Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Pesto Chicken Lasagna Rolls

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One of the questions I get asked all the time is what to do with leftovers. Not many people want to just re-heat leftovers from the night before in their original form. Leftover roast chicken has to be one of my favorite things to re-work because it can be so versatile!

This recipe for lasagna rolls was a huge hit in our house, it has great flavor and comes together quickly for a great weeknight dish. I used a prepared pesto because its too cold to start growing my basil yet here in the East Coast and if I bought enough at the grocery store to make as much as I needed it would have been more expensive than the prepared stuff.  I'm looking forward to making this later in the spring/summer when I have fresh basil growing, the flavor of the fresh stuff is just amazing!

If you don't have leftover roast chicken lying around, just do a quick poach of boneless skinless chicken breasts in a mixture of half chicken broth and half water and whatever seasonings you like (for this recipe I'd sprinkle in a little salt, dried oregano and dried basil).  Let the water simmer gently and add in the chicken until fully cooked.  Let it cool a little and then shred it to use in the recipe.

Pesto Chicken Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients
7 oz container of refrigerated pesto (I use Butoni brand)
10-12 lasagna noodles
1 lb. shredded chicken
15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
Salt & pepper
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
2-3 cups of your favorite tomato sauce (try my homemade marinara sauce)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella
3 tbsp. Panko breadcrumbs
Cooking spray

Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the lasagna noodles according to the package direction.  In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish and set aside.

Combine the ricotta, a good pinch of salt and pepper, the egg and Parmesan in a medium-sized bowl.  When the noodles are done, drain well.

Working with 1 or 2 noodles at a time, lay them flat and spread with the pesto (about 1 tsp. per noodle), then ricotta (about 1 1/2 tbsp. per noodle) and top with shredded chicken.  Roll and place on top of the sauce in the baking dish.  Repeat until all the rolls are made.

Cover the lasagna rolls with the remaining sauce (1-2 cups depending on how saucy you like it) and sprinkle with the shredded Mozzarella cheese and Panko.  Mist the top with nonstick cooking spray and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and the breadcrumbs are toasted.

Printable Recipe

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