One-Pot Easy Chicken Lasagna

Mother's Day again. The second one since the affair, and the first since the Savannah forgiveness, and the holiday feels different this year — not heavy with what almost broke but warm with what survived. James gave me a bookmark he had custom-made at the bookstore — leather, stamped with my initials and the words "The books are always right." Carrie gave me a handwritten letter, three pages long, that I read in the kitchen before anyone was awake and that I will not share because it is the most private, most beautiful thing my daughter has ever given me, and some gifts are too intimate for retelling.

Robert gave me earrings — simple gold studs, not the kind of gift that tries too hard. He has learned the grammar of gift-giving since the affair: before, his gifts were extravagant, performative, the gestures of a man who substituted cost for attention. Now they are precise, considered, the gifts of a man who knows what his wife actually wears and buys accordingly. The earrings are perfect. I put them on immediately and will not take them off.

I called Mama. The conversation was good — clear, warm, full of the particular verbal intimacy that exists between a mother and a grown daughter who have survived enough together to dispense with small talk. She told me she'd made chicken and dumplings for the church's Mother's Day lunch, and that Joy had helped by tearing the dumplings, which is the one kitchen task Joy performs with genuine skill, because dumpling-tearing requires no precision, only enthusiasm, and Joy has enthusiasm in abundance.

I made Mama's chicken and dumplings for our dinner — the rolled kind, not the drop kind, because the Simmons family has strong opinions about dumpling structure and the opinion is that rolled dumplings, thin and wide and slightly chewy, are the only acceptable form. The chicken is boiled whole, the broth is strained, the dumplings are rolled on a floured board and cut into irregular shapes and dropped into the simmering broth, where they become soft and slippery and absorb the chicken flavor like sponges absorbing kindness.

After dinner, I sat on the piazza with my journal and wrote: "Second Mother's Day on the other side. The other side is becoming this side. The distance between who we were and who we are is shrinking. Not because we're going backward, but because we're building forward, and the new construction is beginning to feel more real than the ruin."

Mama’s chicken and dumplings were the heart of the day, but when it came time to feed my own table that evening, I reached for something that carried the same spirit — one pot, one effort, the whole family gathered around something warm and layered and made with care. This one-pot chicken lasagna is the kind of recipe that earns its place in a household that is still, quietly, rebuilding itself: it is unfussy, it is generous, and it rewards the people sitting down to eat it without asking anyone to work too hard to get it there.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 lasagna noodles, broken into thirds
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn, for serving

Instructions

Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large, deep oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to the pan in a single layer. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden on the outside. Transfer to a plate — the chicken does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the same pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes and broth. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Return the chicken and add the noodles. Nestle the seared chicken back into the pot. Bring the liquid to a gentle boil, then add the broken lasagna noodles, pressing them down so they are submerged in the sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 to 22 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent the noodles from sticking, until the pasta is tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Add the cheese. Drop spoonfuls of ricotta across the surface of the lasagna. Scatter 1 cup of the mozzarella evenly over the top, then sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until the cheese is melted and creamy.
Finish and serve. Remove from heat and let rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes so the sauce can thicken slightly. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella, scatter fresh basil over everything, and serve directly from the pot.

Nutrition (per serving)

One-Pot Easy Chicken Lasagna — The Comfort We Built Forward