White Chicken Lasagna with Creamy Pesto Filling
A comforting white chicken lasagna layered with spinach béchamel, a creamy pesto filling, tender shredded chicken, and melted fontina.
Ingredients
Spinach Bechamel
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 onion diced small diced small
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan
- 3 cups chopped spinach
Chicken and Pasta
- 2 chicken breasts boiled gently in salted water and shredded
- No boil lasagna noodles or homemade pasta sheets
Pesto Cream Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 2 tbsp milk to thin if needed
- Optional: you can substitute the cream cheese with 16 oz ricotta plus 1 egg
- 4 cups shredded fontina
Instructions
Make the Spinach Béchamel
- Melt the butter in a large pan.
- Add the onion and cook until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir, cooking two minutes.
- Slowly pour in the milk while whisking.
- Season with the salt and pepper.
- Simmer gently for about ten minutes until the sauce thickens but stays pourable.
- Stir in the parmesan and chopped spinach.
- Cook a few minutes more, then cover and turn off the heat.
Prepare the Pesto Cream
- Mix the cream cheese, pesto, and milk until smooth.
- If using ricotta, mix with pesto and one egg until combined.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Spread a thin layer of bechamel on the bottom of your baking pan.
- Add a layer of pasta sheets.
- Spoon more béchamel over the pasta.
- Add a layer of pesto cream.
- Add a layer of shredded chicken.
- Sprinkle generously with fontina.
- Repeat the layers until the pan is nearly full.
- Finish with pasta sheets, a final layer of béchamel, and more fontina on top.
Bake
- Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, then uncover and bake until the top is golden and the lasagna noodles are cooked through about 10-15 minutes longer.
- Let it rest a few minutes before slicing.
Video
