Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Light Pesto Lasagna with Chicken and Spinach

Main Dishes

Light Pesto Lasagna with Chicken and Spinach

Light Pesto Lasagna with Chicken and Spinach

After college graduation, I backpacked through Europe with my friend Britt. One of the highlights of our trip was hiking through the olive orchards and vineyards of the Cinque Terre, a gorgeous section of cliffs in the Italian Riveria. My favorite meal there was an incredible pesto lasagna served in Manarola. When I finally became comfortable experimenting in the kitchen, a few years later, the first dish I wanted to perfect was this yummy pasta. It is only natural that the first recipe I created is the subject of my first blog post!

My pesto lasagna is a much lighter version of the one I had in Italy, because there is no heavy cream sauce involved and the pesto itself is made with chicken stock (and a touch of olive oil) and thickened slightly with roasted shallots and garlic. The lasagna is packed with whole wheat lasagna noodles, chicken, and spinach. I usually serve it with a salad and freeze a portion for later. I’m still hoping to head back to Italy at some point to have the real thing, but for now, I’m happy to be able to indulge in this lighter version!

Light Pesto Lasagna with Chicken and Spinach
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup chopped shallots (about 4-5 shallots)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (bake for 5 min at 350ºF)
2 cups fresh basil (1.5 ounces)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (1.5 ounces)
2 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup chicken stock
15 ounces part-skim ricotta
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 egg
4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and cook chicken for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken and add shallots to the same pan; sauté 5 minutes or until the shallots are soft. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute.

Place shallot mixture in a food processor, along with the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil, pine nuts, basil, parmesan cheese, goat cheese, and chicken stock. Pulse until a smooth pesto forms.

Mix the ricotta, spinach, and egg in a medium bowl until smooth.

To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of 4 noodles in a 13×9-inch pan and top it with the ricotta mixture, half the chicken, half the pesto, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat this layer.  Then place the remaining 4 noodles on top and sprinkle evenly with the 2 remaining cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350ºF for 45 min.  Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition:  465 calories, 19.9g fat, 4.3g fiber, and 35.9g protein per serving
Cost:  $1.40 per serving

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

It’s Wednesday night, and if all goes well, this post will go live on Friday. I’m leaving for San Diego early tomorrow morning for another work conference and thought I’d see how the scheduled post function works! Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be all...

Mushroom Walnut Pesto Pasta

Apolinaras went to Costco while I was on my baking adventure and brought home a fun present - a huge canister of dried gourmet mushrooms! The blend contained a mix of porcini, morels, Brazilian, Ivory portabellas, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms, and I immediately knew...

Caprese Bulgur with Chicken Sausage

Apolinaras is like a kid in a candy store at any establishment that sells tools or hardware stuff. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful he’s so handy and likes to do all the maintenance on our cars and tackle home improvement projects. But, the other weekend I was so...

Fiesta Potato Pie

I think casseroles, like meatloaf, tend to get a bad rap, which is sad because not all casseroles contain “cream of whatever” soup - many are quite delicious! It’s been chilly, rainy, and depressing in Boston lately so I decided to cheer myself up by making a savory...

Halloween Pumpkin Quesadillas

I apparently have a bit more Martha in me than I’ve previously appreciated because when I stumbled upon some habanero lime flour tortillas at Trader Joe’s the other night, my eyes got wide with excitement and I squealed, “they’re orange, they have bright orange...

Peanut Sauce Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

My hubby found the lid of our food processer in the recycling today. How in the world did it get in there?!? Luckily he noticed it before emptying our bin on the curb and disaster was avoided. I haven’t gotten enough sleep this week, and apparently it caught up with...

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

I’m on the hunt for new chicken recipes. We’ve been eating more poultry than usual lately due to my hubby’s weightlifting diet. While I haven’t joined him in slurping down protein shakes and chowing down on egg whites every morning, I try to keep things interesting...

Mediterranean Portobello Mushroom and Eggplant Stacks

Although I make vegetarian meals a couple times a week, it’s usually because I’m feeling too lazy to really cook. I often whip up simple meals like pizza, tofu fried rice, or breakfast for dinner when I’m super busy, but I rarely put extra effort into making really...