New to Chicken Lasagna? Think – tender shredded chicken and golden mushrooms smothered in a cheesy, creamy Alfredo sauce, layered up into a big, cosy lasagna.
Try it once, and you’ll be converted for life!
Chicken Lasagna
White Chicken Lasagna is everything you know and love about classic Lasagna – except it’s made with tender shredded chicken and golden mushrooms smothered in a cheesy Alfredo sauce!
While it may be white instead of red, and made with chicken instead of beef, it has all the characteristics of what we love so much about Lasagna:
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it’s just as cosy
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just as cheesy
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just as saucy
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just as moreish
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makes a BIG BATCH
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freezes great
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you know it’s going to be a guaranteed hit with everyone!
How to make Chicken Lasagna
Normally, I start with “what you need” but given the idea of a chicken lasagna might be new to some – and a white one at that (!) – I thought I’d start by showing you how it’s made so you can see there’s nothing tricky about it at all!
Here are the main components to making this dish:
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Poached chicken / semi homemade stock – I like to cook the chicken by poaching it in milk + chicken broth. This serves 2 purposes: a) juicier chicken; and b) chicken juices leaches into broth to make a semi homemade broth (which equals tastier white sauce!)
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Cheesy Alfredo Sauce – this is just a white sauce, made no differently than what we use for Mac and Cheese and similar dishes. It’s made with milk and thickened with flour. No cream. Plenty of richness from butter and cheese!
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Golden, buttery, garlicky mushrooms – I like to add mushrooms in to add something different into the mixture, rather than having just all meat! Feel free to switch it up with other veggies – though I have to say, mushrooms are by far my favourite.
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Shred chicken, mix, layer – once the above 3 components are ready, just mix it all up to make the creamy filling. Then layer up the lasagna, just as you do classic Beef Lasagna. Bake – and voila!
What you need for Chicken Lasagna
And here’s what you need to make this White Chicken Lasagna. Nothing unusual here!
Just a note on a couple of things:
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Vegeta or other stock powder (aka granulated bouillon) – I use this instead of salt because it adds more flavour. Any kind of stock powder is fine here – chicken or vegetable (I like Vegeta which is a Vegetable stock powder);
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Thyme is optional – it adds a subtle perfume to the homemade “broth”. Can also be substituted with a pinch of dried thyme;
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Cheeses – I like using a full flavoured cheese to mix into the Alfredo Sauce, and mozzarella for the top for its melting qualities. But you can really use any melting cheese you want – as long as it’s a melting type of cheese; and
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Lasagna Sheets – I like using fresh lasagna sheets that are sold in the refrigerator section. These do not require cooking before layering up and baking, and I think they yield the best result. The other two types of lasagna sheets that can be used are:
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Dried lasagna sheets, require cooking – these sheets need to be cooked per the packet directions before assembling the lasagna; and
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Dried, instant / no cook – these are dried lasagna sheets that can be layered up and used without pre cooking.
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I do say above that the mushrooms can be switched out for another vegetable.
But I take that back.
The addition of golden, buttery, garlicky mushrooms totally makes this!! Don’t skip it!!*
* Though if you really need a substitute, I’d highly recommend golden roasted cubes of pumpkin (follow this recipe) or stir through a load of baby spinach.
More chicken version of classic dishes
As I was writing this Chicken Lasagna post, it dawned on me that this whole “chicken version of beef recipes” has become a bit of a habit around these parts!
For example, Chicken Nachos – equally tasty, perhaps even tastier, than classic Beef Nachos. Same for Chicken Tacos.
Chicken Stroganoff instead of Beef Stroganoff. Chicken Meatloaf instead of classic Meatloaf made with beef.
Err….
OK, I’m 100% sure I’ve done more chicken versions but I’m stuck right now for ideas so I’m just going to blow right past this!
So, today is the chicken version of everybody’s favourite beef Lasagna.
