Description
So I got tired of the same old red sauce lasagna and decided to throw together something a little more fancy-pants. This shrimp lasagna is basically what would happen if a classic Italian lasagna went on vacation to the coast and had a glow-up. It’s layers of tender pasta, succulent shrimp, a velvety white sauce (fancy people call it béchamel), and three – yes, THREE – kinds of cheese. It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s impressive enough for company but I definitely make it on random Tuesdays because life’s too short to save the good stuff for special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Shrimp:
- 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined (31–40 count is perfect, but whatever’s on sale works)
- 3 tablespoons butter (the real stuff, not that weird margarine business)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or more, I won’t judge)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, but adds nice heat)
- 1/4 cup white wine (something you’d actually drink – cooking wine is garbage)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
For the White Sauce:
- 6 tablespoons butter (yes, more butter – it’s not diet food, folks)
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk (whole milk makes it creamier, but 2% works too)
- 1 cup heavy cream (go big or go home)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (the secret ingredient that makes people go “hmm, what IS that?”)
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and white pepper (black pepper works too, but you’ll see little specks)
For Assembly:
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (because who has time to boil and handle floppy pasta sheets?)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- 1 cup grated Parmesan (yes, more cheese)