Creamy Chicken and Spinach Lasagna Recipe

Spinach lasagna is a tasty way to get your family to eat this nutritious veggie. Everyone has family favorite meals.

Mine rotate again and again, depending on how far back in my recipe file I can reach. My Aunt Carla, who is an amazing cook, wrote the rest of this post. Thank you to her for sharing her irresistible recipes with us!

Yesterday, I was searching for an old lasagna recipe I used to love to make for my family, and guess what? I found it!

After looking at it, I found that I could tweak it a bit more by adding chicken for more protein and spinach for a bigger kick of iron.

Spinach hosts 20% of the Daily Value of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, and iron.

Who couldn’t use a few of these beauties hidden inside a yummy, creamy spinach lasagna? Give it a try!

If you’re looking for a tasty vegetarian option, give this broccoli pasta a try. With only 5 ingredients, it makes a great Meatless Monday meal!

For more cozy comfort foods, visit this roundup of 12 dinner recipes from grandma.

Spinach Lasagna Recipe with Chicken and Broccoli

*Note, this large recipe fits nicely in a 15.5″ X 10″ baking pan/casserole dish, and can be halved. Do not half the sauce, though!

What you need for Spinach Lasagna

(Measurements in the printable recipe card below)

• Box of lasagna noodles
• 1 & 1/2 stick butter
• Chicken stock concentrate (like Better Than Bouillon)
• Flour
• Milk
• Dried garlic
• Dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Medium onion
• Ricotta cheese
• Rotisserie chicken
• Broccoli florets
• Frozen spinach
• Sliced mushrooms
• Swiss cheese
• Mozzarella cheese

Spinach Lasagna Directions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Spray the baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Cook the lasagna noodles until they are slightly tender. Do not overcook. Drain, and drizzle a little butter on them so they don’t stick.

Thaw broccoli and spinach separately in the microwave. Use the microwave rather than cooking them, as they will finish cooking in the oven.

Place thawed veggies into a mesh strainer and press until most of the residual water comes out. Lay veggies on a towel to further help release moisture. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the butter until melted and add the chopped onion. Sauté until onions are tender.

Add flour into the skillet with the butter and onions. Stir and cook until the mixture becomes paste-like.

Pour the milk into a measure cup and then add the chicken stock to it. Stir together.

Add the milk/stock blend into the flour mixture on the stove. Whisk to blend to a smooth consistency. If the sauce seems too think, add more milk.

Add salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme to the sauce and stir to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta or cottage cheese, drained broccoli, drained spinach, sliced and drained mushrooms, and chicken pieces.

Time to assemble the lasagna!

Start with a layer of about 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the baking pan.

Then, here is how I layered: 3 noodles on top of the sauce, 1/2 cup of the spinach/broccoli/chicken filling, 1/3 cup sauce, cheese slices – 3 of each flavor, 3 noodles, 1/2 cup of the spinach/broccoli/chicken filling, 1/3 cup sauce, cheese slices – 3 of each flavor, 3 noodles, 1/3 cup sauce, cheese slices – 3 of each flavor.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Spray the inside side of the foil before covering. Since cheese is the last layer, it will stick to the foil if it touches.

Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until it develops a golden crust on top.

Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

This post is updated from its original publish date of 11/01/2014 and was originally written by my Aunt Carla.

Recipe notes and FAQ

How do you soften lasagna noodles without boiling them?

If for some reason you don’t want to boil your lasagna noodles, you can just give them a 30-minute soak in warm water. They’ll soak up just as much water as they would have if they’d been boiled. 

Do you have to cook spinach before putting it in lasagna?

If you use the frozen kind like I did, just thaw it out and drain it thoroughly. However, if you use fresh spinach cook it first to get out all the extra water. 

Why is my lasagna so runny?

You probably didn’t drain the spinach well enough. Spinach has a lot of water. If you don’t drain it well, it can make your lasagna runny. 

What can I use instead of lasagna noodles?

If you don’t have lasagna noodles, you can turn this recipe into a bake using any kind of short noodle like macaroni, ziti, and the like.

Do you have to soften lasagna sheets?

