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If you love classic lasagna but want something a little different, this Creamy chicken version is going to be your new go-to. Layers of tender shredded chicken, a rich ricotta filling, and silky béchamel sauce — it’s comforting, satisfying, and somehow even better the next day. I make this on repeat all winter long, and it never lasts more than a day in my house.
Why You’ll Love This
- Lighter than classic lasagna — chicken in place of beef means it doesn’t sit as heavy, even with all that cheese
- That béchamel silkiness — the creamy white sauce gives it a richness that tomato-based versions just can’t match
- Even better the next day — the layers press together overnight and taste more settled, more like they belong
- Freezer-friendly — it travels well, reheats beautifully, and is the perfect dish to have stashed away
- Flexible — use rotisserie chicken, jarred Alfredo, swap the cheeses — it’s forgiving and comes out great either way
A Few Notes on the Ingredients
The chicken — I almost always use rotisserie. There, I said it. I used to poach my own chicken breasts for this, and you can, and it tastes marginally better in a way I’m not sure anyone can actually detect. But life is short and the rotisserie chickens at the grocery store are already cooked, and I have other things to do on a Tuesday afternoon.
The ricotta situation is important. Don’t buy the lowest-moisture stuff if you can help it — the texture gets grainy in a way that bothers me. I use whole-milk ricotta and I don’t feel guilty.
Fresh basil and parsley — yes, do this, don’t skip it. The dried stuff will not give you the same brightness in the filling. I keep a little pot of basil on my windowsill that’s half dead most of the time but I get enough leaves out of it.
The nutmeg on top is optional but I always use it. It’s barely perceptible but I think it rounds something out — one of those small things that makes a difference.
For the béchamel: if you have forty-five minutes and feel like standing at the stove stirring, make it from scratch. It’s genuinely better. If you don’t, a good jarred Alfredo works. I’ve used both within the same month and both were good.
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked until just barely done — still a little firm — and laid out so they don’t stick together (I drizzle them with a little oil on a sheet pan)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced — I go pretty fine on the dice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (I usually do 3, but the recipe says 2 so use your judgment)
- About 1½ pounds of cooked, shredded chicken — again, rotisserie is fine
- 2½ cups ricotta cheese, whole-milk
- 1 cup grated Parmesan, divided
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups mozzarella, shredded — I buy the block and shred it myself, it melts better
- ¼ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 cups béchamel or Alfredo sauce
- A little grating of fresh nutmeg for the top, if you want it
Let’s Make It
Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat and add your diced onion. This is where I usually pour myself a small glass of wine and accept that the next hour is going to be good. Cook the onion until it’s soft and translucent — five, seven minutes — then add the garlic and go another minute or two. Add the shredded chicken, toss everything together, warm it through, then set it aside. Season it — salt, pepper, don’t be shy.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, half a cup of the Parmesan, the egg, and the fresh herbs. Season this too. It should smell like something you want to eat straight from the bowl, which you will probably do a little of and that’s fine.
Now, assembly. This is the meditative part. Or the maddening part, depending on the day.
Spread a thin layer of your béchamel across the bottom of the baking dish — just enough so the noodles don’t stick. Lay down three noodles. Spread half the ricotta mixture over them, then half the chicken mixture, then a cup of mozzarella, then about a third of your remaining sauce.
Repeat: three more noodles, the rest of the ricotta, the rest of the chicken, another cup of mozzarella, another third of the sauce.
Then your final three noodles on top. The last of the béchamel goes over them, then the remaining mozzarella, then the last half cup of Parmesan. If you’re doing the nutmeg, now’s the time — just a little, barely a dusting.
Cover it tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Then pull the foil off and give it another 10 to 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling and your kitchen smells like the kind of place people want to be. Let it rest for 10 minutes before you cut into it. This part is hard. Do it anyway. The layers need time to set up or you’ll get a beautiful, delicious mess instead of a beautiful, sturdy slice.
Some Variations Worth Knowing About
Try swapping half the mozzarella for smoked provolone — it adds a depth I didn’t expect. A little smoky, a little more complex. I’ve also done a version with Gruyère mixed in with the Parmesan on top and it was nutty and wonderful.
For a fully vegetarian version, replace the chicken with a mix of roasted zucchini, bell peppers, and Spinach — layer it in the same way, and honestly, it doesn’t feel like a compromise at all.
One thing I’ll say about béchamel from scratch: if you have the time, do it. Add a bay leaf while the milk is warming. A clove if you have one. Pull them out before you use it. It’s a small thing and it makes the sauce taste like it came from somewhere.
Storage
Leftovers keep in the fridge for four days, maybe five if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t worry about that extra day. Cover it well or it picks up weird refrigerator smells.
It freezes beautifully — I usually cut it into individual portions, wrap them in foil, and stack them in a freezer bag. Reheat straight from frozen in a 350°F oven, covered, for about 45 minutes, or thaw it overnight and reheat in 20-ish minutes. The microwave works but the texture suffers a little. I still do it on weekday lunches and don’t mind.
Final Notes
I almost forgot — serve it with something green and crisp. A salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through all that cream in a way that makes the whole meal feel balanced. Garlic bread on the side if people want it, and they will want it.
There’s something I’ve been thinking about lately, which is that the recipes I come back to again and again aren’t usually the most impressive ones I’ve made. They’re the ones that have been somewhere with me — a random Tuesday that turned into a good night because of what was in the oven. This lasagna is one of those. It doesn’t have a dramatic origin story, really. I just kept making it until it felt like mine.
Creamy Chicken Lasagna
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles cooked until just barely done
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 lb cooked shredded chicken rotisserie chicken works well
- 2 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese divided
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese preferably shredded from a block
- 1/4 cup fresh basil roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley roughly chopped
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 cups béchamel or Alfredo sauce
- fresh nutmeg optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Cook the lasagna noodles until just barely done, then lay them out separately so they do not stick.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and cook for 5–7 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded chicken and cook just until warmed through.
- Season the chicken mixture with salt and black pepper, then set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, egg, basil, and parsley.
- Season the ricotta mixture with salt and black pepper.
- Spread a thin layer of béchamel or Alfredo sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Lay 3 noodles over the sauce.
- Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
- Add half of the chicken mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, and about one-third of the remaining sauce.
- Repeat with 3 more noodles, the remaining ricotta, remaining chicken, 1 cup mozzarella, and another third of the sauce.
- Top with the final 3 noodles, the remaining sauce, remaining mozzarella, and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.
- Add a light dusting of fresh nutmeg if desired.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 10–15 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
- Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before slicing.