White Chicken Lasagna with Spinach
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Creamy garlic sauce with a pinch of nutmeg that nobody can name but everyone notices. Chicken, spinach ricotta and mozzarella go in between the noodles, and a few minutes under the broiler browns the top.
The short version
Make a garlic white sauce from butter, flour, broth and milk. Layer noodles, spinach ricotta, sauced chicken and mozzarella in a 13×9 dish. Bake covered at 375°F for 30 minutes, uncover for 20 to 25, then rest 15 minutes.
What makes ours better
small changes, very loud compliments
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Half broth, half milk in the sauce. Chicken broth gives the sauce a savory backbone and keeps it from tasting like plain cream. You get a lighter sauce with more flavor and no heavy cream.
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Toss the chicken in the sauce. Shredded chicken dries out between layers of noodles. Coated in sauce first, it stays juicy through the whole bake.
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Add nutmeg and Parmesan to the sauce. A pinch of nutmeg is the old-school finish for white sauce, and Parmesan adds salt and depth. Neither one announces itself.
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Finish under the broiler. Two minutes of high heat gives you the browned, blistered top that makes lasagna look finished.
What you need
check the pantry before you promise anyone
- Unsalted butter5 tablespoons
- Yellow onion1 small
- Grated Parmesan½ cup
- Whole-milk ricotta15 ounces
- Frozen chopped spinach10 ounces
- Shredded cooked chicken3 cups
- Dried lasagna noodles12 ounces
- Shredded low-moisture mozzarella3 cups
White sauce
Filling
Assembly
tap each one as it goes in. no double-salting.
Steps
go slow. the good part can’t be rushed.
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Boil the noodles
Heat the oven to 375°F. Boil the noodles in well-salted water until barely tender, a minute or two short of the package time. Drain, rinse briefly under cool water, and blot dry on a clean towel.
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Start the white sauce
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes, adding the garlic for the last 30 seconds. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, until it smells nutty and just starts to turn pale gold, 1 to 2 minutes.
About 5 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Finish the sauce
Whisk in the broth a little at a time, then the milk, stirring until smooth. Simmer, whisking often, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Add the liquid slowly at first. Dumping it in all at once is how you get lumps.
About 5 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Mix the filling and the chicken
Stir the ricotta, spinach, egg and salt together in a bowl. In a second bowl, toss the shredded chicken with 1½ cups of the white sauce.
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Layer the lasagna
Spread 1 cup sauce over the bottom of a greased 13×9-inch dish. Add a layer of 3 noodles, then one-third of the ricotta mixture, one-third of the chicken and a quarter of the mozzarella. Repeat twice more with noodles, ricotta, chicken, mozzarella and a little sauce. Finish with a fourth layer of noodles, the remaining sauce and the remaining mozzarella.
Spread the sauce to the edges of the noodles so the corners stay soft.
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Bake covered
Set the dish on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with foil, tented so it doesn't touch the cheese, and bake 30 minutes.
About 30 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Uncover and brown
Remove the foil and bake until the sauce bubbles at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes more. For a browned top, slide the dish under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, watching closely.
About 20 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Rest and serve
Let it stand 15 minutes so the layers set. Sprinkle with parsley and cut into squares.
About 15 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
Good to know
the stuff I’d tell you over the phone
- Use a rotisserie chicken, or poach 1 pound of boneless chicken breasts or thighs in simmering salted water until they reach 165°F, then shred.
- Frozen spinach should be thawed and wrung out hard in a clean towel. Wet spinach will thin the ricotta and the finished slices won't hold together.
- Swap the nutmeg for a pinch of white pepper if you don't have it. Both are quiet seasonings, so use them lightly.
- Storage. Refrigerate covered up to 4 days. Freeze wrapped squares up to 3 months. Reheat covered at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or microwave a single square with a splash of milk.
Questions, answered
asked and answered at the kitchen counter
Can I use no-boil noodles for white lasagna?
Yes. Use them dry, and make sure each noodle is covered with sauce. Bake covered 10 minutes longer so they soften all the way through.
Can I make white lasagna ahead?
Yes. Assemble it, cover and refrigerate up to a day. Bake from cold and add 10 minutes to the covered bake. It also freezes well unbaked for up to 3 months.
Why is my white sauce lumpy?
The liquid went in too fast or the flour wasn't whisked in smoothly. Whisk in the broth a splash at a time, and if lumps remain, pour the sauce through a fine strainer.
Can I use cooked chicken other than rotisserie?
Yes. Leftover roast chicken, poached breasts or thighs all work. You need about 3 cups shredded. Make sure the chicken is cooked to 165°F before it goes into the dish.
Can I add vegetables?
Sautéed mushrooms and a handful of chopped roasted red pepper are good additions. Cook them first so they don't release water into the layers.
How do I know white lasagna is done?
The sauce bubbles around the edges and in the center, the cheese is melted and lightly golden, and the middle of the dish is hot all the way through.
From the table
Made it? Tell me how it went, and who went back for seconds when they thought nobody was looking.
Made it?
tell me the truth, then tell me who had thirds
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Published October 29, 2026.