When you crave lasagna, and don’t want to go to the store, you make do with what you have. Cheese raviolis √ Rotisserie chicken √ Now what about the sauce? I had no makings for a red sauce, nor did I have a back up jar of pre made, so I opted for an easy back up, homemade parmesan béchamel (white sauce). This turned out amazing and there’s nothing quite like a plate of warm comfort food on a cool evening!
I know that sometimes making lasagna sounds like a chore, but this simple White Chicken Ravioli Bake (a.k.a Mock Lasagna) is really quite simple. I made a homemade parmesan béchamel, but you easily could have substituted a jarred sauce (either béchamel or marinara). I’m a firm believer in homemade food, but I also know that semi-homemade is often the best way to get dinner on the table for your family.
It’s all about the layers!! And lots of cheese of course!
Another great thing about this recipe, besides how simple and tasty it is, is that you can totally change it up to suit your family. Besides using either a marinara sauce or this béchamel recipe, you can easily make it vegetarian. Lots of fresh spinach would be a great replacement for the chicken. I love the flavor that the Ortega Chile added, but you can certainly omit those. I used three different cheeses, mozzarella, jack, and parmesan, but those also can be switched up. I’d love to hear how you’d make a quick and easy “mock lasagna.”
For a complete meal, I suggest serving this with homemade Caesar Salad and some delicious Garlic Bread.
- For Bechamel Sauce:
- 5 TBSP butter (only the real stuff)
- 5 TBSP all purpose flour
- ½ yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 1 clove fresh garlic (crushed)
- 5 cups milk (I used 2%)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg (I used freshly grated)
- ½ grated parmesan
- For "Mock Lasagna" Ravioli Bake
- 1 recipe bechamel or favorite jarred sauce
- 20 oz package fresh cheese ravioli (I used Buitoni brand)
- 1 small can diced Ortega chiles
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese (grated)
- 2 cups jack cheese (grated)
- **I grated the mozzarella & jack cheese into same bowl and mixed them together.
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- For Bechamel:
- Add butter and chopped onion to med sized saucepan. Cook over med. heat until onions are translucent. Add garlic.
- Add flour and stir until well combined. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Once well mixed, increase heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook (still stirring), until sauce thickens.
- Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese
- For "Mock Lasagna" Ravioli Bake:
- Using a large oven proof casserole, spread about 1½ cups sauce on bottom of pan.
- Next layer on raviolis. Top with diced chicken & chiles. Top layer of jack & mozzarella cheeses. Top with a layer of parmesan.
- Repeat layers: sauce, ravioli, chicken, cheeses, 2 more times.
- Finish with a cheese layer.
- Bake at 350* for approx 30 minutes covered, then bake for another 15 minutes uncovered until hot, bubbly, and just starting to brown.
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