Pesto Chicken Lasagna Rolls
ShareAn easy and fun twist on a traditional lasagna dish featuring rolls of pasta with a homemade pesto sauce, cheese and seasoned chicken. A prettier presentation for a delicious dish!
Normally when I have music on, I’m bouncing between stations on Pandora…Glee, Kate Voegele, Pink and Kelly Clarkson are the typical stations. And bouncing between them is a must because one can only skip or thumbs down so many songs. I find that kind of annoying when I’m already paying for ad free music but whatever.
Only instead of doing my usual, the other night I decided to play Clare Bowen songs on repeat (aka Scarlett from Nashville). She has such a fun and unique voice. I guess I’m just obsessed with the singing and drama from the show. I was honestly even tempted to buy the soundtrack when I saw it at Target recently. They almost sucked me in again… Target does that so easily, but I resisted. Are you watching the show? Please say yes.
Seriously guys, have you listened to this song? Do it. I love it.
What I also love and am totally obsessed with is having fresh basil around the house for the first time ever. It’s pretty awesome. Grab some fresh basil, or prepared pesto if you prefer, and whip these up these pesto chicken lasagna rolls!
Who doesn’t love lasagna? Or pesto for that matter? So I combined them into one easy, cheesy flavorful meal. Lasagna rolls are easily portioned out and won’t slide off of the serving piece like typical lasagna does, so you’re still left with a pretty presentation. A great dinner for any night of the week!
Pesto Chicken Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
Pesto sauce:
- 3 C packed basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3/4 C Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 C olive oil
- Lasagna noodles
- 1 lb chicken breast trimmed
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 1 C tomato sauce
- 1/2-1 C mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil, cook 9-12 lasagna noodles according to manufacturer's directions.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook chicken breast using desired method, season with salt and pepper, then shred and set aside. *(see note)
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine basil leaves and garlic. Blending until only fine pieces remain. Add in cheese. With food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until desired spreadable consistency is reached. Transfer to a small bowl, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, Parmesan, salt and pepper (to taste).
- Drain lasagna noodles.
- Working one or two noodles at a time, lightly coat with pesto sauce, followed by ricotta mixture and shredded chicken. Roll and place in a rectangular baking dish. Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Cover with tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.
Notes
Love Nashville. I listen that station on Pandora all the time. Loving this dish. I’m not sure that I have ever added chicken to my lasagna and I’m loving the new rolled presentation. Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks so much Laura! I really need to remember to add it into my regular Pandora rotation from here on out.
I miss having fresh basil in the house :( I kill all of ours in the summertime..maybe I should get an aerogarden to ensure I’ll have fresh herbs year-round. It seems pretty foolproof and won’t give me the brown thumb ;) I agree, I love Clare and her voice. It’s weird to say, but it’s so soothing! I want these lasagna rolls SO badly. They’re perfectly rolled and that oozing cheese is calling my name!
You really do need one!! It’s effortless (okay practically).
My goodness, that’s a beautiful lasagna.
Thanks Karly!
These look so incredibly good. I want them for dinner tonight!
Thanks so much Lori!
How did I not know that there is an entire Nashville soundtrack!? I NEED THAT. Their voices are beautiful!
This lasagna sounds incredible too! My kids would love it, and my husband has an infatuation with pesto! Definitely saving this for dinner soon! thanks!
Uhmmm yes, you totally need to get it asap :)
So considering lasagna rolls have been on my “must make’ list forever and we both know I have plenty of basil on hand…yeah, these need to happen.
They absolutely do need to happen! :) I think I’ll be sad when the basil is finally gone!
Ohhh dang – these are just too much, I love them!
Thanks Megan :)
How much pesto does your recipe make? We have some In our fridge and this is the perfect way to use it!
I believe it was around 1 cup roughly.
Looks yummy! Can you clarify this part of the instructions for me,
“In the bowl of a food processor, combine basil leaves and garlic. Blending until only fine pieces remain. Add in cheese.”
Which cheese is to be added for this step?
Thanks.
If you refer back to the ingredient list, you’ll notice in that step you are making the pesto sauce so it would be the Parmesan cheese at that time. :) Enjoy!
Oh wow, this would hit the spot right now! Looks absolutely delicious, I can’t wait to make this!
Thanks so much Brandy :)
Thanks, Rachel. Sorry, I should have read it more clearly.
No worries! I hope you like it as much as we did! :)
This is such a unique spin on lasagna, and it looks really good. What would you recommend serving it with?
Honestly, whatever veggies you enjoy the most. Tender dinner rolls would always work well too. :)
Looks incredible, Rachel :)
Thanks Amy! :)
These look like the ultimate comfort food! Wish I had them for dinner!
Thanks so much Tieghan
My wife thought your recipe would be great for dinner this weekend. I read thru the ingredients. This week I just got over the 2nd bout of stomach flu. I work in produce and just the idea of 3 cups of fresh basil began to say to my stomach ..no way. However I thought, if I cut back the basil to 1 cup and added salad spinach for the other 2 cups, same color , consistency and size it might just work. If it works will follow up with a to let you know. Thanks. By the way …my dog loves your turkey mixed dry dog food. I have tried others but this one keeps her weight down . Thanks.
Thanks, Rachel!
What a delicious meal! And you make it look gorgeous, as always! I was just at a HUGE Italian wine trade tasting on Tuesday, and this would be a perfect dish for many of the delightful wines of Italy. I’ve got Chianti on my mind, and think this would be a very nice dish for a Chianti pairing!
Cheers
Matt
Thanks Matthew! :)
Can’t wait to try these. I love pesto sauce, but I’m going to cheat and use the already made. The Kirkland brand pesto sauce from Costco is delicious. Thank you for a new dinner idea.
By all means, use a shortcut if you prefer! :) I hope you enjoy it!
Oh that looks yummy! I have some homemade pesto in the freezer and this looks to be a perfect dish to use it in. Thanks!
Enjoy!! :)
I love having fresh basil too, but the challenge for me is keeping it alive in the desert! These lasagana rolls look so yummy!
If it weren’t for the aerogarden I totally wouldn’t have fresh basil either!
Easy and tasty recipe. Love pesto!
Thanks Mariana!
Gorgeous lasagna!! I need this in my life soon! Yum!!
Thanks Jocelyn!
I made these last night for dinner and they were a huge hit! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I’m happy that I stumbled across your site…….it’s lovely!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! :)
Womyn! These were sooooo gewd (meant to spell it that way!!)
Soooo yummy! I added fresh thyme to my chicken and mushrooms on top of the sauce! Good GAWD these were so yummy! Thank YOU so much for sharing! Blessed be!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! :) Thanks for sharing!
Rachel- These were so good! We loved them and the leftovers were even better. Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear it! :)
These were really good. My only issue was when trying to add the recipe to my recipe book it wouldn’t let me copy the recipe…. I’m sure you have a good reason for that, but I won’t be following you because of that I’m not wanting to be rude, but wanted to let you know.
That feature is disabled for theft/copyright reasons. You’re more than welcome to utilize the free print and/or save feature.
Made this last night for dinner and it was a huge hit! I bought pesto and used a rotisserie chicken so not quite from scratch.. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing :)
This was seriously so delicious and easy! My boyfriend and I loved it. :)
So glad to hear it! :)
ok, I don’t know how I missed these in February but I am so glad you shared these again today. . OH MY GAWD. These look so good. I am making this!!! love love love!!
Haha Thanks so much Alice! :)
These look so good. I can’t wait to make this.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them :)
can these be prepared ahead and refrigerated , and just baked before dinner?
I imagine it should be fine. Be sure to cover it well while it sits in the refrigerator.