Winter is here and you deserve something warm, cozy, and absolutely 10/10 delicious. A few years ago I perfected the most perfect turkey lasagna recipe, and since then I’ve added a pumpkin lasagna, roasted veggie lasagna, and even a vegan lasagna to the party.
Last winter I took traditional lasagna and got a little wild with it. It quickly became one of our fav comforting dinners, so I had to reshare it during the holiday season!
These pesto mushroom chicken lasagna roll ups are filled with golden mushrooms, flavorful basil pesto, a garlic parmesan sauce, and layers of melted cheese. All I can say is HOT DAMN this might become your new favorite way to eat lasagna. These babies are so fun to make and perfect for feeding the whole family! If you’re serving just 1-2, they’re also easy to freeze for later. Enjoy a wonderful, comforting meal any day of the week!
Ingredients in these chicken lasagna roll ups
These mushroom chicken lasagna roll ups use super simple ingredients but have tons of amazing flavor. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- For the mushrooms: you’ll start by cooking up some mushrooms in a little butter with thyme, salt and pepper.
- For the roll ups: you’ll need lasagna noodles, shredded or chopped, cooked chicken, and some mozzarella.
- For the ricotta: we’re taking the ricotta cheese layer to the next level by adding your fav basil pesto! My cilantro pistachio pesto is also an amazing option. You’ll also need an egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- For the cheese sauce: gotta bake those roll ups in a delicious sauce made with butter, flour, milk, parmesan cheese, and some more garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- To tops & garnish: before baking I like to add more pesto and mozzarella, then I like to garnish the finished roll ups with extra grated parmesan and basil ribbons!
Customize your chicken lasagna
Good news: you can easily customize these chicken lasagna roll ups to really make them your own. Here’s what I suggest:
- Make them gluten free: simply use gluten free lasagna noodles and gluten free all purpose flour.
- Add veggies: feel free to mix in some cooked spinach to the ricotta layer to add a boost of greens.
- Go vegetarian: omit the chicken and add more mushrooms or roasted veggies!
- Choose your meat: you can also swap the cooked chicken for cooked, ground turkey.
Can I use no-cook lasagna noodles?
I don’t love the texture of packaged, no-boil noodles, but if you’d like to skip the boiling step you can actually just soak the lasagna noodles in a pot of hot water for about 20-30 minutes until they’re al dente.
How to make mushroom chicken lasagna roll ups
- Cook your mushrooms. You’ll start by cooking your mushrooms in butter with thyme, garlic powder and salt until they’re nice and golden brown. Set those aside.
- Cook the lasagna noodles. Next, cook your lasagna noodles until they’re al dente, and lay them out on an oiled baking pan or cutting board. Make sure they don’t touch, otherwise they’ll stick together.
- Make the ricotta mixture. In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, egg, pesto, garlic powder, salt & pepper until smooth.
- Assemble the roll ups. Here’s the fun part! Evenly spread the pesto ricotta mixture on top of each lasagna noodle. Top with mushrooms, shredded chicken and mozzarella, then roll them up and place them seam side down in a prepared baking dish.
- Make the sauce. Next, you’ll make the garlic parmesan sauce by melting butter in a pan, then alternating flour and milk. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer and thicken up. Stir in parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and lots of black pepper.
- Bake & serve. Finally, pour the cheese sauce over the lasagna roll ups in your pan, top with more pesto and mozzarella cheese, then bake until the sauce is bubbling. Remove them from the oven, garnish with parmesan and basil, then enjoy!
Tips for making ahead of time
I love these chicken lasagna roll ups because they can easily be made ahead of time! Here are some easy ways to save time:
- Cook & shred your chicken. Feel free to cook your chicken ahead of time using any of these methods, then shred using one of these methods and store it in the fridge for when you’re ready to make the roll ups!
- Make the pesto. You can easily use your favorite store-bought pesto, or make my famous cilantro pistachio pesto ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
- Assemble the roll ups. Feel free to completely assemble the roll ups, cover, and store the pan in the fridge overnight before baking. Then you can simply pop them in the oven the next day.
Freezer-friendly lasagna roll ups
These easy mushroom chicken lasagna roll ups can be frozen before or after baking! I recommend using an aluminum baking tray so that you still have all of your regular baking trays handy.
- Before baking: assemble the roll ups completely and wrap your pan well with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. You can also freeze individual lasagna rollups if you’d like! Place them in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw the pan in the refrigerator and then bake according to the instructions.
- After baking: let the lasagna roll ups cool to room temperature, then wrap the pan well with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Place them in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, let them thaw in the fridge before baking covered at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes.
More comfort food recipes
- The Best Healthy Turkey Lasagna You’ll Ever Eat
- Cilantro Pesto Pasta with Roasted Pumpkin & Honey
- Brown Butter Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Chickpeas
- Blow Ya Mind Cheddar Broccoli Chicken Pot Pie
- Cheddar-Stuffed Sweet Potato BBQ Turkey Meatloaf
Get all of my delicious comfort food recipes here!
