Two of the things we’ll review pretty much any chance we get are lasagna and shrimp. So when we spotted the Trader Joe’s Shrimp Scampi Lasagna in the freezer aisle at our local Trader Joe’s, we knew we had to try it. After all, it contains lasagna and shrimp at the same time! What more could we ask for?
The packaging for this lasagna contains instructions for the oven or the microwave. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to opt for the oven. Plus, we have a feeling that the oven produces a much better lasagna than the microwave would. The oven method, however, takes quite a bit longer, requiring 50 minutes of cook time. (If you want to see the full cooking instructions, check out our package scans at the bottom of this article.)
One thing we should point out about this cooking process is that we found the film on the tray to be incredibly difficult to remove. We’re not sure why the folks at Trader Joe’s decided to use such an aggressive glue here, but we really had to work to peel back the film without destroying the tray.
Now, we were hoping to find full pieces of shrimp inside this lasagna, like we would find inside the sort of shrimp scampi we’re familiar with. However, the shrimp here is chopped into small bits. You might find one or two pieces that are just slightly too big to refer to as crumbles, but the majority of the shrimp here is ground into tiny, gravelly bits.
But that doesn’t mean you won’t taste this. Even though we wouldn’t normally describe shrimp as a “fishy-tasting” seafood, this is definitely a “fishy-tasting” dish. This is designed for lovers of seafood, certainly.
This lasagna is loaded up with parmesan and mozzarella, which comes mixed with a white wine garlic butter sauce. The combination is absolutely wonderful here, creating a smooth, creamy texture and a flavor that really enhances that of the shrimp.
According to the box, there should be 3.5 servings of lasagna inside. We’re a bit skeptical, since the tray isn’t all that much larger than your standard single-serve lasagna tray. If you stick to Trader Joe’s recommendation, you’ll consume about 240 calories and 400 mg of sodium. If you treat this like a single-serve meal, however, you’ll end up taking in 840 calories and 1,400 mg of sodium. Yikes! Of course, we think a good serving size is about half the package, which is shown in the picture below. At 420 calories and 700 mg of sodium, it’s a bit on the heavier side but still manageable.
The Trader Joe’s Shrimp Scampi Lasagna is great for lovers of seafood, though there might be less shrimp content than you’re expecting. If you don’t like seafood, we’re going to guess that you’ll want to pass on this, but if you’ve got a craving for a hearty seafood lasagna, this should definitely hit the spot.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this Trader Joe’s frozen lasagna, check out our package scan below.
