Skillet Vodka Sauce Lasagna
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This Skillet Vodka Sauce Lasagna has all the flavors you love in spicy vodka pasta and is easy to make in a skillet! It’s high in protein with over 54 grams of protein in each serving and is made with lean ground chicken and cottage cheese instead of ricotta.
About This Recipe
If you love Spicy Vodka Pasta and lasagna, you’re going to love this Skillet Vodka Sauce Lasagna! It’s full of bold flavors, satisfying and comforting! It’s also high in protein with 54.3 grams of protein in each serving.
It’s similar to my Easy Skillet Lasagna, but I’ve made it extra spicy and flavorful by using a jarred spicy vodka pasta sauce and adding Calabrian chili pepper paste for a spicy, savory and smoky flavor! Though, just like my skillet lasagna, I’ve used lean ground chicken and cottage cheese to make it high in protein. It’s also healthier than your typical vodka pasta with heavy cream or classic lasagna with ricotta.
What I love about this easy vodka lasagna is that it’s ready in 40 minutes tops and doesn’t require any tedious layering. Everything is cooked in one pan and then you can either melt the cheese topping in the pan over the stovetop or broil in the oven to get that bubbly and browned cheesy topping!
Or you can transfer to individual portioned dishes (my preference and as shown in the pictures) and broil. This way they’re ready to be reheated for an easy dinner during the week!
Why I Love One Pan Vodka Sauce Lasagna
- High Protein – 54.3 grams protein per serving.
- Ready in 40 minutes.
- Great for meal prep.
- Freezes well.
- Flavor-packed, spicy, satiating and comforting!
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Fresh veggies and aromatics: I used Asian red shallots (substitute regular shallots/eschalots or red onion), garlic, fresh red chilies and baby spinach. Thai Bird’s Eye chilies give this lasagna a nice spicy kick but any hot red chilies will work. You can substitute the baby spinach with baby kale if desired.
- Lean Ground Chicken: I used homemade minced chicken breast that I made by pulsing chicken breast chunks in my food processor. Store-bought lean ground chicken is fine to use and convenient too.
- Olive Oil: To cook the chicken.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness to the spicy vodka sauce.
- Calabrian Chili Paste: This chili paste packs a powerful punch and is smoky, spicy and slightly tangy! It’s made with Italian hot chili peppers, garlic and oil. It’s usually sold in glass jars and can be found at Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma and online on Amazon. It adds a TON of flavor and is tasty in recipes like my Creamy Calabrian Chili Pasta, Spicy Chicken and Bacon Tomato Pasta, and Spicy Vodka Pasta!
- Spicy Vodka Pasta Sauce: I used Carbone Spicy Vodka Pasta Sauce and prefer it over other brands because it has a great kick of heat and Italian Calabrian chili peppers incorporated. Plus, it doesn’t have any cheese or cream added, which gives us full control to tailor the signature creamy texture of vodka sauce to our liking.
- Spices and Seasonings: Kosher salt, black pepper, ground cayenne, crushed red pepper chili flakes and hot smoked paprika to season the chicken lasagna meat sauce.
- Lasagna Noodles: We’ll break up traditional lasagna noodles (not the no cook type) into pieces and cook them in the sauce. You can use wholewheat lasagna noodles if desired.
- Low Fat Cottage Cheese: To keep things lighter and add more protein, I used 2% cottage cheese instead of ricotta or heavy cream. It works great with whole milk cottage cheese (4%) too. Or use low-fat or whole milk ricotta if preferred.
- Mozzarella Cheese: My favorite mozzarella cheese is Tillamook Low Moisture Part-Skim Farmstyle Shreds but use your favorite brand!
- Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (or Parmesan cheese): Use a box grater to grate the cheese yourself at home. It tastes fresher and melts better than store-bought pre-shredded parmesan.
- Fresh Basil: Adds sweet, herbaceous notes and rounds out the flavors at the end. Feel free to use chopped fresh parsley instead.
