Creamy, cheesy, ridiculously easy chicken lasagne that gives you all the deliciousness of the real thing – without spending your entire evening assembling it. And yes… it’s high protein.
When it comes to lasagne, who isn’t a fan?
The bubbling cheese. The creamy sauce. The tomatoey goodness. The little crispy bits around the edges that everyone secretly wants.
But traditional lasagne? That’s another story.
There’s the making of the sauce. The cooking of the mince. The layering. The washing up. The inevitable moment when you realise you’ve somehow used every pot, pan and utensil in the kitchen.
And honestly? Who has time for that?
Especially when you’ve got 20 minutes to get dinner sorted and you’d rather spend at least half of those minutes deciding what to wear.
Enter my 10-minute prep Chicken Lasagne.
It’s basically the best of both worlds: all the cosy, indulgent deliciousness of lasagne, with a fraction of the effort.
Everything goes into one dish. The lasagne sheets go in raw. The chicken goes in raw. You stir it all together, cover it, bake it, uncover it, add a little basil and pretend you spent considerably longer in the kitchen than you actually did.
And nobody needs to know.
Why you’ll love this 10-minute prep chicken lasagne
This isn’t trying to compete with your Italian grandmother’s lasagne.
It’s the weeknight, dinner-party, I’ve-got-a-life version.
It’s perfect for when you’re having friends over for a girls’ wine night and want to put something impressive on the table without spending three hours in the kitchen.
Or when you’ve got a dinner date with your significant other and, frankly, you’d rather use the 20 minutes you have to shower, do your hair and make yourself look like you didn’t just spend the day answering emails in leggings.
You know. Priorities.
The finished dish is creamy, cheesy, tomato-rich and comforting, with tender chicken, spinach and little bursts of sweet, savoury sun-dried tomato.
And because everything cooks together in the same dish, the flavours have plenty of time to mingle while you get on with literally anything else.
What’s in the 10-minute prep Chicken Lasagne?
There aren’t any complicated ingredients here. In fact, most of them are probably already hanging around in your kitchen.
Chicken breast
The protein powerhouse of the dish.
Cutting the chicken into small bite-sized pieces means it cooks right in the sauce and stays wonderfully tender. There’s no need to pre-cook it, which is one of the things that makes this recipe so gloriously low effort.
Tomato & basil pasta sauce
Your shortcut to a rich, flavourful tomato base.
Rather than making a tomato sauce from scratch, we’re letting a good-quality jarred sauce do the heavy lifting. It brings the tomato, garlic, herbs and seasoning without requiring you to stand over a saucepan.
This is not the time for culinary guilt. We have things to do.
Cream
This is what takes the sauce from ordinary tomato sauce to creamy, luxurious lasagne sauce. It softens the acidity of the tomatoes and gives the finished dish that rich, velvety texture.
Water
It might seem like a boring ingredient, but don’t skip it. The water provides the extra liquid needed for the uncooked lasagne sheets to cook directly in the dish. The pasta absorbs some of that liquid as it cooks, helping create that thick, creamy sauce.
Spinach
A couple of handfuls of spinach disappear into the dish while adding colour, freshness and some extra goodness. It’s also a brilliant way to sneak vegetables into a creamy pasta dish without making it feel like you’re eating a salad.
Sun-dried tomatoes
These are optional additions and I will say the dish works well without them. But if you feel like being a bit extra, adding these adds little pops of sweet, savoury, intensely tomatoey flavour that make the lasagne taste much more interesting than the ingredient list would suggest.
Garlic powder + Italian seasoning
The supporting cast. Nothing complicated here – just a little extra seasoning to make sure the sauce has plenty of flavour.
Lasagne sheets
And here’s where the magic happens. You don’t boil them first. Break six sheets into smaller pieces and add them straight into the dish. They’ll cook in the sauce while everything bakes. No boiling. No draining. No pasta stuck to the bottom of the pot.
You’re welcome.
