Leftover Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna in a cheesy and creamy bechamel sauce, a delicious and easy dinner that takes comfort food to the very next level. If you like the classic spinach and artichoke dip, you will love this chicken lasagna with a twist.
You know you made one delicious dish when you can't stop eating it. And let me tell you, this cheesy chicken lasagna is one of the best dishes I've had in a while.
Loaded with carbs, sure, but hey, so worth it! You know me already, I tend to cook either low-carb, super light recipes, or coma-inducing carb recipes.
Now, I wouldn't quite say that this chicken lasagna is heavy, on the contrary, it's a lot lighter than the traditional ground beef lasagna. I have experimented with lasagna recipes quite a lot, from High Protein Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna, to a light Healthy Turkey Lasagna with Spinach and Ricotta.
They all have different fillings, but are equally delicious, so it's hard to pick on I like best. I suppose it depends on my mood too, sometimes I prefer a hearty meal, other times, a light one. But, no matter what, this chicken lasagna with spinach and artichokes is definitely a winner here.
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How to make bechamel sauce
The best lasagna filling starts with a silky creamy bechamel sauce. It's so easy to make it, but if you want to get the best white sauce, there is one ingredient that makes all the difference: dijon mustard. Just a little bit goes a long way, trust me.
- melt the butter, add the flour and mix well
- pour in the milk, whisking well to avoid lumps, and keep whisking until the sauce thickens
- add the grated cheese, dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and remove from the heat
That's the sauce done. Before adding the other ingredients, divide the sauce, a quarter of it can go towards topping the lasagna and coating the dish, and the rest for the filling. To finish the filling, add the cooked chicken cut up into small pieces, the spinach (if using frozen and thawed one, squeeze the water really well) and the chopped artichokes.
How to assemble the chicken, spinach and artichoke lasagna
Depending on the size of your dish, you might have to break some of the lasagna sheets into smaller pieces, as they won't fit in.
- coat the dish with a thin layer of bechamel sauce
- arrange one layer of lasagna sheets and top with half of the filling
- arrange another layer of lasagna sheets, and again another layer of filling
- for the top, we need one more layer of lasagna sheets, which will be topped with the remaining bechamel sauce and grated cheese
And that's all, this is probably the fun part, and it really does not take long at all. Feel free to add as much or as little grated cheese as you like, but do make sure the lasagna sheets are covered well with sauce, otherwise they will not soften during baking.
Why is my lasagna falling apart?
There could be a few reasons why lasagna in general, or this particular lasagna falls apart, although I really don't think that could possibly happen. But here are a few tips for you:
- make sure you squeeze the spinach well - if it's still watery, the sauce will be way too thin, and you'll end up with a soggy lasagna that can't be cut up properly
- wait until the white sauce thickens before removing it from the heat, otherwise the sauce won't be good enough to bind the ingredients together
- the lasagna will be cut up a lot better if you wait for it to cool down slightly after removing from the oven, when it's bubbling hot, the layers won't look as nice
Now, with the last point, not sure I could follow it myself, I love food that is super hot, rather than warm or cold. So I usually just dig in straight away 🙂
Other spinach and artichoke recipes
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Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
For the bechamel sauce
- 30 g butter (about 2 tbsp)
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- 2 cups full-fat milk
- ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the filling
- 1 cup leftover chicken, cut into cubes
- ½ cup frozen spinach, thawed
- ½ cup canned artichokes, chopped
To assemble
- 12 sheets lasagna
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- To make the sauce, melt the butter in a pan set over a medium heat, add the flour, and whisk well.
- Pour over the milk, and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.
- Add the grated cheese, dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and mix well, then remove from the heat.
- Divide the sauce, so that 3 quarters of it can go towards the filling, and the rest for assembling the lasagna.
- Add the chicken, artichokes and spinach, making sure you squeeze the spinach well, so it's not watery.
- Brush the dish with a thin layer of white sauce, arrange one layer of lasagna sheets (see photo no 2), then spread half of the filling over.
- Arrange another layer of lasagna sheets, again filling, and top with other sheets.
- Spread the remaining white sauce all over the top lasagna sheets, and cover with grated cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahreneheit) for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden and the lasagna is bubbling hot.
Nutrition
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Barbara
Only thing ending the last layer with lasagne noodle then cheese made that top layer tough. Next time I’ll end with filling and cheese. Otherwise delicious and loved it.p.s. Made it with turkey
Lisa
I was going to make this tomorrow but I purchased the wavy lasagna noodles. How do I adjust the recipe for that … just par-boil the noodles first?
Daniela Apostol
I am afraid I never used wavy lasagna noodles, so I wouldn't be able to advise. Perhaps the packet instructions can help?
Donna
This looks delicious! I am wondering if you've ever made it with leftover turkey. I have a huge amount of cooked and sliced turkey ready to be used!
Daniela Apostol
Leftover turkey would work exactly the same way, it’s absolutely fine to use it. I am glad you liked the recipe!
Susan
This was delish! I made a bit more filling as I had alt of leftover chicken, and so I then had to make more bechamel sauce at the end when I read the comment that the lasagna needed to be covered in sauce (or would not cook correctly) I also seasoned the filling with Italian herb mix and put some garlic powder in the sauce, and tossed some leftover cheeses in for good measure. I ended up cooking this for 30 minutes which may be a combination of my oven temp and the density of the lasagna. Definitely a Do Again. Thank you!
Daniela Apostol
Glad you liked it!