Skillet Vodka Sauce Lasagna
This Skillet Vodka Sauce Lasagna has all the flavors you love in spicy vodka pasta and is easy to make in a skillet! It’s high in protein with over 54 grams of protein in each serving and is made with lean ground chicken and cottage cheese instead of ricotta.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 small / 55-57 grams Asian Red Shallots (or use a regular shallot/eschalots) – finely chopped
- 6 cloves / 30 grams Garlic – minced
- 1–9 pieces / 3-25 grams fresh Red Chilies grams fresh Red Chilies (optional – I used Thai Bird’s Eye red chilies but any variety will work, omit for milder dish – note 1*) – finely chopped
- 1 ounce (about ⅓ cup / 28 grams freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (or Parmesan cheese)
- 9 ounces / 250 grams (12 pieces) Lasagna Noodles (use gluten-free lasagna noodles if needed) – broken into 3-4 pieces each
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1.1 pounds / 500 grams Lean Ground Chicken (I used homemade minced chicken breast)
- ½ TSP Kosher Salt (to season the chicken)
- 1 tablespoon / 14 grams Unsalted Butter
- 1–2 tablespoons / 15-30 grams Hot Calabrian Chili Pepper Paste/Sauce, to taste
- 24-ounce jar / 680 grams Spicy Vodka Pasta Sauce (I used Carbone’s)
- 2.25 cups (2 and ¼ cups) / 532ml Water
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked Black Pepper
- ½ – 1.5 TSP ground Cayenne, to taste
- ½ – 1.5 TSP Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (hot or sweet – I used hot)
- 2 cups / 66 grams Baby Spinach
- ¾ cup / 200 grams Low-Fat Cottage Cheese (2%, or use 4% whole milk cottage cheese)
- ¼ cup / 10 grams fresh Basil Leaves – finely sliced
- ¾ cup / 84 grams shredded Low Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese (I used Tillamook Farmstyle Shreds)
- To Serve: Sliced fresh basil or chopped parsley
Instructions
Prep:
- Prepare the fresh ingredients: Chop the shallots, garlic and red chilies (if using) as indicated in the ingredients section. Use a block grater to grate the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Break each lasagna noodle sheet into three or four pieces each.
Skillet Vodka Sauce Lasagna:
- Cook the chicken: Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large deep edged skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken and season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, breaking up the clumps with your spatula, until just cooked. Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics: Melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until translucent about 40-50 seconds. Then add the garlic and chilies and sauté for another 30-40 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the Calabrian chili paste: Add the Calabrian chili pepper paste sauté for a minute to combine.
- Build the sauce: Add the spicy vodka pasta sauce, water, and all of the seasonings – remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt, black pepper, ground cayenne, crushed red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. Stir to combine.
- Add the lasagna noodles: Add the broken lasagna noodles and evenly spread them out in the pan, making sure to submerge them in the sauce.
- Simmer: Bring the sauce up to a boil, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10-13 minutes, uncovering to stir every 5 minutes (this is important) to prevent the lasagna noodles from sticking to the pan, until the lasagna is al-dente and tender.
- Mix in the cooked chicken: Add the cooked ground chicken and mix briefly to combine.
- Add the baby spinach: Add the baby spinach and mix until just starting to wilt – 1 minute.
- Add the cottage cheese: Stir in the cottage cheese until evenly combined – about 1 minute.
- Stir in the basil: Add the sliced basil and mix to combine.
- Top with cheeses: (OPTION 1) If you prefer not to switch on the oven, scatter the mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese evenly over everything in the pan. Switch off the heat and cover the pan for 5 minutes to let the cheese melt. (OPTION 2) Alternatively, if you’d like the cheese to brown a little and become bubbly, place the pan (make sure it’s oven-safe) in the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes or bake at 375°F/190°C for 9-11 minutes. If making for meal prep, you can divide into individual meal prep dishes, then top evenly with the cheeses and broil.
- Serve: Let the lasagna cool for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with more sliced basil and serve.
Equipment
Analon 5-Quart Deep Large Sauté Pan
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Carbone Spicy Vodka Pasta Sauce
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- Fresh Red Chilies. To make this milder and if dining with kids, leave out the fresh red chilies and use less Calabrian chili paste. You’ll still get a decent kick of heat from Carbone’s Spicy Vodka Sauce as it has Calabrian chili peppers incorporated. Also use less or omit the crushed red pepper chili flakes and ground cayenne. Opt for a sweet smoked paprika instead of a hot one.
- Nutritional information is approximate and will vary with ingredients substitutes and the brands you use. The nutrition information in the recipe card is based on dividing into 4 servings. If dividing into 5 servings, see the note on serving size in the post below.
- Check out the full article for ingredient notes and substitutions, storage and reheating, tips on customizing this recipe, and more!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 685
- Sugar: 15.5g
- Sodium: 2026.6mg
- Fat: 21.4g
- Saturated Fat: 7.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13.5g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 66.3g
- Fiber: 3.9g
- Protein: 54.3g
- Cholesterol: 114.8mg
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Cook’s Tips and Variations
- Choose the right skillet before cooking. You’ll need a large deep skillet for cooking but make sure it is oven-safe if you will be broiling the cheese directly in the pan to brown it and make it bubbly. A cast iron pan would be a good option. This way you can keep this a one pan meal and avoid having to transfer to a baking dish or individual containers.
- Stir frequently. To ensure the lasagna noodles cook evenly and don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, stir often during simmering. That said, a little sticking and slightly charred lasagna noodles is fine and quite delicious in my opinion. But burnt pasta is not!
- Add more water or broth if needed. If you find that the lasagna noodles have absorbed most of the liquid during simmering but are still not fully cooked, you can add a little extra water and continue cooking until al-dente.
- Blend the cottage cheese. Depending on the brand, the small curds may not completely melt. If you’d like a smoother sauce like in my High Protein Chicken Taco Pasta, blend the cottage cheese in a small portable blender like the Ninja Blast, a food processor, or a normal sized high-speed blender.
