This easy Chicken Lasagna Recipe uses a rotisserie chicken to make a rich ragu, paired with a creamy cheese sauce for a delicious lasagna everyone will love.
This rich and cheesy chicken lasagna is always a hit with the family and makes a nice change from a traditional beef lasagna.
It takes a bit of prep time as you have to make the two sauces - the ragu and the cheese sauce - so I usually use a supermarket rotisserie chicken to save time on cooking the chicken.
It's perfect for making ahead of time and then reheating when the family are ready to eat. It also re-heats really well for school lunches and can be frozen for later.
Why you'll love this recipe
- It's a crowd-pleaser - the whole family will love it.
- You can make it ahead of time and reheat when you're ready to serve.
- It can be frozen in portions for later.
- You can use leftover roast chicken or a shop bought rotisserie chicken.
Ingredients
For the ragu
Exact quantities can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Olive oil
- Onions
- Garlic
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Dried Italian herbs
- Chicken Stock - I often use a homemade bone broth or my homemade Thermomix chicken stock here. But any chicken stock is fine.
- Chicken - usually I use a supermarket rotisserie chicken for this and I just pull it apart with my hands for roughly shredded chicken. If you have leftover chicken (or turkey) from a roast you could use this too. Alternatively, you could also poach some chicken especially.
For the cheese sauce
- Butter
- Plain flour
- Milk
- Cheese - I usually use cheddar. You want something that has a good flavour but nothing too overpowering. Using shop-shredded cheese is also fine.
For the lasgana
- Lasagna sheets - make sure you buy lasagna sheets that do not need to be pre-cooked. They are usually labelled 'Instant' on the packet. This way you can just layer them on the lasagna straight from the packet.
- Cheese - again I use cheddar, or a mix of mozzarella and parmesan. Shop-bought pizza cheese works well too.
How to make Chicken Lasagna
There are four stages to making this lasgna:
- Make the chicken ragu
- Make the cheese sauce
- Assemble the lasagna
- Bake the lasagna
Make the Chicken Ragu
Full step-by-step instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
To make the ragu, start by heating some olive oil in a saucepan and cooking the onions until soft - around 10 minutes over a medium heat.
Then add the garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes.
Next you add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian herbs and chicken stock. Stir and bring to the boil and then leave it to simmer for around 20 minutes until thickened.
Then you just need to stir in the chicken and allow it to cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
Make the cheese sauce
Firstly, if you have a Thermomix, I recommend you make cheese sauce in the Thermomix. If not, then read on for how to make it in a saucepan.
Making cheese sauce from scratch is not at all difficult, and yet a lot of people are scared of making it. My biggest tip is to use a whisk.
This will make it super easy to make a lump free cheese sauce.
Start by melting the butter in a saucepan. Then stir in the flour. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes.
Then pour in the milk and keep whisking as you heat the mixture. It will start to thicken as it heats. Don't stop whisking!
As it starts to thicken you can add in the grated cheese and continue stirring until it has all melted and you have a rich creamy cheese sauce.
Assemble the lasagna
Once you have both sauces ready, it's time to assemble the lasagna. How many layers you make will depend on the size of your dish and how much sauce you add to each layer.
I like to aim for at least three layers of the lasagna sheets.
Start by adding a thin layer of the ragu on the bottom of the lasagna dish. Then place the lasagna sheets on top.
Next pour over the cheese sauce.
And then repeat the layers: ragu, lasagna, cheese sauce, ragu, lasagna, cheese sauce - until you have used up all of your sauces.
It doesn't really matter if you end up with ragu or cheese sauce on top.
Once you have finished layering, sprinkle grated cheese over the top of the lasagna and it is ready to go in the oven.
Bake the lasagna
The lasagna will take around 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven. The cheese should be nicely browned and bubbling when you take it out of the oven.
What to serve with Lasagna
The lasagna is quite rich and so doesn't need anything too complex to go with it.
Personally, I think this is best served with a leafy green salad and perhaps some garlic bread on the side.
You could also serve some steamed vegetables such as asparagus or broccoli.
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Easy Chicken Lasagna
Equipment
- Lasagna Dish
- Whisk
Ingredients
For the Ragu
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced
- 2 tins diced tomatoes tin size: 400g or 14 oz
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- salt & pepper
- 3 cups shredded chicken around 450g or 1 pound. See notes.
For the cheese sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup grated cheese
For the lasagne
- lasagna sheets
- 1 cup grated cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.
To make the Ragu
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened - approximately 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the can of tomatoes, chicken stock and herbs. Season with salt & pepper and mix together.
- Bring to the boil and let it cook & bubble for a good 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to end up with a good thick sauce.
- Stir in the chicken and heat through for around 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce
To make the Cheese Sauce
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Stir in the flour and use a whisk (or wooden spoon, but whisk is easier) to stir the flour into the butter to make a paste. Continue to stir for a minute or so.
- Gradually add in the milk, stirring all the time.
- Continue stirring over a medium heat until the mixture has thickened to sauce consistency.
- Stir in the grated cheese and continue stirring until the cheese has all been incorporated and you have a thick, creamy sauce.
To assemble the Lasagna
- Line the lasagna dish with a thin layer of ragu.
- Place the lasagna sheets on top.
- Pour over a thin layer of cheese sauce, followed by another thin layer of ragu, then another layer of lasagna sheets.
- Continue layering in this order until you have used up all your ragu and cheese sauce. It doesn't matter if you finish off with a layer of ragu or cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. It should be golden brown and bubbling.
Thanks for reading this recipe. I hope you like it as much as I do. If you have any questions, please let me know!