There’s no need to choose a favourite. There is a place in the world for both the classic Lasagna and this Chicken version, don’t you think?? Well, there’s certainly space in my life for both!! – Nagi x
Complete your meal
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Simple, crisp garden salad with a Balsamic or Italian Dressing
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For company, show off with this Apple Salad with Candied Walnuts
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Carb blow out with a side of Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread
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Finish the meal with a cosy Apple Crumble or Strawberry Crumble
Watch how to make it
Forgot to add bay leaves in the video!
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White Chicken Lasgana
Ingredients
Chicken & semi-homemade stock:
- 1 kg/ 2lb chicken breast or boneless skinless thigh
- 4 cups (1L) milk , any fat %
- 2 cups (500ml) chicken broth / stock
- 2 bay leaves , dried
- 3 sprigs thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 2 tsp Vegeta (or chicken stock powder/granulated bouillon, Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Mushrooms:
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter , separated
- 2 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 500g / 1lb mushrooms , quartered
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper , each
White sauce:
- 50g / 4tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3/4 cup (110g) flour , plain / all purpose
- 2 cups (200g) cheddar cheese , shredded (Note 2)
Lasagna:
- 375g (13 oz) lasagna sheets , fresh (or 250g/8oz dried) (Note 3)
- 2 cups (200g) mozzarella cheese , shredded
Instructions
Chicken:
- Place milk, broth and stock powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a very gentle simmer over medium heat, add chicken, pepper, bay leaves and thyme.
- Place lid on, simmer gently on medium low for 15 minutes (do not boil, can make milk split).
- Remove chicken and shred. Cover pot and set poaching liquid aside.
Mushrooms:
- Heat half the oil and butter in a very large, deep skillet over high heat (or use large pot). Add half the mushrooms with half the garlic, salt and pepper.
- Cook for 5 minutes, stirring leisurely, until golden. Transfer to bowl and repeat with remaining mushrooms.
White Sauce:
- Lower heat down to medium.
- Melt butter in skillet, then add garlic. Stir until golden.
- Add flour. Stir constantly for 1 minute.
- Gradually pour in 2 cups of reserved poaching liquid while stirring constantly, it should turn into a thick paste.
- Mix in another cup of liquid, then add remaining liquid and stir well to dissolve. Use whisk if necessary to make lump free.
- Stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens - you should be able to draw a path across a spoon (see video).
- Remove from heat, stir in cheese until melted. Taste and add more salt & peppers, if needed.
- REMOVE 2 1/2 cups (625ml) of sauce (save for topping). Then stir in chicken and mushrooms into remaining sauce.
Assemble & Bake:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Smear some sauce on the base of a 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13" baking dish. Cover base with lasagna sheets.
- Top with half chicken mixture, then lasagna sheets, remaining chicken mixture then more lasagna sheets.
- Pour over reserved White Sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover loosely with foil or use upside down baking tray (ensure it's not touching cheese).
- Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, bake further 10 minutes until golden and bubbly.
- Stand 10 minutes, garnish with parsley if desired then cut to serve!
Recipe Notes:
- Dried lasagna sheets, require cooking - these sheets need to be cooked per the packet directions before assembling the lasagna; and
- Dried, instant / no cook - these are dried lasagna sheets that can be layered up and used without pre cooking.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I love this dog so damn much. ☺️
I just made it today and it’s amazing how you will always want for more, my family had 3 servings in one go, imagine how they loved it.. I think the difference in other lasagna I made is the home made broth which I firstly learned from here. And I just baked it for another 5 minutes so the cheese will be much brown and has a little crisp. It’s how my family wants it. Thank you so much Nagi!!!! I got the spot light tonight! 😁
I have been visiting this website and got tons of recipes my family love them!!!
My husband cant stand mushrooms, is there any other vege i can use instead of mushrooms?
