Chicken Lasagna With Red Sauce Recipe

Lasagna is undoubtedly one of Italy's most ubiquitous dishes, yet its name actually comes from a Greek word, "laganon," according to The Proud Italian, which translates to "thin strips of bread" (via Garrubbo Guide). Nevertheless, lasagna does not even necessarily demand the inclusion of pasta, as recipe developer Kristen Carli, demonstrated to us with her wonderfully creative recipe for 30-minute polenta lasagna. Moreover, although "laganon" makes no reference to meat whatsoever, the "classic" Italian lasagna is the Bolognese version, which is known for being packed with various combinations of beef, veal, and/or pork. That being said, Carli, who is also a private practice registered dietitian in Scottsdale, Arizona, has now introduced us to this clever recipe for a red sauce lasagna that doesn't use any red meat at all. 

"This is a leaner version of classic lasagna because it uses chicken," Carli says. It's also a lot healthier than classic lasagna, because it doesn't rely on béchamel sauce (a creamy, starchy fat-based sauce) for its rich texture. Rather, it gets its creamy texture from mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. And did we mention you'll only need five ingredients — one of which is oven-ready lasagna noodles, which require no boiling, six minutes of prep time, 10 minutes to cook the chicken, and 20 minutes of bake time? Seriously, it's true. Let's take a look at Carli's easy chicken lasagna with red sauce recipe.

For Carli's chicken lasagna with red sauce, you'll need, as noted above, just five ingredients. Specifically, you'll need 1 pound of ground chicken, 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles (Oven-ready lasagna noodles require no boiling, because they're designed to absorb the moisture from whatever dish you're including it in.), and a 32-ounce jar of marinara sauce. 

With regard to the sauce, Carli personally loves Barilla, Rao's, and Otamot. But you'll do well using any "quality red sauce [that] has a great dimension of flavor," Carli advises. And, you can never go wrong with this easy homemade marinara sauce recipe. In terms of supplies, you'll need a frying pan, a 9x13 baking dish, and a spritz or two of nonstick spray.

Before you do anything else, Carlis suggests you start by preheating your oven to 425 F. That's because the prep for this recipe for chicken lasagna with red sauce is going to go by super quickly. In fact, if you have any experience making lasagna with regular lasagna noodles (the kind that requires boiling) and béchamel, you might just be shocked at how quickly you'll go from prepping to baking.

While your oven is heating up, grab a large frying pan or skillet, spritz it with nonstick cooking spray, and place it over medium heat. Add the ground chicken, and use a wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces, and cook it until it is no longer pink (around 10 minutes of cook time).

Now, grab your 9x13-inch baking dish, and give it a good spritz of nonstick cooking spray. Then, pour ⅓ of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange three of your dry lasagna noodles horizontally across the sauce, and then break another noodle so that it fits vertically to fill the remaining space. Top that with ½ of the ground chicken. Top that with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. And there you have your first layer!

Repeat the same layering process once again using another ⅓ of the sauce, another four lasagna noodles (three horizontal and one vertical), the remaining cooked chicken, and another cup of the mozzarella cheese. Now, for your final layer, Carli recommends starting with the remaining four lasagna noodles and then topping those with all of the Parmesan cheese. Then, pour the remaining sauce on top, and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top of that. Place the baking dish in the oven, and set a timer for 20 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven, serve, and enjoy this delicious meal!