Chicken Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna
Chicken spinach lasagna is a new twist on traditional lasagna that will keep you coming back for more! Made with shredded chicken, mushrooms, spinach, no-boil lasagna noodles, and delicious milk-based sauce.
Pair it with your favorite house salad tossed in a Greek salad dressing for a well-balanced meal.
Anytime I get an excuse to add more veggies into my meals…I’m all there! And this chicken spinach lasagna is nothing short of veggies.
Just like our chicken stroganoff recipe, it’s made with fresh white mushrooms, fresh baby spinach, and shredded cooked chicken. You can use leftover whole roasted chicken or rotisserie chicken.
I took a lighter approach to the sauce and used chicken broth as my base with some milk and then flavored it with nutmeg and Parmesan. So it is not overly heavy.
Everything is layered into a square baking dish with no-boil lasagna noodles. No-boil noodles are thinner than regular noodles and absorb flavor so much better. So the finished lasagna is delicate and does not feel so “heavy” as in you’re eating loads of noodles.
What is Chicken Lasagna Made Of?
To make chicken mushroom spinach lasagna, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- olive oil
- white onion
- garlic
- mushrooms
- spices – basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg
- baby spinach
- shredded roasted chicken
- chicken stock
- milk
- all-purpose flour
- Parmesan cheese
- no-boil lasagna noodles
- mozzarella cheese
Chicken Spinach Lasagna Q&A
Before we get to how to make the chicken mushroom spinach lasagna, let’s answer some frequently asked questions. If you have a question that’s not included, let me know in the comments below.
What is the difference between oven ready lasagna noodles and regular noodles?
Oven-ready or no-boil lasagna noodles do not need to be boiled before using. They soften during baking. Whereas regular noodles need to be boiled or at least par-boiled before use.
How do you substitute no-boil lasagna noodles for regular noodles?
Fill a large rectangular dish with the hottest tap water. Add regular lasagne noodles and soak in water for 20 minutes. Move the noodles around occasionally with a pair of tongs so they don’t stick. Drain and lay flat on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Should spinach be cooked before putting in lasagna?
Yes. The spinach is high in water content and has to be cooked before adding to the lasagna, otherwise, it will make the lasagna soggy and/or watery. Use fresh baby spinach or frozen-thawed and drained spinach.
What can I substitute for mushrooms?
Substitute mushrooms with canned quartered artichokes or fresh zucchini. If using artichokes, add them towards the end with the chicken.
Can I make this lasagna in a 9X13 pan?
You certainly can but I recommend doubling the recipe then.
What is the correct order to layer a lasagna?
The correct order for this chicken mushroom lasagna is as follows:
- noodles
- chicken
- sauce
- cheese
Repeat for a total of 4 layers.
What temperature to put oven for lasagna?
You’ll need to bake the lasagna at 375 degrees F.
Do you cover lasagna with foil when baking?
Yes. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes and then uncover the lasagna and bake for 15 minutes more.
How long should you let the lasagna rest before cutting?
Let the lasagna rest for about 15-20 minutes, uncovered, before cutting and serving. This lasagna is very creamy and if you cut into it right away, it will fall apart.
Why is my lasagna soupy?
Here are few tips to make sure your lasagna is not watery and runny:
- Cook the mushrooms and spinach until all of the liquid has evaporated. Both are high in water content and therefore you’ll want to cook them down until no liquid is left in the pan.
- Allow the white sauce to simmer until thickened so any all moisture can evaporate.
How to Make Chicken and Spinach Lasagna
Make the Chicken Filling: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook onions, garlic, mushrooms, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and cook until mushrooms have softened and all of the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in spinach and cook until wilted. Off heat, stir in cooked chicken, and set it aside.
Make the White Sauce: In a small bowl make a slurry by whisking together the flour and 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining chicken stock, milk, nutmeg, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and then gradually whisk in the flour slurry. Simmer until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and immediately remove off heat.
