This elegant Lobster Pasta Recipe is a delicious seafood pasta dish fit for a special occasion. Succulent lobster meat poached in butter, with a creamy, flavorful sauce makes for an exquisite dish. This restaurant-quality dish comes together with simple ingredients in less than an hour!
Combining butter poached lobster into a creamy pasta dish makes for something totally delicious. If you're looking for the perfect special dinner, this recipe is the perfect fit.
Looking for more yummy seafood and lobster recipes? Be sure to try these Scallops with Bacon and White Wine Sauce, this Steak and Seafood Skillet with Creamy Parmesan Sauce, this Seafood Boil Recipe with Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce, or this Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari! Don't forget this creamy salmon pasta either!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Rich and decadent - Pour yourself a glass of white wine, and grab a warm bowl of creamy lobster pasta. It's totally luscious with tons of flavor.
- Perfect for special occasions - Date night or Valentine's Day coming up? Maybe you're looking to switch it up this year for the holidays. A lobster dinner is sure to impress, and this recipe tastes like something you'd enjoy at a fancy restaurant.
- Easy to make - This recipe actually isn't very complicated, believe it or not. It's the perfect recipe to impress your loved ones without being overly difficult to prepare.
- Made with simple ingredients - You can find everything you need for this recipe at your local grocery store.
🦞Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Cooked lobster - Any kind of lobster meat will work well. We usually prepare the lobster a day in advance, and we use butter poached lobster tail meat. Lobster claw meat is also a good choice.
- Reserved lobster shells - Technically optional, but we use them to make the lobster stock. You can use seafood stock instead if you don't have any shells on hand.
- Cooked pasta - We'd recommend using linguine, fettuccine, or bucatini. These will all hold up well to the creamy sauce. Angel hair or spaghetti can work too, but they are a bit on the delicate side.
- White wine - To make the base of the sauce. We recommend using something dry, crisp, and light without any oakiness, like a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio.
- Reserved pasta water - This helps the sauce come together later on. Just make sure to heavily salt the pasta water!
- Kosher salt & black pepper
- Unsalted butter
- Onion & garlic
- Seasonings - We add red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, fresh thyme, and fresh basil. All of these additions are optional and to taste.
- Heavy cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Lemon juice & lemon zest
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here's a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Lower calorie - Swap the heavy whipping cream for half and half.
- Swap stock for wine - If you don't have any white wine or prefer not to use it, you can use seafood stock, clam juice, or even chicken broth or stock instead.
- Budget friendly - If you're looking to stretch this recipe a little further on a budget, add in some large shrimp! We've tried this when we had friends over for dinner and they raved about it.
- Add more seafood - For more protein, you can add as much lobster or additional seafood as you want. Shrimp, crab, mussels, scallops, or clams all make great additions to this dish.
- Dairy free - Use a little olive oil instead of butter, swap the heavy cream for coconut cream, and use a dairy free parmesan cheese.
- Spicy - Love a kick of spice? We understand, because we do too! Try adding more red pepper flakes or some cayenne pepper to make the sauce a bit spicier.
🔪Prep work
- If making your lobster on the day of, do this first. We make butter poached lobster for this recipe.
- Cook your pasta al dente in a large pot of salted water according to the package instructions. Be sure to reserve some of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Dice the onion and cut up the cooked lobster.
- Mince garlic cloves.
- Grate parmesan cheese.
- Measure out all remaining ingredients.
📋Instructions
*Skip steps 1-3 if you're using seafood stock.
Add lobster shells (if using) and white wine to a large skillet or large saucepan over medium-high heat. (Image 1)
Bring the wine to a slight boil, then reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half and the lobster shells are bright red. (Image 2)
Strain the liquid and shells through a metal sieve, into a small bowl or container. Reserve the wine lobster stock. (Image 3)
To the same skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, with a pinch of salt. (Image 4)
Cook until the onions have begun to soften, about 3-5 minutes. (Image 5)
Pro tip: Make sure to stir often to prevent the garlic from burning.
Deglaze the pan with the wine/lobster stock from earlier, followed by the heavy cream. Reduce the heat to low, and stir. (Image 6) Add in lemon zest. (Image 7)
Add parmesan in small handfuls over low heat. Stir constantly until a creamy sauce forms. (Image 8) Add in the thyme and basil, (Image 9) followed by the chunks of lobster meat and any of the butter or liquids they were cooked in. Remove from the heat. (Image 10)
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. (Image 11) Toss, add pasta water to thin the sauce, and help it stick to the noodles. Add in the lemon juice, and adjust the seasonings to taste. (Image 12)
Garnish with more basil, thyme, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and lemon wedges. Serve with a slice of crusty bread and a glass of white wine. Enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Season to taste. If making this recipe for the first time, add seasonings slowly and add more to taste.
- Don't overcook the pasta. In fact, you should undercook it by 2-3 minutes since we will be adding it to the sauce. Undercooking the pasta will ensure it's a great texture and not too soft by the time the whole dish comes together.
- Don't allow the mixture to boil at all once the cream or cheese is added, or the sauce will curdle.
- When adding cheese, do so slowly, over very low heat, and stir constantly. Parmesan cheese will begin to harden again in the sauce if it becomes overheated. It's always best to heat cheese low and slow.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
This pasta is best served right away, but can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. We don't recommend freezing.
If you know you will have leftovers, we recommend keeping the sauce and the noodles separate so that the noodles don't absorb too much moisture and become soggy.
If you can, save a little bit of pasta water and keep it in the fridge for reheating.
More Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Lobster Pasta
Equipment
- large skillet or saucepan
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
- lobster shells
- 8 ounces white wine (Pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc are good choices. Seafood stock can also be used.)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional and to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional and to taste)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- zest of 1 lemon
- 6 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 6 medium butter poached lobster tails (this is about half of the recipe provided, and roughly 1.5 - 2 pounds of lobster meat. Claw meat can also be used.)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (optional)
- 1 pound linguine cooked in salted water (or pasta of choice)
- ⅓ cup reserved pasta water (as needed to thin)
- juice of 1 lemon
- handful of fresh basil, cut into ribbons
- Garnish with more parmesan, salt, pepper, fresh basil, thyme, and lemon wedges.
Instructions
- Skip this step if using seafood stock. Add lobster shells and white wine to a large skillet or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the wine to a slight boil, then reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half and the lobster shells are bright red. Strain the liquid and shells through a metal sieve, into a small bowl or container. Reserve the wine lobster stock.
- To the same skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes, with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions have begun to soften, about 3-5 minutes, then deglaze the pan with the wine lobster stock, followed by the heavy cream. Reduce the heat to low, and stir. Add in lemon zest.
- Add parmesan in small handfuls over low heat. Stir constantly until a creamy sauce forms. Add in the thyme and basil, followed by the chunks of lobster meat and any of the butter or liquids they were cooked in. Remove from the heat.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, followed by some pasta water to thin the sauce, and help it stick to the noodles. Toss to combine. Add in the lemon juice, and adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Garnish with more basil, thyme, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and lemon wedges. Enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Seafood stock can be used instead of white wine.
- Season to taste. If making this recipe for the first time, add seasonings slowly and add more to taste.
- Don't overcook the pasta. In fact, you should undercook it by 2-3 minutes since we will be adding it to the sauce. Undercooking the pasta will ensure it's a great texture and not too soft by the time the whole dish comes together.
- Don't allow the mixture to boil at all once the cream or cheese is added, or the sauce will curdle.
- When adding cheese, do so slowly, over very low heat, and stir constantly. Parmesan cheese will begin to harden again in the sauce if it becomes overheated. It's always best to heat cheese low and slow.
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