- Make it milder. Leave out the fresh red chilies and use less Calabrian chili paste. You’ll still get a decent kick of heat from the Carbone Spicy Vodka Sauce as it has Calabrian chili peppers incorporated. Also, use less or omit the crushed red pepper chili flakes and ground cayenne, and opt for a sweet smoked paprika instead of a hot one.
- Use rotisserie chicken. To save cooking time, use pulled rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or homemade cooked shredded chicken. Stir it in to heat through when you would add the cooked ground chicken back into the pan.
- Use ricotta. For a more luxurious skillet vodka lasagna, stir in whole milk ricotta instead of cottage cheese. Use whipped ricotta for a smoother sauce if desired.
Dietary Modifications
- Gluten-free. Use gluten-free lasagna noodles. Barilla gluten-free lasagna noodles, and Jovial (brown rice based lasagna) or Chickapea (made with chickpeas and lentils) are some great options. You will have to adjust the simmering time as they may cook quicker than regular lasagna noodles.
- Dairy-free. Use lactose-free cottage cheese, vegan parmesan and plant-based mozzarella cheese. Be sure to use a jarred vodka sauce that is dairy-free. Carbone Spicy Vodka Pasta Sauce is dairy-free but other brands like Rao’s have Parmesan and/or Romano cheese.
- Vegetarian: Use a plant-based meat substitute that crumbles such and Beyond Beef or Impossible Meat. Alternatively, add veggies like diced mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, etc. Also, use a plant-based Parmesan cheese without rennet.
- Vegan: Same as for making it dairy-free and vegetarian.
How to Make High Protein Vodka Sauce Lasagna – Step-by-Step
Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet. Add the ground chicken and season with kosher salt. Cook for a few minutes until just cooked through (image 1). Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside. Melt the unsalted butter in the same pan and sauté the shallots, garlic and red chilies (image 2). Add the Calabrian chili paste and mix to combine (image 3).
Pour in the spicy vodka pasta sauce, water, and stir in all of the seasonings (image 4). Add the broken pieces of lasagna noodles (image 5) and spread evenly, making sure to submerge them in the sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down. Simmer for 10-13 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking.
Once the lasagna is al-dente, add the cooked ground chicken and mix briefly to combine (image 6). Next, stir in the baby spinach (image 7). Add the cottage cheese and mix to combine (image 8). Stir in the basil (image 9).
You have two options for the cheese topping:
- Stovetop: If you prefer not to switch on the oven, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on top. Turn off the heat and cover the pan for 5 minutes to allow it to melt.
- Oven: You can also place the pan in the oven and broil for a few minutes. Alternatively, and as shown in the photos, divide the lasagna into individual meal prep dishes and evenly top each dish with both cheeses (image 10). Broil for 3-4 minutes in the oven or bake at 375°F/190°C for 9-11 minutes (image 11).
Top with more sliced basil and enjoy!
A Note on Serving Size
You can divide it into 4 hearty servings or into 5 servings depending on your preference.
If dividing into 5 servings, the macros for each serving is as follows:
- Calories: 548
- Protein: 43.4 grams
- Carbohydrate: 53.1 grams
- Fat: 17.1 grams
- Fiber: 3.1 grams
What to Serve with Vodka Lasagna?
The serving size for this vodka sauce lasagna is pretty big and filling whether if you divide it into 4 or 5 servings! As mentioned, even if you stretch it out into 5 servings, it’ll still have over 40 grams of protein in each portion. If you’d like to serve something on the side, a simple side salad or some steamed veggies would pair well with it. If you’re extra hungry, garlic bread would also be a delicious side.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Storing: Store leftovers in a sealed airtight container or multiple meal prep containers in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Transfer the lasagna to freezer friendly containers as shown in the pictures and cool completely. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave for 3-4 minutes on high or until hot throughout. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat for 3-4 minute on high in the microwave. I recommend garnishing with basil or parsley after reheating for freshness.
FAQs
This recipe has been tested only with Carbone Spicy Vodka Sauce. The flavor will be different if using another brand but you are welcome to do so. Note that Carbone Vodka Pasta Sauce does not have any cheese or cream incorporated but other brands may.
Lean ground beef or ground turkey are both great high protein options. You could also use ground Italian sausage, lean ground pork, or a combination of two meats.
No-boil lasagna noodles will take a shorter time to cook than regular lasagna noodles and you may need slightly less water. You can use them them but use 1.75 cups of water only and adjust the cooking time so that they don’t become soggy and overcooked. If the liquid is absorbed and they aren’t fully cooked, you can add more water if needed. Note that I’ve only tested this recipe with traditional lasagna noodles, not no-boil.
Sure! You can use rigatoni, penne, shells, or pacherri mezze or pipette which looks like the pasta shape that Carbone restaurant uses for their spicy rigatoni vodka pasta. The cooking time will be different.
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