Lasagna has always been a comfort food in my family.  We always had a couple frozen Stouffer’s lasagnas in the freezer as a back up.  We liked their traditional and vegetable versions.  I was a huge fan of the vegetable lasagna, which was made with white sauce.  I actually liked it more than the traditional with red.  I always thought that the vegetable lasagna would taste great with chicken added, so I decided to make my own.  The creaminess of the Alfredo sauce, the tenderness of the rotisserie chicken, the flavor of the varieties of cheeses, and the awesome crunch of the panko topping work so well together.  Stouffer’s may have been our go-to while I was growing up, but this just blew that right out of the water.  Sorry, Stouffer’s, not sorry.

Ingredients: 

• 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles
• 6 slices Muenster cheese
• 1 rotisserie chicken, picked
• 2 cups Alfredo sauce (<– click here to see my Homemade Garlic Alfredo Sauce recipe!)
• 1.5 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated or flaked
• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• seasoned panko bread crumbs for topping

Preparation:

• Mix chicken, 1 cup of Alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, minced onion, garlic salt, basil, and oregano in a large mixing bowl until well combined.  You don’t want it pasty, but not soupy either.  If it’s too thick to be spreadable, just add some cream or milk to thin it out.
• Place just enough Alfredo sauce to thinly cover the bottom of a greased casserole dish.
• Place 3 oven-ready lasagna noodles on top of the Alfredo sauce.  They will expand in the oven, so make sure they don’t overlap and don’t touch the sides of the dish.
• Spread half of the chicken Alfredo mixture on top of the lasagna noodles.
• Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese.
• Place 3 more lasagna noodles, the other half of the Alfredo chicken, and more mozzarella cheese.
• Place the last 3 lasagna noodles, and pour the rest of the Alfredo sauce over top, spreading around evenly.
• Place the 6 slices of Muenster cheese on top along with any mozzarella you have left over.
• Cover the entire top with seasoned panko bread crumbs.  I never measure this.  I just pour it on and spread it around until it looks good!  You want the cheese to be covered.
• Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Check the dish every 10 minutes or so to be sure the topping isn’t getting too brown.  If it is browning too quickly, just slide a piece of tin foil loosely over the dish.
• Let this sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

This is an easy meal, and it’s pretty quick if you already have your chicken picked and Alfredo sauce made.  You can use jarred sauce, but I encourage you to try my homemade version.  The flavor this homemade sauce brings to the dish is awesome.  The oven-ready lasagna noodles really cut down on the time, but you can use regular if you like.  If there are other spices you like to use, throw them in there.  If you want veggies, you can add some matchstick carrots and/or spinach to the chicken mixture, which I definitely plan on doing the next time.