure that the cheese doesn't stick to the foil,
here's a quick tip.
Poke about 10 to 12 toothpicks into the top of your lasagna,
and this will keep the foil off the cheese.
Cover the casserole with a large sheet of foil,
sealing tightly at the edges.
I love having this extra wide foil,
but if you have smaller sheets,
you can seal two pieces of foil together
to make one large sheet.
Now, we're going to bake this covered with foil
at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
Let's go in the oven.
When you uncover, the lasagna cheese should be melted,
and you should see bubbling at the edges.
Once it's uncovered,
I like to broil on high heat for two to three minutes,
just to brown the cheese.
This creates an irresistible crust.
Oh ho ho, oh my goodness.
I am so excited for this.
But once it comes out of the oven,
you do want to let it rest about 30 minutes,
so you don't burn your mouth,
and it'll give that cheese sauce a chance to set.
So we'll be back.
All right.
I have been waiting very impatiently,
and it is time for the taste test.
Are you ready? Are you ready?
I'm ready.
But before we serve,
I always love to garnish with a little bit of fresh parsley.
Oh, it just adds that great pop of color and flavor.
If you've been watching my channel for very long,
you know how much I love to garnish,
and if you're reheating something,
it's just a brilliant thing to do.
Add a little bit of fresh garnish,
and it makes it look fresh.
Why not?
Okay.
We're gonna dive right into this.
I'm gonna slice this up 'cause I'm hungry,
and we're doing big portions.
All right.
Let's get this cheesy slice on my plate.
If you serve when it's still warm,
you get that gorgeous cheese pull.
Look at this.
Ho, ho, ho, ho!
That's what I'm talking about.
Cheesy, creamy, silky, delicious.
This is so good.
Okay.
Here we go.
My mouth is totally watering for this right now.
Okay.
Let's do this.
Okay.
And I love how that chicken becomes super tender
because it's soaks up some of that spinach sauce.
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
This is so good.
Seriously, this probably will become
your new favorite lasagna.
It's such a treat.
Okay, here we go.
(laughs)
Mmm.
Wow.
This is the ultimate pasta casserole.
It reheats really well.
You can make it ahead.
Everyone in our family loves this, especially the kids.
They just go crazy for this.
I don't know if it's the chicken or the cheese
or what it is, but this is definitely a family favorite.
I can't wait to eat the rest of that.
Because it reheats really well,
it's perfect for to-go lunches,
good for Sunday lunches, if you can make it ahead.
Seriously, you guys, you can't not make this.
Oh, I love that tender chicken, plump noodles,
silky, creamy sauce,
and there's like three cheeses in there, four?
A lot of cheese.
It's so good.
You make this once and you'll make it over and over.
I'm gonna go eat this.
I will see you in our next video.
Bye.