LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT LASAGNA THAN TRADITIONAL LASAGNA?
Try my Chicken Vegetable Lasagna in a Cheesy Cream Sauce! Now this recipe and meal is not for the faint of heart. It is not complicated, but I will admit it does involve a few more steps to make than a quick weeknight meal. It takes about an hour or so to prep everything and then about an hour and 15 minutes to cook. But you can feed 9 – 10 for dinner! Have I scared you off yet? I sure hope not, because I promise you this is totally worth it!
Now a game changer here is the Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna sheets! No more boiling those long sheets and trying to gently break them apart when you drain them! No need for a pot of boiling water! Just pull them from the box and layer them up with your filling!
GROUND CHICKEN, SPINACH AND A CREAM SAUCE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!
When I was at the store this week, ground chicken was on sale. So that’s when I had the idea! I grabbed some fresh spinach, and some heavy cream (OK, I know, not the healthiest), and some Ricotta and the cheeses. I followed my typical Ricotta Cheese filling that I do for my Beef Lasagna and Red Sauce, and instead of the beef, used ground chicken! I didn’t want to use traditional Italian Red Sauce, so thought a nice creamy white cheese sauce would work perfectly! And I think it did! I hope you think so too!
A LITTLE MORE EFFORT CAN SOMETIMES BRING SOMETHING SPECIAL!
I’m hoping if you find a couple hours to spend in your kitchen and want to try a different spin on traditional lasagna, you’ll give my CHicken Vegetable Lasagna a try! I’m looking forward to playing with the recipe a little, adding some shredded carrots and mushrooms the next time, or even zucchini and tomato from my garden in summertime!
So, until next time,
Let’s get cookin’ together,
Madeline
Chicken Vegetable Lasagna
Equipment
- 1 Large Stove Top Sauté Pan with Lid
- 1 Deep Dish 9" x 13" Aluminum pan
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
Ground Chicken Spinach Mixture
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- ⅔ cup onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil I use Capella's Italian Seasoning Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp Kirkland No-Salt Organic Seasoning You can substitute Italian Herb Blend
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp basil paste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 10 cups fresh spinach (cleaned)
Ricotta Cheese Mixture
- 3 pounds Ricotta cheese
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp basil paste
- ⅓ cup onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp Kirkland No-Salt Organic Seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ cup grated locatelli cheese You can substitute parmesan.
- 4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Set aside 3 cups for the Lasagna assembly.
Cream Sauce
- Juice from ground chicken and spinach When you drain the meat and spinach mixture from the pan, leave the juice in the bottom of the pan.
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup grated locatelli cheese
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 12 Oven Ready Lasagna sheets I use Barilla brand
Bread Crumb Toppping
- ½ cup Italian Style or plain bread crumbs
Instructions
Chicken Vegetable Mixture
- Heat stove top pan to low-medium heat. Pour in olive oil.
- Add onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cooking about 5 minutes until onions and garlic begin to soften.
- Add ground chicken and stir to combine, turning heat to medium.Cook 5 minutes, then add salt, pepper, seasonings and basil paste.
- Cook chicken for about 10 - 15 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked completely. Turn heat down to low.
- Add spinach and cover with lid. Spinach will wilt. Once spinach is wilted, mix with ground chicken until well combined. Turn off heat.
- Remove chicken and spinach mixture from the pan into a medium bowl, leaving the juices in the pan.
Cream Sauce
- Turn heat on stove to medium to heat up the juices from the chicken mixture. Add butter and stir until butter is melted into juices.
- Add heavy cream, stirring with a whisk, blending into the juice and butter mixture. Add grated cheese, and blend into liquid cream mixture with whisk until melted.
- Stir continuously, being careful not to burn. Once the mixture begins to thicken slightly and almost come to a boil, reduce heat to low.
Ricotta Cheese Mixture
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together Ricotta cheese, eggs, and remaining ingredients until well combined. Do not over mix.
Assembling the Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Spray bottom of aluminum pan with non-stick cooking spray. .
- Drizzle olive oil on bottom of pan until lightly covered.
- Layer 3 sheets across bottom of pan.
- Spread ⅓ of the cheese mixture gently on top of sheets.
- Spread ⅓ of the chicken spinach mixture over the cheese mixture.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over the mixture. Pour ¼ of the cream sauce over the layer.
- Repeat the process 2 more times, topping with 2 lasagna sheets.
- Sprinkle a little bit of the cream sauce on top of the sheets and sprinkle with about ½ cup of finely grated Italian Style bread crumbs.
- Bake 1 hour covered. Remove cover and bake another 10 minutes. Let Lasagna set for 10 - 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
