This white Chicken Pesto Lasagna is layered with shredded chicken, a creamy pesto béchamel sauce, and mozzarella cheese. It is a delicious and easy, baked pasta dish that is perfect to prep ahead!
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Key Ingredients
- Shredded chicken: many grocery stores sell pre-shredded rotisserie chicken, which works great for making this a quick dinner to put together! Alternatively, season boneless, skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake at 375 until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 20 minutes.
- Half and half: you also substitute whole milk, if you prefer!
- Pesto: I recommend making homemade pesto sauce! It is easy to make and so flavorful. For a quicker dinner, opt for a good quality store-bought pesto sauce, such as Rana.
- Lasagna noodles: I've used both regular and no-boil lasagna noodles and both work great. The no-boil noodles require slightly more bake time and end up a little more al dente, but are a great option for a quick dinner. If you have the time, I recommend opting for regular lasagna noodles.
- Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses: I use freshly grated Parmesan cheese and pre-shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese. I do not recommend using freshly shredded mozzarella cheese as it contains a lot of liquid that can make your lasagna soggy.
- Optional additions: For a slight variation, feel free to layer in chopped sun-dried tomatoes or sauteed mushrooms!
Tips for making chicken pesto lasagna
1. Make the béchamel sauce by starting with a roux (butter and flour sauce). Melt the butter in a large pot on medium heat. Add in the flour and continually stir until the raw flour smell is gone and the sauce smells nutty, about 2 minutes.
2. Finish making the béchamel sauce by slowly whisking in the half and half and bringing to a low simmer. Whisk until thickened and you can just see the bottom of the pot when you run your spoon along the bottom of the pot. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the pesto. Taste adjusting for salt and pepper as needed.
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3. Layer the pesto sauce, lasagna noodles, and shredded chicken in a 9x13 baking dish. I have 3 full layers. Top everything with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 375 until hot, bubbly, and the cheese is golden brown. If you are using no-boil lasagna noodles, run a knife through the lasagna to make sure the noodles are fully cooked. If the cheese is golden before the pasta is done cooking, you can loosely cover the baking dish with a piece of foil while it finishes baking.
Preparing chicken pesto lasagna in advance
Lasagna is a great make-ahead meal (check out my classic meat lasagna recipe)! Prep it but wait to bake it up to 2 days in advance and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator. When you are ready to enjoy it, bring the lasagna to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking it.
Freezer tips
Lasagna is a great frozen meal. Freeze it after assembling but before baking. It can be well covered and then frozen for up to 3 months. To enjoy, allow the lasagna to defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you forgot to defrost it, prepare for it to bake much longer (about twice as long). If baking from frozen you may also need to cover with foil part way through so that the center can keep cooking without the top burning.
Dinner Party Menu Recommendations
This lasagna is a great dish to serve at a dinner party because it can be prepped completely in advance and then baked in the oven while you and your guests enjoy appetizers. I recommend serving this baked pasta dish with:
- Herb Whipped Goat Cheese for an appetizer
- Caesar Salad as a side
- Cheesy Garlic Bread as a side
- Chocolate Cherry Brownies for dessert
More pesto recipes you'll love
📖 Recipe
Chicken Pesto Lasagna
Ingredients
Pesto Béchamel
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups half and half
- 1 cup homemade or storebought pesto
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Lasagna
- 9 ounces lasagna noodles
- 3 ½ cups shredded chicken about 1.5 lbs
- 2 cups shredded low moisture mozzarella
- ½ cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F and place the baking rack on the middle shelf. Spray a 9x13 deep lasagna pan with cooking spray.
- (Skip this entire step if using "no-boil" lasagna noodles). Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a generous pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions . Drain the noodles and lay them out on a sheet pan drizzled with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto béchamel. Heat a large pot on medium heat. Add the butter and cook until melted. Stir in the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a thick sauce forms. Continually stir and cook the sauce until the sauce smells nutty and no longer smells like raw flour, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the half and half and bring to a simmer. Continually stir until thickened and you can see the bottom of the pan briefly when your spoon runs along it, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning, and set aside.
- To the baking pan, add a thin, even layer of the pesto mixture to just cover the bottom of the pan. Then add a single layer of lasagna noodles, then ⅓ of the shredded chicken in an even layer, then more pesto sauce. Repeat for 3-4 layers ending on the pesto sauce. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Place the baking pan on a sheet pan and bake for 35-55 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is slightly browned on top, checking halfway and again every 10 minutes. If the top browns too quickly while cooking, loosely cover the pan with foil. (If using no-boil noodles, ensure the pasta is fully cooked before serving). Rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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Anonymous says
My whole family loved it! I did add some chopped spinach and a little crumbled goat cheese
Caitlin Charlton says
I'm so thrilled to hear that! That sounds delicious! 🙂