If you want to skip boiling the lasagna, that’s okay as long as the noodle will be completely covered in sauce. The liquid in the sauce will be soaked up by the sheets as they cook. 

Spinach Lasagna with Chicken and Broccoli

Jennifer Soltys

A delicious recipe for spinach lasagna with chicken and broccoli. Cheesy, creamy, and tasty comfort food that the whole family will love.

4.96 from 49 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Additional Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Lunch and Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Servings 12 cups

Calories 608 kcal

Equipment

• Lasagna Pan Cookware
• Lasagna Trio Pan

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 16 oz lasagna noodles
• .75 cup butter 1 ½ sticks
• 2 tbsp chicken stock concentrate like Better Than Bouillon
• ¾ cup flour
• 3 cup milk I used 2%
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 4 cup Ricotta cheese
• 1 whole rotisserie chicken meat picked off the bones
• 16 oz broccoli florets frozen
• 16 oz spinach frozen
• 15 oz sliced mushrooms drained
• 8 oz Swiss cheese sliced
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese sliced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325℉.
• Spray the casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Cook lasagna noodles until they are slightly tender, but not over cooked. Drain, and drizzle a little cooking oil or butter on them so that they do not stick.
  16 oz lasagna noodles
• Thaw broccoli and spinach separately in the microwave. You will want to use the microwave to thaw the vegetables, not cook them, as they will finish cooking in the oven in the lasagna. It is okay if they are slightly cool. Place the thawed vegetables in a mesh strainer and press until most of the residual water comes out. Lay veggies on a tea towel or paper towels to further help release moisture and set aside.
  16 oz broccoli florets, 16 oz spinach
• In a large skillet, heat the butter until melted and add the chopped onion. Sauté until onions are tender.
  .75 cup butter, 1 medium onion
• Add the flour into the pan with the butter and onions. Stir and cook until mixture becomes paste-like, about 5 minutes. Measure milk in a liquid measuring cup and add the chicken stock concentrate to it. Stir to blend.
  ¾ cup flour, 3 cup milk, 2 tbsp chicken stock concentrate
• Add milk-chicken stock concentrate mixture to flour mixture on the stove. Whisk to blend to a smooth consistency. If sauce seems too thick, add a bit more milk to lighten it up. Add to the sauce the salt, pepper, dried garlic, and thyme. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.
  1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 1 tsp thyme
• In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, drained broccoli, drained spinach, sliced drained mushrooms, and chicken pieces.
  4 cup Ricotta cheese, 15 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 whole rotisserie chicken
• Assemble the lasagna.
• Start with a layer of about 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the baking pan.
• Then, here is how I layered: 3 noodles on top of the sauce, 1/2 cup of the spinach/broccoli/chicken filling, 1/3 cup sauce, cheese slices – 3 of each flavor, 3 noodles, 1/2 cup of the spinach/broccoli/chicken filling, 1/3 cup sauce, cheese slices – 3 of each flavor, 3 noodles, 1/3 cup sauce, cheese slices – 3 of each flavor.
  8 oz Swiss cheese, 8 oz mozzarella cheese
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Spray the inside side of the foil before covering. Since cheese is the last layer, it will stick to the foil if it touches.
• Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until it develops a golden crust on top.
• Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

Prefer cottage cheese? Swap the ricotta cheese for 1 large, 24 oz container of cottage cheese and 2 eggs.

A 1 lb box of lasagna noodles contains 18 noodles. I used 9 noodles for this recipe.

About 3/4 cup of the filling was leftover as it would not fit into the pan.

Dried parsley is sprinkled on top for the photos. This is totally optional.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 608kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 29gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 577mgPotassium: 650mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4894IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 581mgIron: 3mg

Keyword broccoli, chicken, lasagna, pasta, spinach

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Pasta recipes to add to your meal plan

• Chicken and broccoli tortellini bake
• Turkey pasta with veggies and cheese
• Meatless kale pasta recipe
• Asparagus and ham pasta skillet
• Simple chicken pasta
• Marry me chicken

This delicious spinach lasagna pairs nicely with a fresh garden salad. Enjoy!