What if I tell you that I have an easy fix lasagna recipe that tastes just like having butter chicken and garlic naan? Yes, you heard it right. The best and foolproof Butter Chicken Lasagna that tastes just like butter chicken and garlic naan.
Story Behind This Butter Chicken Lasagna Recipe
When I got married, my husband asked me to make Lasagna as his mother makes. Though I like the layers of pasta and cheese, I wasn't a huge fan of ground beef cooked and mixed with tomato sauce. Growing up, beef just wasn't part of my primary diet.
I grew up eating Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka, and anything curried up with Indian spices. My Husband loves all the Indian dishes so I figured why not give the classic Lasagna a little Indian makeover and create something that we both can enjoy eating.
That's how Butter Chicken Lasagna was invented. I used to make Butter Chicken from scratch. No tomato sauce or boxed spices. I still cook from it from scratch but when motherhood keeps you busy, you have to come up with an easier way to fix dinners and that includes my curries lol. Using tomato sauce makes this recipe easier to cook. Once you'll make it, hopefully you won't need any instructions for your remakes next time.
What Makes This Recipe Taste Like Having Butter Chicken With Garlic Naan?
I have used fresh cilantro and garlic in the butter chicken and lasagna layers. Adding Cilantro and garlic on cheese and then layering the noodles on top makes the flavors of cilantro-garlic stick to the pasta. So when you take that one bite of butter chicken with garlicky pasta, it's like eating creamy butter chicken with garlic naan. You got to try it to experience what I am talking about lol.
Make-Ahead
This is a great make-ahead recipe for meal preparation. Butter Chicken can be prepared at least 2 weeks ahead and stored in the freezer in an airtight container. Thaw it a night before in the refrigerator, reheat the curry and layer the lasagna for baking. Great for a quick meal prep or Ramadaan meals.
Freezing Butter Chicken Lasagna
This recipe is great for freezer meals. Baked lasagna stays great in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. This is such a great meal to have it prepared ahead of time for Ramadaan.
Gluten-Free Option
To make this meal gluten-free, you may use gluten-free noodles or Zucchini, Yellow Squash. Baking time for gluten-free options stays the same.
Tip
For the best results and tastes cook it fresh and do not substitute ingredients. This recipe was developed to cook in a 9" by 13" Pan or Dish. If you do not have 9" by 13" Baking Pan or Dish, you may purchase it by clicking here.
Layering Butter Chicken Lasagna
Also try my Spicy Korean Chicken on a Stick and Easy Chicken Biryani
BUTTER CHICKEN LASAGNA
Equipment
- 9 by 13 Baking Dish
Ingredients
- 15 Lasagna noodles , uncooked
- 3 Chicken breasts , diced
- 3 cups Tomato sauce or Marinara sauce , preferably Rao's
- ¼ cup Butter or oil
- ¼ cup Warm water
- 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup Heavy cream
- A bunch of cilantro , chopped
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin-Coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon Fenugreek leaves
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Butter Chicken Curry
- Preheat the oven to 365 F. Wash and dry Cilantro. Chop cilantro and garlic cloves in a food processor or a chopper and set it aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet on high heat. Add chicken, all the dry spices, and 3 tablespoon coriander-garlic mix we chopped. Mix it well and cook until all the chicken juice dries out.
- Add tomato sauce to the chicken. Cover the skillet and cook on low heat until chicken is cooked. Now add heavy cream and dry fenugreek. Mix it gently and turn off the heat.
Layering the Lasagna
- We will create 3 layers of lasagna noodles, and 2 layers of butter chicken, cheese, and cilantro-garlic.
- Take some curry(no chicken) and spread it at the bottom of the baking dish. Place 5 lasagna sheets, spread half of the butter chicken evenly on top. Make sure noodles are covered with sauce completely. Spread half-cup mozzarella cheese and half of the cilantro-garlic.
- Repeat the same layering using the rest of the ingredients, leaving some gravy and mozzarella to top off the last batch of 5 lasagna sheets. Add ¼ cup warm water to the gravy and spread it evenly on the top layer. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on the top layer.
- Cover the dish with Aluminum foil. Make sure the foil doesn't touch the cheese. Bake it in the oven for 40 minutes at 365 F. Serve it hot.
Tip: Sprinkle extra chopped cilantro and garlic on top layer before baking.
Tried this Recipe? Tag me on Instagram @feastwithsafiya #feastwithsafiya
Mother, Wife, Indian-American born and raised in the small town of India. Former IT employee now a food blogger. A self-taught food photographer.
I choose to cook with Whole Foods and Clean Ingredients as my Mother did. I am a firm believer in cooking meals with lots of vegetables, little meat, and generous spices.
Anonymous says
I really like this recipe