White Chicken Lasagna (Alfredo-Style)
A tomato-free lasagna of tender poached chicken and golden mushrooms in a garlicky Parmesan white sauce, under a lid of melted mozzarella.
"Alfredo" comes from Rome, where Alfredo Di Lelio made fettuccine with just butter and young Parmesan around 1907 or 1908. Cream is not used in Italy; American cooks added heavy cream or half-and-half to thicken the sauce, and jarred "Alfredo sauce" became a US supermarket staple. White chicken lasagna applies that American idea of a creamy Parmesan sauce to lasagna and leaves out the tomato entirely.
🇺🇸 This one is American
A tomato-free lasagna of tender poached chicken and golden mushrooms in a garlicky Parmesan white sauce, under a lid of melted mozzarella.
🇮🇹 The original
In Bologna, lasagne are thin green spinach pasta layered with a slow meat ragù, béchamel and Parmigiano. No ricotta and no mozzarella. See the Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
One liquid, two jobs
Poaching the chicken in milk and broth seasons it and turns the liquid into a flavorful base for the white sauce (RecipeTin Eats).
Browned mushrooms
Cooking them hot and in two batches drives off their water, so the lasagna is savory instead of soupy.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the milk and broth in a large pot over medium heat until barely simmering, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken, bay, thyme and pepper, cover and poach on medium-low 15 minutes without boiling, until the chicken reaches 165°F. Lift it out and shred it. Keep the liquid; discard the herbs.
- Step 2
Heat half the butter and oil in a large deep skillet over high heat and cook half the mushrooms with half the garlic, salt and pepper 5 minutes, until golden. Repeat with the rest.
- Step 3
Lower the heat to medium. Melt 4 tbsp butter, add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir in the flour 1 minute. Whisk in the poaching liquid gradually and cook, whisking, 2 minutes, until thick. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan until smooth and season to taste.
- Step 4
Heat the oven to 350°F. Set aside 2 1/2 cups of the sauce for the top and stir the chicken and mushrooms into the rest.
- Step 5
Spread a little sauce in a 9 by 13-inch dish and cover with noodles. Add half the chicken mixture, another layer of noodles, the rest of the chicken mixture and a final layer of noodles. Pour over the reserved sauce and scatter with mozzarella.
- Step 6
Cover loosely with foil (not touching the cheese) and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until golden and bubbling and the center is 165°F.
- Step 7
Rest 10 minutes, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
White Chicken Lasagna (Alfredo-Style)
Serves 8 · one 9 by 13-inch lasagna · 1 hr 45 min total
Chicken
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves and 3 sprigs thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Mushrooms
- 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb white mushrooms, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper
White sauce and assembly
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 oz Parmesan, finely grated (about 2 cups)
- About 9 oz dried lasagna noodles, cooked per the package (or 13 oz fresh sheets)
- 8 oz whole-milk mozzarella, shredded (2 cups)
- Chopped parsley, to serve
Method
- Heat the milk and broth in a large pot over medium heat until barely simmering, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken, bay, thyme and pepper, cover and poach on medium-low 15 minutes without boiling, until the chicken reaches 165°F. Lift it out and shred it. Keep the liquid; discard the herbs.
- Heat half the butter and oil in a large deep skillet over high heat and cook half the mushrooms with half the garlic, salt and pepper 5 minutes, until golden. Repeat with the rest.
- Lower the heat to medium. Melt 4 tbsp butter, add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir in the flour 1 minute. Whisk in the poaching liquid gradually and cook, whisking, 2 minutes, until thick. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan until smooth and season to taste.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Set aside 2 1/2 cups of the sauce for the top and stir the chicken and mushrooms into the rest.
- Spread a little sauce in a 9 by 13-inch dish and cover with noodles. Add half the chicken mixture, another layer of noodles, the rest of the chicken mixture and a final layer of noodles. Pour over the reserved sauce and scatter with mozzarella.
- Cover loosely with foil (not touching the cheese) and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more, until golden and bubbling and the center is 165°F.
- Rest 10 minutes, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Adapted from RecipeTin Eats, "Chicken Lasagna" by Nagi Maehashi (2019, updated 2025; serves 8 to 10; chicken poached in milk and broth, the poaching liquid turned into the white sauce, mushrooms, 9 by 13-inch dish, 350°F). Our changes: Parmesan replaces the cheddar to make it Alfredo-style, the stock powder is left out, and we add a 165°F check for the chicken. recipetineats.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Fresh lasagna sheets from the refrigerated case need no boiling and give the softest result (RecipeTin Eats).
- Add a few handfuls of baby spinach to the chicken mixture for color.
- For a richer, more American-Alfredo sauce, replace 1 cup of the poaching liquid with heavy cream.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Real Alfredo has no cream. Documented: the Roman original is butter and Parmesan; cream is an American addition (Wikipedia).
- White lasagna is not "real" lasagna. Folklore: Italy has many white (tomato-free) baked pastas, but we did not find a reputable source that traces this American dish to one of them, so make no lineage claim.
Every other lasagna
Lasagne Verdi alla Bolognese
Thin sheets of green spinach pasta layered at least six times with slow-cooked ragù, a light béchamel, butter and plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano. No ricotta, no mozzarella.
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Classic American Lasagna with Ricotta and Mozzarella
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