This Cheesy Chicken Lasagna has layers of chicken topped with flavorful, creamy sauce, and lots of cheesy goodness. This recipe takes chicken lasagna to a new level!
High School Dinners
In high school I was a cheerleader, and before games, someone’s mama would bring in dinner for the squad. Before a game my sophomore year, my best friend Emily’s mom brought in cheesy chicken lasagna. I had never eaten chicken lasagna before that day, and I was in awe. I thought it was incredible.
Shortly after being introduced to chicken lasagna, my mom started making a similar cheesy chicken lasagna recipe from this Southern Living cookbook (Amazon link -it’s a fantastic cookbook). Over time she and I both changed it here and there to make it into THIS. It is hands down one of my favorite casseroles.
Cheesy Chicken Lasagna
I like the taste of casseroles that have cream cheese sauces, but I don’t like the way I feel after eating them. So for me, one of the positives of this recipes is that it uses shredded cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. This cheesy chicken lasagna is pure comfort food, and comfort it brings.
I recommend it for dinner any time of the year, for freezing, to take to a pot luck, to make for a new mama …. it’s an all around excellent staple casserole.
If freezing, I assemble the casserole up to the point of baking, cover it with plastic and aluminum foil, and put in the freezer. When preparing to eat one that has been frozen, I thaw it completely before baking it.
11/14/19: Photos updated to better reflect this lasagna’s cheesy amazing deliciousness.
Cheesy Chicken Lasagna
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds chicken breasts cut thinly (thin chicken cooks better)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
Sauce
- 2.5 teaspoons garlic
- 2.5 tablespoons butter
- 2.5 10.5 ounce cans cream of celery soup
- 2.5 teaspoons oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1.25 cup chicken broth from chicken juices, or premade
- 1 teaspoon dehydrated onion
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Assembly
- ~12 lasagna noodles I prefer oven ready
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Cook Chicken
- Mix together salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, celery seed, and chicken broth. Pour over chicken.
- Cook in Instant Pot on high for 13 minutes and let natural release for 10 minutes. Or, cook in slow cooker low for 6-8 hours, or high 4-5 hours. Or, line baking pan with aluminum foil, place chicken and mixture in foil and fold the foil up as tight as you can around the chicken; then, bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Once chicken is cooked, remove from broth with slotted spoon. Shred chicken with two forks. Reserve broth for sauce. Set chicken aside.
Sauce
- Cook garlic and butter in large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Turn to medium-low and add soups, oregano, pepper, dehydrated onion, and onion powder. Take 1 cup of broth from cooked chicken and also mix this into pan. Let simmer for about 3 minutes. Note: If you don’t have enough broth, or you threw it out by accident, you can use pre-made chicken broth instead. I highly recommend the broth from the cooked chicken though as it has some tasty spices.
Assemble
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Or, do like I do, and get the oven ready lasagna noodles which make this recipe a breeze.
- Cover bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish with about 1/2 cup sauce. Cover sauce with lasagna noodles (this will take about 4 noodles and you’ll likely have to break one to make it fit). Cover noodles with 1/3 of the chicken, 1/3 of the sauce, and 1/3 of the mozzarella & cheddar cheeses. Repeat, but end with the last 1/2 of the sauce. Reserve the remaining mozzarella & cheddar.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove foil, top with remaining mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan cheeses. Bake for another 6-8 minutes, or until cheeses are bubbly.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided on this website is an estimate only and is not guaranteed.
If you enjoyed this Cheesy Chicken Lasagna, you may enjoy these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Beef and Sausage Lasagna
Lemon Thyme Chicken Casserole
The Best Baked Ziti
Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
Chicken Mole Enchiladas
The following items were used to make this recipe:
Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles: Just make you life easier and start using these for all your lasagnas.
Pyrex Baking Dish: Since it has a cover, it’s my go to for most casseroles if I know I’m going to have leftovers.
Instant Pot: As I’ve mentioned before, I use this thing every chance I get. See the Chicken Tikka Masala post to learn more about my history with Instant Pot.
