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Buffalo Chicken Lasagna For Two

Love to eat lasagna but don’t want leftovers for days? This Buffalo Chicken Lasagna For Two is scaled down to feed two people and has all the flavors you love about buffalo chicken dip.


Buffalo Chicken Lasagna For Two

One of the challenges I face since I cook for myself is scaling down popular recipes so I don’t end up with leftovers for weeks. I don’t mind leftovers for lunch, but after a few days, I’m over it. I asked you on Facebook which recipes do you love to make but don’t because it makes too many servings? Several of you mentioned lasagna, and I totally agree. My spinach, mushroom, and carrot lasagna that I make when my mom requests it makes enough to feed a family of four twice. Sure, I could freeze it, but at my previous apartment, I had very little freezer space. I have a bigger freezer now, but space is still limited. That’s when I discovered that you can make lasagna in a loaf pan and have just enough to feed two people. Say what? I had this Buffalo Chicken Lasagna on my to-make list for quite some time as I love buffalo chicken recipes but been putting it off since I didn’t want a gazillion leftovers. Now I can make just enough for dinner and for lunch the next day.


Buffalo Chicken Lasagna For Two made in a loaf pan

I first heard about making a small scale lasagna back in October from Jessica of How Sweet Eats. She was doing a cooking demonstration to promote her cookbook when she scaled down her butternut squash lasagna to fit into a loaf pan. That is freaking genius! I never make lasagna because it’s always in a 13×9 pan, enough to feed a small army basically, and here all I had to do was switch to a smaller pan.

There are several components that every lasagna recipe must have – the noodles, the cheese, the filling, and the sauce. Since I was changing it up with buffalo chicken, I thought of all the components that go into buffalo chicken dip – chicken, hot sauce, ranch dressing, cream cheese, cheddar cheese. Then I added some green peppers (since I don’t eat celery) and carrots because you almost always serve buffalo chicken with carrot sticks. Instead of a traditional tomato sauce, I went with a Alfredo-type cream cheese sauce (it’s not quite Alfredo but close enough).


Buffalo Chicken Lasagna For Two

This lasagna technically makes four servings, but I find that most people eat two servings each. I’m not sure if buffalo chicken lasagna screams date night, but you can certainly have a date night in and serve this along with garlic toast and a small salad. Or you can just have a casual dinner together after a long day of work. Like most lasagnas, you can assemble this ahead of time (usually the day before) then throw in the oven when ready to bake. I don’t have experience freezing lasagnas, but after some research, it looks like you can assemble and freeze before cooking.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna For Two

Yield: 2
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3-6 traditional lasagna noodles* (see Note about noodle size)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (roughly half of a medium bell pepper)
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrot (roughly 2 large carrots)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup hot sauce
  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing
  • 2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken**
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (plus more for garnish)
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces or 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 16 pieces
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  2. Preheat oven to 350F. Have a 9x5 loaf pan* ready (see Note about pan size).
  3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes. Drain.
  4. Meanwhile in a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion, green pepper, and carrots and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the cheddar cheese, hot sauce, and ranch until the cheese has melted then mix in the cooked chicken and parsley.
  5. While the chicken mixture is cooking, make the sauce: In a large saucepan, melt the butter then add the cream cheese and melt until smooth. Slowly whisk in the milk and salt. Cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the sauce starts to boil and thickens (if the sauce thickens too much, add a little more milk).
  6. Spoon some of the sauce onto the bottom of the loaf pan. Add 1-2 noodles to cover the bottom. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella cheese on top then add half of the chicken mixture. Spoon some more sauce on top then cover with another 1-2 noodles. Add some more cheese, the rest of the chicken mixture, and some more sauce. Top it with the final 1-2 noodles, sauce, and cheese (cheese should be the last layer on top).
  7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted on top. Garnish with chopped parsley. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Depending on the size of your loaf pan and your noodles, you may end up only using one noodle per layer or two noodles per layer and overlapping them a bit. If the noodles are longer than the pan, you can cut off the extra then layer that little piece on top of the long noodle. Use your best judgement with your pan and noodle size.[br][br]*I did test this recipe with oven-ready lasagna noodles, but some of the brands were too small for my loaf pan. If you have a smaller loaf pan, they may work better for you. I highly recommend regular-sized traditional lasagna noodles (or regular sized oven-ready noodles and skip the boiling).[br][br]*

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 2693 Total Fat: 192g Saturated Fat: 93g Cholesterol: 397mg Sodium: 4874mg Carbohydrates: 161g Sugar: 25g Protein: 87g
© Carla Cardello (www.chocolatemoosey.com)

 

More Buffalo Chicken Recipes



Stovetop Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese


Buffalo Chicken Dip Quesadillas


Buffalo Chicken Meatball Subs


Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches


Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Soup


Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • I do love leftovers for lunch the next day, but I can't eat the same leftovers over and over. I'm just glad I learned how to make a small scale lasagna ;) Thanks, Kim!
      Reply

  2. I have several friends having babies in the near future, and I feel like a lasagna for two is just the PERFECT food to take them. I can even make them in disposable loaf pans so they don't have to worry about returning a dish. Thanks for the awesome idea!
    Reply

  8. I love buffalo wings. And lasagna is one of my favorites. Combining these two in one dish is just so wonderful! No more leftover I guess. I'm going to make this right away.
    Reply

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