An Onion Exposed: White Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

I am a huge fan of lasagna-- sauce, beef, cheese...the whole works. I was struggling trying to find some new recipes to try out, and I was voicing my frustration to my sister. She told me that I should try a White Chicken lasagna. Having only ever made the tomatoey goodness that is "traditional" lasagna, I was a little skeptical.

But after having made my meal plan, which looked rather boring and kept repeating with the same ol' same ol', I decided that it wouldn't hurt to give this a go.

Worth it!! My husband really liked it and the sauce was really yummy. Next time I make it, I am going to play around with a little more spice and see what I get; for a first time, there was no complaints. :)

White Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

Sauce:

4 T. butter

1 white onion

1 T. minced garlic (we love garlic--I will probably use even more next time.)

6 T. flour

1 c. low sodium chicken broth

2 1/4 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon dried basil (I only had fresh basil so I used 1 T.)

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Lasagna:

9 lasagna noodles (I boiled them until they were almost ready)

15 oz. ricotta cheese

2 cups prepared chicken chunks

1 pound mozzarella cheese (I used more like 2 lbs. Don't judge. ;)

1 1/2 c. parmesan cheese (reserve 1/4 c. for the top)

18 oz. fresh spinach (I only used about 12 oz. My pan was so full, I don't know if I could have even gotten all the spinach it called for in the pan. Good luck to you. It does look like a bunch, but it cooks down.

1 T. fresh parsley

Gather all your ingredients for your sauce. I mixed the broth and the milk together, in case you were wondering where the broth was.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Saute onions for approximately 4 minutes or until translucent and tender.

Stir in garlic.

Add flour, stirring constantly. Allow to cook for about a minute, making sure to continue to stir.

Gradually add the milk and chicken broth while whisking vigorously to make it all smooth.

Add in the seasonings. Bring to a simmer.

Continue to let it simmer, approximately 5 minutes or until it has thickened.

Gather all your ingredients to layer your lasagna. Don't forget to reserve 1/4 c. parmesan for the top of your lasagna.

Start by spooning in 1 1/2 cups of prepared sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

Layer 3 partially cooked lasagna noodles.

Dollop half of the ricotta contents as the next layer.

Next, spread half of your chicken.

Divide your spinach in half and layer next.

Put on your mozzarella cheese...what the recipe calls for or what you like. :)

Sprinkle on half the parmesan cheese, excluding the reserved amount for the top.

Carefully press the layer down with your hands. It almost appears you won't get another layer on there but you will. :)

Place 3 noodles over the top. Pour half of remaining sauce on top of the noodles. Repeat layers (remaining ricotta, chicken, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan.)

After completing the layer, put the last 3 noodles on top. Pour the remainder of the sauce. Top with reserved parmesan cheese.