White Chicken Lasagna with Pumpkin and Spinach

Lately, we’ve been busy bees and weeknight cooking hasn’t happened too frequently. To make up for it, I usually spend the majority of my Sunday in the kitchen, but by the time Wednesday rolls around, we’re sick of the weekend leftovers.

Last weekend it dawned on me that I could do all the prep for a meal on Sunday, but hold off on cooking it for a couple days. This lasagna was perfect. I assembled it on Sunday and stored it in the fridge til it was baked on Tuesday. It was nice to have a fresh home-cooked meal midweek, without all the work!

White Chicken Lasagna with Pumpkin and Spinach

(adapted from One Ordinary Day)

• 1 1/2 – 2 boxes lasagna noodles, cooked per box instructions
• 1 stick butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups milk (I used skim and it was still super creamy)
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tbsp fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 (10 oz) box frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed of extra liquid
• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add the flour, salt and pepper, and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently (make sure you do this– I was trying to multitask and burnt the bottom of my sauce!). Remove from heat and add 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir in basil and oregano.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Thinly cover the bottom of the pan with sauce. Add a layer of lasagna noodles. Layer with more sauce, the chicken and the ricotta cheese.

Add another layer of pasta. Top with sauce, spinach, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Add another layer of pasta. Top with sauce and spread the pumpkin over top. Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Add final layer of lasagna. Top with remaining sauce and cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes (bake 30 minutes if the lasagna has been stored in the fridge). Remove foil and continue to cook until bubbly.

Allow lasagna to sit about 15 minutes before cutting into it.

The lasagna was great! It was cheesy and decadent, but I felt OK about it since it had a couple veggies hiding inside. We enjoyed the lasagna for dinners and lunches for a couple days and then the last few pieces were popped in the freezer in individual containers for easy and portable future lunches!