This white hen lasagna is filled with three varieties of cheese and layers of creamy white sauce, juicy shredded hen, mushrooms, and noodles. It’s straightforward to make and tremendous satisfying!
With its wealthy, creamy layers of béchamel sauce, white hen lasagna all the time jogs my memory of hen alfredo! It’s a good way to alter issues up from a conventional spinach lasagna (which I additionally love). And if you happen to’re a fan of this recipe, strive my white hen chili subsequent.
This white hen lasagna is mild and creamy, with three sorts of cheese and all of the consolation I really like in a basic lasagna. Rising up, lasagna nights have been all the time an enormous deal in our home, and now I’ve put my very own spin on the basic as a result of why not? Actually, this one happened as a result of I had some leftover noodles, creamy sauce, and hen leftovers within the fridge. And let me let you know, it became one thing superb!
This model replaces the normal floor beef and tomato sauce combo with juicy shredded hen and a wealthy, silky, home made white sauce referred to as béchamel. The result’s golden-baked layers brimming with hen, mushrooms, and oodles of noodles and melty cheese. It’s a contemporary, scrumptious spin that you may make any night time of the week. I’ll present you simply how straightforward it’s!
Why I Love This White Hen Lasagna Recipe
- A contemporary spin on basic lasagna. Every time I’m craving consolation meals that’s one thing a little bit totally different, I make this straightforward white hen lasagna. It’s hearty and satisfying, like a basic home made lasagna, with tremendous creamy, savory layers that get lightened up by tender hen.
- Straightforward to make. There’s a small quantity of prep concerned to make the white sauce and hen layers, however each come collectively shortly on the stovetop.
- Nice leftovers. This white lasagna recipe makes sufficient to serve 4 folks comfortably, nevertheless it’s so good that I typically double it and bake two! One to take pleasure in immediately, and a second to refrigerate and freeze for later. In case you ask me, home made lasagna tastes even higher the following day. 😃
What You’ll Want
White lasagna comes collectively identical to a basic lasagna, with a number of tweaks to the elements. Take a look at my ingredient and substitution notes right here. Remember to scroll all the way down to the recipe card for a printable listing with the total recipe quantities and particulars.
- Béchamel Sauce – Basic béchamel sauce may be very straightforward to make at dwelling. For this white lasagna, I embrace a variation of béchamel enriched with half-and-half and cream cheese.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted butter, for sautéeing the mushrooms. I just like the added taste that comes from butter however you might use olive oil if you happen to want.
- Mushrooms – These might be cremini, white, or brown mushrooms, or any selection you’d like. Child portobellos are one other good possibility. Give the mushrooms a mild rinse below working water, then take away the stems and slice them earlier than you begin.
- Garlic – Freshly minced garlic, or you’ll be able to exchange every contemporary clove with ¼-½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Ricotta Cheese – Ricotta is a light Italian smooth cheese. You’ll discover it within the dairy aisle alongside different smooth or specialty cheeses. In case you can’t discover ricotta, cottage cheese or mascarpone cheese make good substitutes.
- Parmesan and Mozzarella – Rounding out our trio of cheeses is freshly grated parmesan (or pecorino) and shredded mozzarella cheese. If wanted, you should use one other melty cheese, like cheddar, rather than shredded mozz.
- Egg – You’ll want one complete egg to behave as a binder for the cheese combination.
- Hen – Shred a store-bought or home made rotisserie hen. Boiled hen may even work (see my recipe for the way to boil hen), or any leftover cooked hen you’ve gotten available.
- Lasagna Sheets – I make this recipe with contemporary lasagna noodles. In case you’re utilizing dry lasagna sheets, it’s greatest to boil them al dente first. Or, if you happen to go away them dry, I like to recommend making an additional ½ cup of béchamel sauce to offset the dry lasagna noodles, since they’ll absorb extra liquid.
What Is Béchamel?
Béchamel sauce is a French white sauce constructed from a “roux” of butter and flour combined with milk. It’s fast to make and you should use it as a base for plenty of different sauces, together with Alfredo sauce and the cheese sauce in mac and cheese. Béchamel is a key ingredient in white lasagna and creates the creamy layers in recipes like my lasagna bolognese and butternut squash lasagna, too.
Make White Hen Lasagna
There’s one thing about pulling a bubbly, golden lasagna from the oven that awakens the home goddess in me. The satisfaction!! The very best half about this white hen lasagna is, it takes little or no effort. Comply with the steps with pictures right here.
First, Prep the Elements
This lasagna recipe begins with a easy home made white sauce, then it’s a matter of pre-cooking the mushrooms and mixing up the ricotta layer. This manner, all the pieces is able to layer into the baking dish. Right here’s the way to do it:
- Put together the béchamel. Whisk flour with melted butter over medium-high warmth. As soon as that begins to scent aromatic, stir in half-and-half and hen broth, and season the sauce with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Lastly, stir within the cream cheese and simmer the sauce so it thickens.
- Prepare dinner the mushrooms. Subsequent, add your cleaned and sliced mushrooms to a skillet with extra melted butter. Prepare dinner and stir for a couple of minutes whereas they soften, then add the garlic and season to style. Lastly, stir within the shredded hen.
