Chicken, Mushroom, and Polenta Lasagna

A delicious, healthy, and easy-to-bake lasagna that substitutes polenta for pasta, topped with homemade sauce!

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr
• Calories: 714 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
• 6 large tomatoes, diced
• 6 large tomatoes, pureed
• 10 cremini mushrooms (baby bellas), sliced
• ¼ large Vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 2 (16 ounce) tubes polenta, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 4 ounces pesto sauce

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 2

In a saucepan, combine diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, honey, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 45 minutes, allowing to thicken. Stir in mushrooms and onions. Cook for 15 minutes more.

Step 3

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and partially cook the chicken on all sides until no longer pink on the outside. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, sear the polenta pieces in the remaining olive oil until the outsides are crispy.

Step 4

Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with half of the polenta slices. Thinly spread about half of the pesto over the polenta. Then cover the polenta with chicken, tomato sauce and a half-cup of the Mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layering of polenta, pesto, chicken, and sauce.

Step 5

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove, uncover, and top with the remaining Mozzarella cheese. Return to oven, uncovered, until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.