I hope you love these pesto mushroom chicken lasagna roll ups! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Pesto Mushroom Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- For the mushrooms:
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the lasagna roll ups:
- 8 lasagna noodles
- 2 cups shredded or finely chopped cooked chicken (about 1 pound)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- For the pesto ricotta:
- 8 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup your favorite basil pesto
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the garlic parmesan cheese sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- For on top:
- ¼ cup your favorite basil pesto
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella
- To garnish:
- Extra grated parmesan
- Basil ribbons
Instructions
- Cook your mushrooms: Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add in 1 tablespoon butter. Once butter melts, add in the mushrooms, thyme and salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until mushrooms are cooked down and nice and golden brown, about 4-6 minutes. Set aside. Reserve skillet for use later. You’ll make the sauce in it.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the lasagna noodles for 6 minutes, then drain. Immediately lay the noodles flat on an oiled baking sheet or cutting board so you can easily assemble the lasagna when ready. Don’t let the lasagna noodles touch or they’ll stick together. Another option is to soak the lasagna noodles in very warm (hot) water for 20-30 minutes if you do not want to boil them.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish or a 7x11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.
- In a medium bowl, make the pesto ricotta mixture by mixing together the ricotta, egg, basil pesto, garlic powder and salt and pepper until smooth.
- Next assemble the lasagna roll ups. Spread a tablespoon or two of the pesto ricotta mixture on top each of the cooked lasagna noodles, then evenly top each with mushrooms and shredded chicken. Finally add 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella on each. Roll up each lasagna roll up and place seam side down in the prepared pan.
- Next make the garlic parmesan sauce: In the same skillet you cooked mushrooms, add in 2 tablespoons of butter and place over medium heat. Once butter is melted, whisk in a little bit of the flour and then slowly add in milk, a little bit at a time, alternating with the flour and vigorously whisking away any lumps. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes, stirring every so often. Stir in parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour the garlic parmesan sauce over the lasagna roll ups. Spread ¼ cup basil pesto over the top of the roll ups – it’s totally fine if it gets in the sauce too, yum! Sprinkle ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until sauce is bubbling. Garnish with a little extra parm and julienned basil, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 12th, 2022, and republished on December 20th, 2022.
44 comments
Any advise what could be used in place of the Ricotta? After Covid, I developed Parosmia and, as a result, Ricotta, cream cheese, yogurt, Cottage cheese are all off limit. They smell and taste like rotting meat
Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Hmm I might try looking up a vegan ricotta recipe; I don’t have one on my site but I’m seeing a bunch on Google 🙂
wow, this looks so delicious and yummy. i just love this recipe. thanks for sharing this amazing article and delicious recipe of chicken lasagna roll,
Soooo good. I would even do more mushrooms next time. But seriously amazing.
Good to know! Happy you loved it 🙂
Big hit at our house! Made it exactly as written. Perfect cozy recipe for the snowstorm we are having!
Yes, such a cozy comfort meal! I’m so glad you loved this one 🙂
I made this tonight using the exact recipe and it was so delicious! A great comfort food dish for a cold winter night! My husband LOVED it. Will definitely make again!
Oh I’m so glad to hear that! Happy you both loved it 🙂
An absolute must make! It was delish! I loved the note about soaking your noodles if you don’t want to boil them. Such an awesome tip….learned something new! I used ready bake gluten free noodles and it turn out great. Will definitely make again!
Yay! So happy you loved this one, Debbie!!
I know you said not to use the oven-ready lasagna noodles… but I did. And it was AMAZING. Layered all ingredients in a pan rather than doing the roll ups. My husband said it was “the best thing I’ve ever made”. Thank you for this recipe!!!!! Not something I’d normally think to make and now something I’ll make over and over again. 🙂
Oh I’m so happy to hear that!! Glad you and your husband were obsessed with this one 🙂
I just made it for dinner and it was so delicious. My son requested it for school lunch, which is a major compliment to a meal. Sadly for him, we had no leftovers, but will be making it again very soon. While it did require more time for prep and the different steps this is a great meal to parcel out for lunches if you make extra! Next time I will double the recipe and freeze a batch as well! So good!
These are good, not a weekday kind of meal. Save this recipe for special occasions. I am not a new chef, and these are time consuming. Great flavor.
Totally agree, or for prepping ahead of time and freezing until you’re ready to eat them 🙂 Hope it was worth the effort!
What would be a good side to serve with this?
I think a simple green salad would be lovely!
Can I give this more than 5 stars?!? This is hands down one of the best new recipes I have tried in a while. This is entertainment worthy. I LOVE pesto so when I read this recipe, I knew I would be trying it! I might add more mushrooms next time – maybe 3/4 lb. And I did make this as an actual lasagna versus the roll ups as it seemed easier to me at the time – not sure if that ended up being the case! All the ingredients worked out to do it as a lasagna just fine. The sauce and ricotta mixture are to die for – feels indulgent and like it should be more caloric than it actually is – delicious. I have already forwarded this recipe on to several friends. This one is a keeper. Superb!!!
