Chicken Lasagna

Lasagna is one of those dishes that everyone loves. I find it can also be one of those dishes that people tend to assume takes so much time and so much effort - it's really not like that at all!

This PicNic-style lasagna uses ground chicken (or turkey!) as an alternative to beef.

This is another one of those dishes that I have made and {unsuccessfully} photographed about 100 times by now. It's just so delicious but just so darn hard to make it look good! We got there in the end..

Chicken Lasagna

Serves 4 - 6

600 g (1.3 lb) ground chicken
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, grated
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 650 g (23 oz) jar passata
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp basil, chopped
1 Tbsp oregano, chopped
1 Packet fresh lasagna sheets
salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Sauce

50 g (1.8 oz) butter
1/3 Cup flour
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3 cups skim milk
1 cup grated cheese (e.g. Edam, Cheddar, Noble)


1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Heat a dash of oil in a large fry pan or saucepan over a medium-high heat.

2. Fry the chicken until browned, Remove from the pan and set aside. Return the pan to the heat and fry the onion and garlic for 3 minutes, add the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan and add the carrot, spinach, passata, Worcestershire sauce, basil, and oregano. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Make the cheese sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan, whisking in the flour, and gradually whisking in the milk, whisking well to ensure a lump free sauce. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sauce is thick, but not boiling. Remove from the heat and mix in the nutmeg and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Place a lasagna sheet into the base of an oven proof dish. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the top and a thin layer of cheese sauce. Add another layer of lasagna on top and the other half of of the meat. Top with a lasagna sheet and pour the cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle over some extra cheese.

5. Place in the preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes - until the pasta is cooked and the top is golden.