I substitute the mushrooms for spinach and super good
Thank you Nagi, this is my favourite Chicken recipe it’s simply delicious and real comfort food. I live on my own so when I make this I don’t use a large baking dish but use individual foil dishes then label and freeze. When I feel the need I just take one out of the freezer, defrost and bake as normal … Yummy Scrummy!
Make sure you cut the chicken into smaller pieces I threw the whole breasts in and it was tough, the smaller pieces were tender…
Hi Jasmine, there’s no need to cut up any chicken here, once you cook the breast whole you should be able to shred it easily 🙂 N x
In the “chicken and stock” part of the recipe, the directions don’t say to put the pepper in.
Also, it’s probably just my emerging skills, but when making the sauce, it doesn’t say to use a whisk until adding the second bunch of liquid. For me, it was too late, there was already many lumps that couldn’t be whisked away. I ended up putting it all in the blender to get rid of them. Maybe it should say to use a whisk at the beginning of the sauce directions. The sauce ended up being too pasty, even after adding more broth than the recipe said. Probably because of the blender. Recipe still came out good despite all this 🙂 Thank you, I am enjoying your recipes!
Hi Katrina – Thanks for the feedback. I’ve fixed the pepper omission. Regarding a whisk, I actually don’t use a whisk, I use a spoon and have never had a problem with lumps. The trick is to go slow, stir well, and ensure the initial paste is smooth before adding the remaining liquid. Use a whisk if you feel that’s safer! And yes, blending it will activate the glutens in the flour and turn it pasty. It’s better to sieve the sauce to remove lumps to rescue it. – Nxx
Hi Nagi, I love your website!! Yay it’s completely fabulous I made your white chicken lasagna and it was just SO delicious!. I am gonna do the paneer & naan bread recipes next! I was overjoyed to come across them. Your step by step instructions and advice, as well as the videos are brilliant! I actually liked the white recipe better than my go to traditional lasagna! Thank you for these incredible recipes!
This was fantastic. Hubby and guest both had 2 giant platefuls and I still have half a pan leftover. Very nice for a change from the tomato-based version. Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe, the poached chicken part gave me a really great idea to try my 6month old with chicken for the first time! 🙂
Going to have to try this for sure. It looks delicious! I had a similar version at a dinner party once that had sliced red tomatoes on the top before baking.
Sounds amazing Debbie!! N x
Hi Nagi another great looking recipe. Can’t wait to try this one as well, what size pan did you use? I love the one in this video what brand is it??
P.S. I’m making your Samosa’s tonight, even got the authentic Indian ingredients you use.
NAGI!
I made this last night for dinner. It is by far one of the best recipes on your site, everyone had seconds and the leftovers were polished off today for lunch. Incredible flavour. It’s been added into my regular rotation. AMAZING!
I made it yesterday 🙂 ! It really turned so good and it was very feeling. 1 piece and I felt so full. Loved you step by step instructions which made me feel confident in what I am doing. Thank you again.
That’s great to hear Renata, thanks so much! N x
Love this recipe… I chop and fry up a pound of bacon, drain and sprinkle in as well! Delicious!!
Hi Nagi, Just made this tonight for evening meal and got to say it is beautiful. The flavour was awesome had an issue with the sauce being too lump but managed to rescue it after a while, then read your comment and you did say whisk if it was too lumpy!! Will definitely be making this one again sometime soon!!!
Hi,
How far in advance can I make this?
Thank you
Hello. Can this be made ahead?
Hi Andrew, yes 100%! You can complete up to the baking stage and just store in the fridge overnight and then bake fresh 🙂 N x
So delicious! Everyone wanted a second helping. Will definitely make it again.
I absolutely love this recipe although I dont eat pasta to often as it makes me feel yuck…..Instead i used sliced Zucchini in its place and yup soooooo tasty
This was my first recipe. I’m no cook trust me but this was so easy to follow and it was amazing even my 11 year old loved it.
Hi! Looking to try this, but what kind of mushrooms do you recommend