White chicken lasagna
Layers of tender chicken, spinach ricotta and a garlicky parmesan cream sauce under bubbling mozzarella, and it freezes like a dream.
- 110 min total
- 50 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 8
- About $2.49 a serving
- 570 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 8 servings.
- 9 lasagna noodles
- 1½ lb chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1½ cups milk
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2½ cups shredded mozzarella, divided
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Each serving has about 570 calories, 44 g protein, 33 g carbs and 29 g fat, and costs about $2.49 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No ricotta cheese? Cottage cheese works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F. Cook the noodles in a large pot of salted water as the package says, then and lay them flat on a rubbed with 1 tablespoon of oil.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: Laid flat and apart, they won’t glue themselves into one sheet.the chicken with ½ teaspoon of salt and the pepper and wash your hands. Heat the rest of the oil in a large over medium-high and cook the chicken 6 minutes, until the biggest piece reads 165°F.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
the butter in the same over medium heat, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then in the flour and cook 1 minute.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Slowly in the broth and then the milk, and 5 minutes, until thick. in the parmesan and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Squeeze the spinach dry in a clean towel and it into the ricotta with the egg, Italian seasoning and the last ½ teaspoon of salt.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: Squeeze hard. Watery spinach makes a watery lasagna.Spread ½ cup of sauce in a 9x13-inch baking dish, then layer 3 noodles, half the ricotta, half the chicken, a third of the sauce and ¾ cup of mozzarella.
Repeat the layers once, then finish with the last 3 noodles, the rest of the sauce and the rest of the mozzarella.
Cover with foil and 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 minutes more, until bubbling and .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 45 min
Let it 15 minutes before cutting so the layers hold together.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 15 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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