- Make the cheese filling. In the meantime, add the ricotta, egg, and parmesan to a bowl. Fold that collectively till it’s effectively mixed.
Layer and Bake
Together with your elements cooked and prepared, layering this hen lasagna is fast and simple. As with every lasagna, the purpose is to layer evenly, beginning with sauce and ending with cheese, so that you get equal quantities of goodness in each chew:
- Assemble the lasagna. Begin with 2-3 spoonfuls of béchamel sauce, and unfold that into the underside of an 8” baking dish. Cowl the sauce with lasagna sheets. Prime that with ricotta combination, then the hen and mushrooms, a layer of mozzarella cheese, and one other layer of béchamel. Repeat till you’ve used up all of the elements.
- Bake. Cowl the pan with foil and bake the hen lasagna at 400ºF for 25 minutes. Take away the foil for the final 5 minutes of baking in order that the cheese on prime can brown a little bit. Afterward, let the lasagna relaxation for Quarter-hour earlier than slicing and serving.
Ideas and Variations
- Maintain whisking. It’s necessary to whisk the béchamel sauce steadily whereas it cooks and thickens, to keep away from lumps.
- When assembling a lasagna, be sure that the cheese and sauce are the final layers.
- Layer evenly. Do your greatest to divide the béchamel, hen, and cheese filling evenly between the layers. This helps with even baking, and also you don’t find yourself with some layers which might be thicker than others.
- Relaxation earlier than slicing. As tempting as it’s to slice right into a hot-from-the-oven, steamy lasagna, resist! Letting this hen lasagna relaxation for 10-Quarter-hour after baking lets the cheese and sauce arrange a bit for much less soupy slices.
- Not a fan of mushrooms? In case you dislike mushrooms, be at liberty to skip them or exchange them with one other veggie, like spinach or cooked squash.
- Use floor hen as an alternative. In case you don’t have hen to shred, you should use a package deal of floor hen. Remember to break up and brown the bottom meat in a pan beforehand.
- Swap out the protein. It gained’t be a hen lasagna, per se, however you’ll be able to exchange the shredded hen on this recipe with nearly any protein you’d like. Mess around with options like cooked floor meats, sausage, pulled pork, or shredded beef, or skip the meat altogether and exchange it with sautéed greens for a vegetarian lasagna.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Lasagna
- Refrigerate. Permit your white hen lasagna to chill utterly, and retailer it lined within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat. I like to recommend reheating this lasagna within the oven below foil, at 350ºF for about half-hour or till the layers are warmed via once more. You too can microwave particular person parts in 30-second increments.
- Freeze. You possibly can double-wrap the lasagna tightly in plastic wrap or retailer it hermetic and freeze it for as much as 3 months. Thaw it within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.
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Put together the bechamel sauce:
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Begin by cooking the flour. Soften butter in a saucepan over medium-high warmth. As soon as the butter is melted, add flour. Prepare dinner the flour till aromatic (it’ll scent like popcorn).
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Add the liquid. Steadily stir in half-and-half and the hen broth. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir within the cream cheese and prepare dinner till barely thickened. Set the bechamel sauce apart.
Put together the mushrooms:
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Slice the mushrooms. Wash the mushrooms below working water. Don’t soak them; simply rinse gently. Take away the mushrooms’ stems and slice the caps into skinny slices.
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Sauté the mushrooms. Soften butter in a big skillet. Add the mushrooms and prepare dinner, stirring, for five minutes.
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Put all of it collectively. Add garlic and season the mushrooms to style with salt and pepper. Prepare dinner for 1 minute and take away from the warmth. Stir within the shredded hen. Put aside.
Put together the lasagna filling:
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Make the cheese sauce. Mix the ricotta, egg, and parmesan in a bowl and put aside.
Assemble the lasagna:
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Prep. Begin by heating the oven to 400ºF.
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Begin with the bechamel. To make the layers, add 2-3 tablespoons of the ready bechamel sauce to the underside of an 8-inch baking dish.
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Layer the elements. Add sufficient lasagna sheets to cowl the underside. Add ¼ cup of the ricotta cheese combination, ⅓ of the hen and mushroom combination, ⅔ cup of mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup of bechamel sauce. Repeat layers till you’ve gotten used all the elements, ending with sauce and cheese.
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Bake the lasagna. Cowl with foil and bake the lasagna for 25 minutes. Take away the duvet within the final 5 minutes of baking.
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Serve: Permit the hen lasagna to chill for Quarter-hour earlier than serving.
- In case you use dry lasagna sheets, prepare dinner them in boiling water (like pasta) till al dente, or use dry lasagna sheets. In case you resolve to make use of dry lasagna sheets, make extra bechamel sauce, round ½ cup extra, as a result of the dry sheets will absorb an excessive amount of liquid, and you’ll find yourself with dry lasagna.
- For this recipe, you should use leftover rotisserie hen or go along with leftover cooked hen.
- When assembling lasagna, be sure the cheese and sauce are the final layers.
Energy: 769kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 34g | Fats: 52g | Saturated Fats: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 3g | Monounsaturated Fats: 14g | Trans Fats: 1g | Ldl cholesterol: 234mg | Sodium: 738mg | Potassium: 595mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1642IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 593mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might differ in response to the elements and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
