Lasagna Rollups with Chicken + Spinach {Bake One & Freeze One}
These lasagna rollups are filled with spinach and chicken, covered with a homemade tomato sauce, then baked in the oven until bubbly. This recipe includes instructions for baking one pan immediately and preparing a second pan for the freezer.
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Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- 20 lasagna noodles, boiled and cooled
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
- fresh basil (optional)
Tomato Sauce
Spinach & Cheese Sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, whole
- 24 oz low fat cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 16 oz chopped spinach, thawed and drained
Instructions
FOR THE CHICKEN
- In a crockpot, add chicken breasts and about ½ cup of water. Cook chicken on low for 7 hours or until you can easily shred it. Shred with a fork and allow to cool. This step can be done up to a few days in advance OR prepared ahead of time and stored in the freezer.
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE
- Saute diced onion in olive oil on stove top until the onions are soft. Add in 2 cloves of minced garlic, the dried herbs, and a pinch of salt and pepper and let saute for another minute.
- If using, pour in red wine, bring to a boil, reduce and let simmer until wine is reduced by half. When wine is reduced, stir in canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and crushed tomatoes.
- Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove top and use immediately or cool and store in fridge for later use.
FOR THE SPINACH & CHEESE SAUCE
- In a food processor, pulse garlic cloves a few times to chop them up.
- Add cottage cheese and egg and blend until smooth.
- Add basil, thyme, and parmesan cheese and pulse until combined.
- Add chopped spinach a few handfuls at a time, pulsing until well combined each time. Stir with a spoon a few times to make sure all of the spinach is well-chopped.
PREPARE THE ROLLUPS
- Heat oven to 350 and prepare one baking dish and one freezer pan by spraying with cooking spray and pouring about one cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of each.
- Lay lasagna sheets flat and spread a few spoonfuls of the spinach mixture onto each lasagna sheet. The spinach layer should be very thick, even oozing out the sides when you roll the lasagna sheets.
- Add 4-5 pieces of chicken on one end of lasagna and roll tightly. Place rollup in dish and continue until pan has 10 rollups (2 rows of 5).
- Cover rollups with tomato sauce (about two cups) and top with shredded mozzarella cheese, if desired. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake lasagna rollups at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
FREEZER MEAL
- While first pan is baking, repeat the entire process of rolling your lasagna rollups and add them to the freezer pan.
- Once you have 10 rolls, cover them completely with remaining tomato sauce and shredded cheese. They are now ready for the freezer. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil or accompanying lid.
- Write these instructions on your aluminum pan: From thawed, bake covered 30 minutes, uncover and bake 10-15 minutes. From frozen, bake covered 1 hour 30 minutes, uncover and bake 10-15 minutes.
- Top baked lasagna rollups with fresh basil and/or grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Notes
Cooking time does not included cooking and shredding the chicken. This step will take about 6-7 hours in the crockpot. I like to keep cooked, shredded chicken in the freezer for recipes like this.
