Tender pieces of chicken thighs cooked in a homemade tomato and vegetable sauce, layered with lasagne sheets and a cheesy white sauce. A twist on the classic beef version, this chicken lasagne is a comforting crowd-pleaser!
This sensational recipe for Chicken Lasagne not only tastes incredible but is a double recipe! This means you can enjoy one lasagne on the day you make it, and store the other one in the freezer for a later date. Having said that, if you only want to make one lasagne, you can just halve the quantities of the ingredients.
Cooking multiple meals at once is my favourite way to get ahead. Like many of my readers, our family has a busy schedule. So often I rely on the meals in the freezer to get us through. With this in mind, I created our Freezer Meals Made Easy course. A one-stop shop for freezer friendly meals including recipes, and all the advice you need on storing and heating them.
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Ingredient notes:
- Chicken: This recipe calls for 1kg of chicken thighs. I like using thighs as they are full of flavour, however, they are more expensive than chicken breast. To reduce the cost of the meat, you could use 500g of chicken thighs in addition to 500g of chicken breast.
- Lasagne sheets: Dried pasta sheets work perfectly well in this recipe as they are layered between the two different sauces and have plenty of time in the oven to cook through.
- White sauce: This is my go-to white sauce that I also use in my beef version - Vanya's Lasagne. The secret ingredient is a little nutmeg!
Note: Scroll to the recipe card for the ingredients, quantities and the full method.
Step by step instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
Lasagne filling: Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook while stirring for about 5 minutes on a medium heat. Stir in the garlic then add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring for a few minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, Italian herbs and sugar. Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, salt and pepper, then mix to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened up.
Cheese sauce: Place a large saucepan on a low heat and add the butter. Stir until melted then add the flour and combine. Keep stirring for a minute to fry the mixture.
Start adding the milk slowly, stirring between each addition. Once all the milk has been added, let it simmer until thick. Take off the heat. Add the mustard, cheese and nutmeg. Season well to taste with salt and pepper then stir to combine.
Assemble: Grease two large baking dishes or tin foil trays. Cover the two bases with half of the chicken filling (¼ in each dish) then top each dish with lasagne sheets. Pour half of the cheese sauce between the two dishes (¼ of the sauce in each dish), reserving the remaining half for the top. Spread out to the edges. Repeat with the remaining chicken mix, lasagne sheets and cheese sauce then scatter over the extra grated cheese.
Place one lasagne in the oven and bake for 50 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and stand for 15 minutes before serving with crusty garlic bread and a fresh salad. Once the other lasagne has cooled to room temperature; cover, label, then store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you like this meal, you'll also love the idea of my Chicken and Mushroom Lasagne. This one is made with a creamy white sauce instead of a tomato sauce.
Recipe FAQs:
Of course. Feel free to add in or substitute mushrooms, spinach, capsicum, fresh tomatoes and even grated carrot if you like!
You sure can. If you want to get ahead, you could prepare you lasagne the day before serving. Simply allow the lasagne to cool to room temperature before before covering with cling film and placing in the fridge. Bear in mind that a cooled lasagne will take a little longer to cook through than a freshly assembled lasagne.
Depending on portion size, I would say one lasagne would serve up to 6 adults. Therefore this double recipe could serve up to 12 adults. You could always serve this with salad and garlic bread if you wanted to make it go further.
Storage:
Store any leftover chicken lasagne in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until piping hot.
Freezer Storage: When storing in the freezer, make sure the lasagne is well-covered. You can either use a tin foil tray with a cardboard lid or cling film. You can also use a produce bag from the supermarket - simply place the dish inside the bag then tie a knot. Defrost the lasagne in the fridge overnight, then cook as per the method in the recipe card.
Top tips:
I prefer to freeze my lasagne uncooked, which means it gets baked for the first time once defrosted.
Related Recipes:
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Chicken Lasagne
A hearty lasagne made with chicken thighs cooked in a tomato and vegetable sauce, layered between sheets of pasta and a cheesy white sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 4 celery sticks, finely diced
- 2 Tbsp crushed garlic
- 1kg chicken thighs, diced
- 4 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp Italian dried herbs
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 x 400g can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- 12 lasagne sheets
- 2 cups grated cheese, for topping
Cheese Sauce:
- 110g butter
- 110g flour
- 1 litre milk
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 cups grated cheese
- ¼ tsp grated fresh nutmeg, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
- Lasagne filling: Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook while stirring for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.
- Stir in the garlic then add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring for a few minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, Italian herbs and sugar.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, salt and pepper, then mix to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened up.
- Cheese sauce: Place a large saucepan on a low heat and add the butter. Stir until melted then add the flour and combine. Keep stirring for a minute to fry the mixture.
- Start adding the milk slowly, stirring between each addition. Once all the milk has been added, let it simmer until thick.
- Take off the heat. Add the mustard, cheese and nutmeg. Season well to taste with salt and pepper then stir to combine.
- Assemble: Grease two large baking dishes or tin foil trays. Cover the two bases with half of the chicken filling (¼ in each dish) then top each dish with lasagne sheets. Pour half of the cheese sauce between the two dishes (¼ of the sauce in each dish), reserving the remaining half for the top. Spread out to the edges. Repeat with the remaining chicken mix, lasagne sheets and cheese sauce then scatter over the extra grated cheese.
- Place one lasagne in the oven and bake for 50 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and stand for 15 minutes before serving with crusty garlic bread and a fresh salad.
- Once the other lasagne has cooled to room temperature; cover, label, then store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months. Reheat until piping hot.
- This can be made using gluten free lasagne sheets and gluten free flour.
- Frozen lasagne: When storing in the freezer, make sure the lasagne is well-covered. You can either use a tin foil tray with a cardboard lid or cling film. You can also use a produce bag from the supermarket - simply place the dish inside the bag then tie a knot. Defrost the lasagne in the fridge overnight, then cook as per the method in the recipe card.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 850Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 240mgSodium: 1894mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 16gProtein: 61g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Maureen Norris says
I do so like your recipes . Many Thanks Maureen
VJ cooks says
Thank you so much Maureen!
Vanessa says
What size are your dishes please?? How many people would one of the lasagna feed? Just wondering if I should make 1 large one to feed 4 adults.
VJ cooks says
One large lasagne would feed up to 6 adults. These two containers are slightly different sizes. The larger one is 30 x 21cm and the smaller one is 25 x 19cm.
Kate says
Hello! How many adults would both lasagnes feed please?
VJ cooks says
Thanks for your question Kate, I've added it to the FAQ section now. It really does depend on portion size but I would say one lasagne would feed 6 adults, therefore 2 would feed 12. You can always serve it with a salad and/or garlic bread if need be.
Wendy says
When you make it to freeze - uncooked - do you just mix veges and raw chicken together and layer as usual? Then just bake when required to cook?
VJ cooks says
Hi Wendy, if you were to freeze one you would prepare everything exactly the same right up until the point when you put it in the oven. Therefore the chicken and vegetables would be cooked though.
Tiger says
Can you freeze this cooked so it saves time on the other side ?? Or does it have to be un cooked to freeze
VJ cooks says
I don't know how much time it would save as you would still need to heat it from the inside out. But yes, you can freeze it cooked. Simply let it cool completely