Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna Rolls

Spinach and artichoke dip, the quintessential appetizer for every party, now has a new home. This is one of those dishes that I enjoyed so much, that as soon as dinner was over, I called some friends and asked them to come try it and see what they thought. They loved it too!
This is a perfect meal to prepare ahead of time and for that matter, any time you would serve a traditional lasagna, this would be a perfect substitute for it. I can’t tell you how much I adore the little packages of lasagna that each roll creates. Somehow it makes me feel like I am eating less, which of course I’m not. 😉

Enjoy!

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 ½ cups of chicken stock
12-15 lasagna noodles (Use the noodles you have to boil, not the oven ready kind)- I also added a few extra to account for noodles that may break
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts (in water, not oil)- diced
4 -5 cups fresh baby spinach leaves or 1 box of frozen cooked spinach
2 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon cracked pepper
4 teaspoons of Mrs dash
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
½ bar of cream cheese cubed
5 cups of marinara sauce (or 1 Jar of your favorite sauce)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and oil for pasta water

Preheat oven to 375

Start by bringing chicken stock to a simmer, then add chicken breasts. Allow to simmer until chicken is cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Remove from stock and allow to cool enough to shred by hand. Shred into small pieces and set aside.
Bring large pot of water to a rolling boil, add about 1 tablespoon of salt to water and a few tablespoons of olive oil to the water to prevent sticking, then add lasagna noodles. Be sure to note the directions on the box, my box said al dente in 8-9 minutes, but since they will cook more once in the oven, I drained my noodles at around 5 minutes and rinsed them with cool water. Make sure to separate the noodles to prevent sticking.
Add two teaspoons of olive oil to a large pan, saute onions and garlic on medium low until translucent. Add artichokes and saute 2-3 more minutes. Next, add all of your spinach, if you are using fresh it will look like a lot but it will shrink significantly. If you are using frozen spinach, be sure to defrost it before use and using a kitchen towel or a strainer remove as much water as possible from spinach. The frozen holds a lot of water! This will make your pasta runny, so be sure to dry it out as best possible. Add salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash or any other all-purpose seasoning you may have ( italian seasoning would work fine here as well), and garlic powder. Cover and let spinach wilt, 1-2 minutes. Stir in cubes of cream cheese and sour cream. Keep stirring until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is thick. Next, add parmesan cheese and shredded chicken. Stir to combine. Taste for salt and pepper. Take filling off of the heat and set aside for assembly.

Assembly
Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and spread 2 cups of marinara sauce thinly across the bottom.
Start assembling in an area where you can reach your pan easily, lay out your first noodle flat, spread a thin coating down the entire lasagna noodle, except for the tip of either end. (so you have a piece to start the roll from)
Gently roll each noodle up, looser is better for this, the tighter you roll the pasta, the more filling will come out. Just roll it tight enough so that the filling stays in and you have folded over at least one time. Continue until all filling is gone, which should be about 12 rolls.
Assemble rolls on top of marinara in pan, 3 should fit in each row.
Top the lasagna rolls with the remaining marinara, crushed red pepper flakes and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake, covered for 30 minutes, remove cover and broil to brown cheese (1-3 minutes depending on your broiler).
Makes 12 lasagna rolls

This entry was posted in Chicken Dishes. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna Rolls