Wow- this recipe really delivered!! So yummy, fairly easy and so worth it!! Will definitely make it again, maybe mix in some different veggies.
My husband said this was the best meal I’ve ever made (thank you for that, AK!). I only had no-cook noodles on hand so ended up making this as a traditional lasagna instead of the rollups but otherwise followed the directions to a T and it was absolutely incredible—we ate the whole pan over the course of a weekend.
Amazing!! I’m so happy you both loved it!
Hands down the most delicious recipe I’ve ever made!! Everyone needs to make this. I made them without chicken for vegetarian and it was perfect! A little bit messy, but totally worth it. I can’t wait to make again 🙂
Omg most delicious EVER?!?!? That makes me SO HAPPY! Thank you, Tori! Glad they were still great without the chicken 🙂
Thank you for another absolutely delectable, easy-to-make, healthy recipe! This is fast on its way to becoming another family favorite.
I’m SO happy you and the family are loving this one, Barbara! Thank you ❤️
The flavor on this was great. I used spaghetti instead of lasagna to make a casserole (short on time) and it turned out fab. Threw in some extra mushrooms and spinach because I had them. Thanks for a great recipe.
sounds yummy! cooking for a picky eater, here. if I were to omit mushrooms, would you recommend cooking vegetables in the same fashion? thanks!
Yes! You’ll just want to make sure they’re chopped small enough so that they roll up and that you cook them until they’re fairly soft 🙂 Enjoy!
I’m dying to make this, can it be made with zucchini noodles ? Or will it get to watery.?
Looks amazing!!!
I made a heart healthy version by cutting down on the butter and cheese by using low-fat products and less of them. Instead of making the cheese sauce to put over the top, I made a chicken broth gravy. But please know you should double the recipe for the cheesy/gravy topping, and make sure to completely cover the edges of the lasagna noodle with your sauce. Otherwise the edges bake hard in the oven. Good recipe for something different.
So glad you are enjoying this recipe 🙂
This just might be my new Christmas Eve traditional meal! (I make something AK for all the holidays (and day to day life!) It was a last minute plan so I didn’t have extra lasagna noodles but I stuffed some large shells with lathe roll up mixture. (I love Tinkyada for a GF shell). I whipped up some pesto sauce and the garlic parm cheese sauce for the top. It was amazing. AMAZING. I can’t buy pasta from a restaurant that tastes that good and toddler and adult approved too. Thank you AK for a special new Christmas Eve treat (but I’m doing the roll ups next time!!!)
ANONYMOUS SAYS:
December 25, 2022
This just might be my new Christmas Eve traditional meal! (I make something AK for all the holidays (and day to day life!) It was a last minute plan so I didn’t have extra lasagna noodles but I stuffed some large shells with lathe roll up mixture. (I love Tinkyada for a GF shell). I whipped up some pesto sauce and the garlic parm cheese sauce for the top. It was amazing. AMAZING. I can’t buy pasta from a restaurant that tastes that good and toddler and adult approved too. Thank you AK for a special new Christmas Eve treat (but I’m doing the roll ups next time!!!)
I really want to make this! Is there a dairy free milk substitute I could use for the sauce?
You could try using dairy free cheese, but I am not sure if that would change the flavor or if it would really melt like regular cheese would.
Do you use regular milk for this or something like almond milk?
Delicious! Made it exactly as written.
Such a perfect winter comfort food! My husband and I made it today and it was such a fun meal to whip up together. We love lasagna but it can be a labor of love so this was a nice refreshing twist on a classic. Already had pesto and chicken and mushrooms on hand!
The flavor of these lasagna roll ups was great. Truly enjoyed the taste, but I would double the garlic parmesan cheese sauce. I made the recipe exactly as written and it did not look as ooey gooey saucy cheesy as it did in the recipe photos/video on instagram. In fact they were somewhat dry. I did make them early in the day and refrigerated until dinnertime and threw them in the oven so I don’t know if that effected it. Either way, would make again, just increase the sauce and probably add more mushrooms too.
I made this for dinner last night and my husband raved about it. I loved the unique flavors too. It was a lot of steps and a lot of dishes but it came out tasting better than anything you could order from a restaurant. I made my own pesto, adding even more steps and dishes but had lots of basil I wanted to use. In the end I just layered it like regular lasagna because my ricotta mixture seemed thin and I felt it would be a mess trying to roll it up. It obviously did not change the taste of the final product.
Ahh this sounds amazing, Karli! I am so glad you found this recipe and that you and your husband are loving it ❤️ You can never go wrong with homemade pesto!!
These were so good and relatively easy to make! I shredded some zucchini and cooked it after the mushrooms for extra veggies. I made a rookie mistake and packed the flour so the sauce ended up too thick so I had to add more milk and Parmesan cheese. But this was such a flavor bomb and reheated well for leftovers. Thanks for the recipe!
Great idea to add extra veggies! And I’m glad the sauce came together well even with some extra flour. Perfect dinner!