Assemble and Bake: Pour half of the white sauce onto a bottom of a baking dish, top with 2 noodles, 1 cup of chicken mixture, 1 cup sauce, and 1/4 cup of mozzarella. Repeat 3 more layers with noodles, chicken, sauce, and cheese.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer. Rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Serving Side Dishes
This chicken and spinach lasagna serves best with a fresh salad. Here are a few suggestions:
Video: How to Make Chicken Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna
More Chicken Recipes
- One-Pan Chicken with Zucchini and Corn
- One-Pan Balsamic Chicken
- Chicken Stroganoff
- One-Pot Chicken Stew
- Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe
Chicken Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chicken mushroom and spinach lasagna made with shredded chicken, mushrooms, spinach, no-boil lasagna noodles, and delicious milk based sauce. It’s creamy, yet light and does not taste like you’re eating loads of noodles.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 8 oz. white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 1 (6 oz.) bag fresh baby spinach
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 8 no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna noodles
- 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add oil and then the onions, garlic, mushrooms, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms soften while stirring occasionally. Make sure all of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated before moving to step 3.
- Stir in spinach; cook until wilted and all of its moisture has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cooked chicken. Set it aside.
- In a small bowl make a slurry by whisking together 1/2 cup chicken stock with flour. It should be thick milky consistency. Set it aside. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, milk, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a slow simmer over medium heat, stirring occassionally. Once the mixture starts to bubble up around the edges, add the slurry while whisking nonstop. Simmer until thickened, about 5-8 minute, whisking occassionally. Stir in Parmesan cheese and then remove from heat.
- Pour 1/2 cup sauce into bottom of 10X10 square baking dish, top with 2 noodles, 1 cup chicken mixture, 1 cup sauce, and 1/4 cup mozzarella, making sure noodles are covered with sauce. You can even press them down lightly. Repeat 3 more layers with noodles, chicken, sauce, and cheese. Last layer will have slightly more sauce and remaining cheese on top.
- Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer. If desired, broil for 2-3 minutes for golden brown top. Let stand 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
- Recipe Update 12/3/21: This recipe has been retested and updated to reflect some of the comments/feedback since originally published on 4/21/17. Here are the changes that I’ve made: Reduced the salt by 1/4 teaspoon. Reduced the chicken stock by 1/2 cup and increased the milk by 1/2 cup as many of you mentioned that the sauce was not thickening for you. I’ve retested the sauce many times and it does thicken. Make sure to use whole milk. Also, I changed the method of how the flour is added to the milk mixture as many of you had trouble getting the flour lumps out of the sauce. So now instead of whisking the flour directly into all of the milk and stock, you can make a slurry with flour and some of the stock and add to simmering milk. Please note the step-by-step pictures still reflect the old method.
- Common Questions: I included common questions and answers in the body of the post. If there is a question that I missed, please feel free to ask in the comments below.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 328
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Sodium: 812.7 mg
- Fat: 10.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.5 g
- Protein: 24.4 g
- Cholesterol: 39 mg
Keywords: comfort food, white lasagna, no boil noodles, easy
It’s a good recipe, but all the “What is lasagna made of?” and “Let’s answer Q&A” reads poorly. Are you just trying to help your Google search results? Lasagna isn’t an exotic dish. Just cut to the chase and put all the fluff at the bottom for those that care to read it.
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Correct. That’s why our “jump to recipe” button bypasses all that if you don’t want to read it.
We enjoyed this lasagna recipe very much. I used all the ingredients listed but added more cheese and lots of fresh basil. I went about it a little differently by making a roux instead of using the slurry. It was delicious! Such a nice change from tomato-based lasagna. The leftovers were fantastic, too! I’ll be making this again. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
The chicken, spinach and mushroom lasagna was very good! Soaking the lasagna no bake noodles was new for me and I also learned that in a pinch (no nutmeg in the house for some reason) that I could substitute Allspice using the same 1/4tsp measurement. It was very good. Recipe was yummy and really perfect for very cold day in Dec. served with side of steamed broccoli. Thank you! Linda
★★★★★
Can I prepare the night before and place im the oven the next day?
