I remember when I was younger, I was always so excited when my mom made lasagna. She only made it during the holidays and so it was always a treat. I loved helping to make it from boiling the lasagna noodles, to grating the cheese (as I also ate half of the cheese in the process lol!), layering everything and especially that first cheesy pasta bite. My mom's lasagna is heavily Indian influenced. As I grew up and starting tasting different cuisines, I began to realize that not every dish needs to have a ton of garam masala to make it delicious. Through the many years of eating and making so many lasagnas, my favorite one to make is this easy, cheesy, basil garlic chicken lasagna!
Layers of basil and cheese!
- Herbed Ricotta Cheese
- Basil Garlic Chicken
- Lots of cheese! - I love freshly grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese
The basil garlic chicken in this dish really makes it amazing! The ground chicken is really just simply flavored with a hearty portion of garlic and Italian seasonings. It may seem like a lot of garlic (and you can reduce it to your preference!) but the garlic gets cooked down and gets pretty mild. That addition of the fresh basil at the every end, helps to brighten up the dish as well!
The basil flavor permeates throughout the dish because it is also mixed into the ricotta cheese. I really like adding basil and herbs into the ricotta because its adds additional flavor in a usually unflavored layer.
How to Assemble the Basil Garlic Chicken Lasagna
First, make sure to put a good amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan. You want to make sure that every noodle is getting sauce on both sides!
The bottom two layers will be as follows: 4 noodles, ½ of the ricotta mixture, ½ of the ground chicken, pasta sauce, shredded mozzarella, sprinkle of parmesan cheese
The ricotta is easiest to spread on the noodles and the pasta sauce is best paired with the chicken but between the cheeses to provide that needed moisture in exactly the right spot.
Repeat this layer pattern for the 2nd level.
The top layer will be noodle, pasta sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Not only is the lasagna delicious but...
The lasagna will usually last us for 2 dinners, which works out great for those busy weeks! The best thing is that the lasagna usually tastes better the next day.
I've had really great success in making this lasagna ahead of time for parties. You can assemble the lasagna, cover it with foil and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days then bake it right before you're ready to eat.
It also freezes well! Same as above, assemble the lasagna and instead of baking it, cover with foil and freeze. Then set it out to defrost in the fridge the night before and bake it when you're ready to eat. Not that you need serve anything with lasagna but this Easy Rosemary Garlic Focaccia is a perfect easy pairing!
Basil Garlic Chicken Lasagna
Ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles oven ready, no boil
- 4-5 cups pasta sauce or about 30-36 oz
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese freshly shredded
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- cooking spray
Basil Garlic Chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 5-6 garlic cloves minced or grated
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning dried spice blend
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon vinegar optional
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt optional
Herbed Ricotta Cheese Mixture
- 1¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Make the Basil Garlic Chicken Mixture
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the ground chicken and start mincing after about 1 minutes. Continue to stir and mince the chicken until it is fully cooked about 10 minutes.
- Add in the grated garlic and all of the seasoning spices except for the fresh basil. Stir to distribute, stir in water and vinegar (if using) and cook for 2 minutes. Water should have cooked off, if not cook for another 1 -2 minutes.
- Remove chicken mixture from heat, sprinkle fresh basil and stir. Set aside.
Herbed Ricotta Cheese Mixture
- In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients listed for the cheese mixture and stir to combine, set aside.
Assemble and Bake the Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Spray a large 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread about ½ cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Lay 4 pieces of lasagna noodles. Spread ½ of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles, sprinkled ½ of the chicken mixture over the ricotta, ladle about 1-2 cups of pasta sauce over the chicken, sprinkle about 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese over the sauce.
- Repeat the same noodle, ricotta, chicken, sauce, mozzarella, parmesan layer again.
- The top layer will be the last 4 pieces of noodles, 1-2 cups of pasta sauce, the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan.
- Cove with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
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