Parmesan
Parmesan goes directly into the sauce, adding saltiness, nuttiness and a deeper savoury flavour. It also helps make the sauce feel extra rich and indulgent.
Mozzarella
Because what’s lasagne without that glorious blanket of melted cheese? Half goes into the mixture and the rest goes on top, where it melts into that bubbling, golden, cheesy layer that makes everyone suddenly appear in the kitchen asking: “Is dinner ready?”
How to make it
The beauty of this recipe is that there is no layering. No carefully arranging pasta sheets. No making three different components. No standing there wondering whether you’ve put enough sauce between layers.
1. Make the sauce
In your baking dish, mix together the tomato and basil pasta sauce, water, double cream, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Make sure you add the water, this is needed for the noodles to cook.
2. Throw everything in
Add the broken lasagne sheets, raw chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and half the mozzarella.
Give everything a really good stir.
Make sure the lasagne pieces are submerged in the sauce – this is important because they’re cooking directly in the dish.
3. Add the cheese
Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top.
Because obviously.
4. Bake
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 170°C fan for 45 minutes.
Then remove the foil and bake for another 10–15 minutes, until the top is bubbling and golden and the chicken is completely cooked through.
5. Rest
Give it 5–10 minutes to rest before serving. This is NB. The noodles and the chcken will continue to cook while the sauce thickens to give you that comfort food love.
Finish with another little shower of Parmesan.
And that’s it.
You just made lasagne without actually making lasagne.
10-minute Prep Chicken Lasagne
Ingredients
- 600 g chicken breast cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 400 g tomato & basil pasta sauce
- 150 ml water
- 150 ml cream
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 6 lasagne sheets broken into pieces
- 50 g Parmesan
- 150 g grated mozzarella
- 10 sun-dried tomatoes (optional) roughly chopped
- Extra Parmesan to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170°C fan.
- In a 7 × 11 inch baking dish, mix together the pasta sauce, water, cream, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Add the broken lasagne sheets, raw chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and half the mozzarella.
- Stir well, making sure the lasagne pieces are submerged in the sauce.
- Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes, until bubbling and golden and the chicken is completely cooked through.
- Rest for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Finish with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan.
- Then pour yourself a glass of wine and accept the compliments.
Notes
- Total Calories: 462
- Total Fat: 24g
- Total Carbs: 18g
- Total Protein: 42g
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I really put the lasagne sheets in raw?
Yes! That’s one of the best things about this recipe. The sheets cook directly in the creamy tomato sauce while the lasagne bakes. Just make sure the broken pieces are well submerged before putting the dish in the oven.
Do I need to cook the chicken first?
No. The chicken goes into the dish raw and cooks in the sauce. Cutting it into small, evenly sized pieces helps it cook through at the same rate. Always check that the chicken is completely cooked before serving.
Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast?
Absolutely. Chicken thighs will work well and will give you an even richer, more tender result. Just cut them into small, evenly sized pieces.
Can I add more vegetables?
Definitely. Mushrooms, peppers, courgette or extra spinach would all work well. Just be mindful that adding a lot of extra vegetables can change the amount of liquid in the dish.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes. You can assemble it ahead and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to bake. If you’re baking it straight from the fridge, it may need a little extra cooking time.
Can I freeze chicken lasagne?
Yes, although the texture of the creamy sauce may change slightly after freezing and reheating. For the best result, cool it completely, portion it and freeze in airtight containers.
Why does the lasagne need to rest?
Because nobody likes watery lasagne. Giving it 5–10 minutes to rest allows the sauce to thicken slightly and makes it much easier to serve.
Can I use a different pasta sauce?
Absolutely. A plain tomato and basil sauce works beautifully, but you could use a roasted garlic, tomato and herb or arrabbiata sauce if you want a little more flavour or heat.
Is this actually easier than traditional lasagne?
Unequivocally. There is no mince to cook, no béchamel to make, no lasagne sheets to boil and, most importantly, no painstaking layering. It’s basically lasagne for people who love lasagne but have better things to do. And honestly? That’s the kind of lasagne I can get behind.