Yes – it should be just fine.
Very strange & unappealing sauce for what could have been a great recipe. I made my own Alfredo sauce but followed your recipe for the chicken/spinach mixture.
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Your recipe for white sauce doesn’t make sense
It’s the weirdest recipe I’ve ever seen
Sorry but it was really bad
That’s what I thought. Ended up throwing it out and making a roux based cheese sauce. wasted a lot of milk.
I’m planning to make this tonight for dinner, I have leftover chicken and it seems like a great option. I’m wondering if I could substitute zucchini noodles for the lasagna noodles … trying to avoid carbs for a bit. Thank you.
Hi Tracy: So this lasagna is very creamy and the lasagna noodles do a good job of soaking up some of the liquid during baking. If you use zucchini noodles, most likely the lasagna will be more on the soggy side since zucchini is so high in water content but I think it will taste okay. You might just end up with a deconstructed lasagna 🙂 Let me know how it turns out for you.
This was amazing. I live alone, so instead of making one big dish, I made several small ones and froze them. My only challenge was breaking the noodles the right size to fit the small pans. I didn’t have any milk, so I used half & half. I will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love the idea of making smaller portions. Thank you.
Can you put together the night before and bake the next day?
Yes it should be fine.
i used kale instead of spinach ( my girls like kale better) and used half and half instead of milk, my slurry thickened, looks good in the oven thanks for the recipe
Can you make the Chicken Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna ahead of time (like the day before)?
A lot of the readers have made this lasagna ahead of time with success. Simply assemble, cover, and bake the next day.
Husband: What do you mean this is lasagna? There’s no red sauce, it’s the wrong cheese, did you really put chicken in it?
P.S.: He loved it, and finished up the leftovers today for lunch.
★★★★★
Awesome recipe.. but I’ve spent half my day scrolling just to get to the bloomin method! Chill on the ‘thesis’ dude!
Dude! The 80s called and want you back 😏. I just click on the “Jump to Recipe” button and there you are.
Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
Can this be made the day before and refrigerated..?.
Made this recipe and it’s definitely a family favorite. I did cheat however due to time restraints by using jarred Alfredo sauce. I’m eager to try with your sauce, but with my cheat the whole prep took around 10 minutes. Love it and thanks for the awesome recipes!
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Thank you Tim! So glad you love it.
Love this dish. I have made it twice now and we love it.
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Hi Katya, I’m just starting to make this delicious-looking recipe & noticed that when you select the “2X” version, the recipe doesn’t change to a 9 X 13 pan in the instructions. Looking forward to making it now & baking it tomorrow!
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I hope you enjoy it! Correct…if doubling the recipe, use a larger baking dish.
Can this be frozen? Would you cook then freeze? Or freeze then cook?
I haven’t tried freezing this lasagna but a lot of our readers have. I would assemble and freeze without cooking.
Thanks!
How long would you plan to bake it from frozen for a 9×13 pan?
I normally add 15 extra minutes to anything frozen. So you can start with that, check, and add more time if needed.
I have made this a couple of times and everyone loves it. One question. Every time I make it the noodles seem to still be. A little hard. I am making it to take to a large family gathering and I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how to get the noodles softer. Can I use regular cooed noodles. Thanks for a phenomenal recipe.
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Are you using the no-boil noodles? And also when assembling the lasagna, make sure the noodles are completely covered with the sauce.
Use the Barilla oven ready noodles as the bake perfectly!
We decided to try this on a cold January evening! So very good! Such a comfort meal for a cold winter evening. We will definitely make again!
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This is a great comfort food and stores well….if you even have any leftovers ha ha. I used frozen spinach because that’s what I had on hand it and gluten free pasta & flour and it turned out fine. I did use half and half instead of milk also (sometimes you just gotta go with what you have on hand and hope for the best) I didnt have any issues with a thickening sauce or with the directions, although I have been cooking a long time and impromptu is what I do. This is now part of the regular rotation since everyone loved it so much.
★★★★★