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This lobster bisque is restaurant quality but easy to make at home. Inspired by the deliciously rich lobster bisque at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, this recipe creates a luscious creamy soup with flavors of brandy, sherry, and plenty of lobster!
Before You Get Started
- Brandy & Sherry – No, that’s not a singing duo. These ingredients put this lobster bisque over the top and really deliver that restaurant-quality flavor. Nothing really replaces the flavors in these liquors, but you can try substituting white wine for the sherry if you want or need to. If you’re looking for non-alcoholic subs, I would recommend replacing the 1 cup total alcohol with a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar-free apple juice, a splash of vinegar, and 3/4 cup more lobster stock.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It’s thick and creamy and full of incredible flavors. You’ll love this bisque on a cold fall or winter evening.
- Lobster. Um. Do I really need to say more? Besides the incredible lobster meat, the bisque starts with a homemade stock made from lobster shells and aromatics, so you know it’s super rich and delicious.
- It’s a top-notch, restaurant-quality bisque that’s really easy to make but looks and sounds super luxurious. Keep this recipe on hand for special occasions (anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, etc.) or anytime you need to entertain someone you really want to impress.
- Looking for a make-ahead meal? You can make the majority of this recipe up to one day in advance and finish it right before dinnertime. This recipe does not freeze well, and the finished bisque should only be stored in the refrigerator up to 2 days, in an airtight container.
🔪 What’s the Best Way to Remove Lobster Meat from the Shell?
The easiest way, in my opinion, is just to cut away the shell from the meat. No really, it’s that simple.
Take your cooled lobster tails from their water bath and use shears to cut straight down the back of the tail. Then, you’ll need to pop the hard membranes on the inner side of the tail using your thumbs. Once you’ve done that, you should be able to open up the shell and pull the meat out in one piece.
If you don’t have kitchen shears (or a sharp knife) or if you just want another option, you can do this with your bare hands, too.
Lay the cooled lobster tail on its side on the kitchen counter or on a cutting board. Using both hands, press down on the shell until it cracks.
Hold the tail with the shell facing down and the fins pointed toward you. Pull on both sides of the shell to crack it open the rest of the way so you can remove the meat.
Now you’re ready for lobster bisque!
Chef’s Tips
- If you’re a big fan of lobster, you can totally use more than this recipe calls for. Fresh lobster meat is best, and we absolutely recommend it over anything else, but frozen or canned can be used instead. It won’t taste quite the same as fresh lobster, but it’ll work. If you use frozen tails, make sure to thaw them first!
- Want even more flavor? Try sautéing your lobster before adding it to your bisque. Melt butter and sauté garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Season your lobster with salt and pepper (and a little cayenne or Tony Chachere’s if you like things spicy) and sauté it just long enough to warm it through. Add the sautéed lobster to your bisque, stir everything together, then enjoy!
- If you can swing it, use cold-water lobster tails instead of warm-water ones. Cold-water tails are more expensive, but they’re also a little sweeter (as opposed to fishier warm-water lobsters) and have a nicer texture.
- Mix it up! Use crab, shrimp, or crawfish in place of (or along with) the lobster meat for extra flavors and proteins.
Recipe Variations
- Make it Dairy Free: Use coconut cream instead of whipping cream.
- Make it Gluten Free: Pure cornstarch is gluten free, but be careful to avoid any brands that might cross-contaminate. Alternately, you can use 2 tablespoons arrowroot in place of the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in this recipe.
- Make it Keto: Most of the carbs in this bisque come from the veggies and the cornstarch. Leaving out the onion will save you approximately 2-3g net carbs per serving. Replace the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of xanthan gum. Use heavy cream instead of whipping cream for extra fat. Also, look for the lowest carb tomato paste you can find, with no added sugars.
🐟 More Incredible Seafood Recipes
- How to Broil Lobster Tails + Garlic Butter Sauce
- Healthy Authentic Seafood Gumbo (Gluten Free, Whole30, Paleo, Low Carb)
- Seafood Salad
- Easy Salmon Patties & Lemon-Garlic Sauce
- Tuscan Shrimp (Whole30, Paleo)
- Seafood Salad
- Addictive Hot Crab Dip
- She Crab Soup
- Shrimp Bisque
- Baked Fish with Lemon-Garlic Butter
- Seafood Soup
The Best Lobster Bisque (Ruth’s Chris Copycat Recipe)
Inspired by the deliciously rich lobster bisque at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, this lobster bisque recipe creates a luscious creamy soup with flavors of brandy, sherry, and plenty of lobster!
servings
Equipment
- Large, heavy-bottomed pot
- Large bowl
- Medium bowl
- Kitchen shears optional, see Notes
- Cutting board
- Sharp chef's knife
- 2 small bowls one with lid or plastic wrap to cover
- refrigerator
- large measuring cup
- Large wooden spoon
- Large saucepan
- Fine mesh sieve
- whisk
- small mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the Lobster Tails
- 8 cups water plus more as needed to cover lobster tails
- 3 small lobster tails or 2 large tails, approximately 12 ounces total
- cool water enough to submerge cooked lobster tails
For the Lobster Bisque
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion sliced, approximately 8 ounces
- ½ cup sliced celery approximately 1 large stalk
- ½ cup sliced carrots approximately 1 medium carrot
- 1 head garlic peeled, cut in half crosswise
- ¾ cup chopped red tomato approximately 1 large tomato
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon optional
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 large bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- ½ cup brandy
- ½ cup sherry
- 2 cups bottled clam juice
- 2 cups cooking liquid reserved after boiling lobster tails
- lobster juices reserved after chopping lobster meat and shells
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ cup whipping cream at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- chopped fresh chives
Instructions
To Prepare the Lobster
- Fill large, heavy-bottomed pot with 8 cups water and place pot on stovetop over high heat. Bring water to rolling boil.
- When water begins to boil, carefully add 3 small lobster tails to pot and submerge completely. Boil lobster tails 5 minutes or until cooked-through and bright red.
- When lobster tails are fully cooked, carefully transfer tails to large bowl. Immediately add cool water to bowl, then set lobster tails aside until cool enough to handle.
- While lobster tails cool, transfer 2 cups cooking liquid from pot to medium bowl, saving as much loose lobster meat with liquid as possible. Discard any remaining cooking liquid.
- Once lobster tails are cool enough to handle, carefully crack one lobster tail open and remove meat using method of choice (see Notes below). Place lobster meat on chopping board and repeat with remaining lobster tails. Do not discard lobster shells.
- Once all meat has been removed from shells, coarsely chop lobster meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Transfer chopped meat to small bowl, cover with lid or plastic wrap, and place bowl in refrigerator.
- Place shells from lobster tails on cutting board. Chop shells into large pieces, then carefully transfer shell pieces to second small bowl. Set aside.
- Transfer any liquid or juices left on cutting board to large measuring cup and set aside.
To Make the Bisque
- Place large, heavy-bottom pot on stovetop over medium-high heat. When pot is warm, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Continue heating pot, swirling and tilting pot as needed to distribute oil across bottom of pot, until oil is hot and shimmery.
- When oil is hot, add lobster shell pieces to pot. Sauté shells, stirring occasionally, approximately 5 minutes or until shells have darkened. Be careful not to burn shells.
- Once shells have darkened, add slices of 1 medium onion, ½ cup sliced celery, ½ cup sliced carrots, 1 head garlic, ¾ cup chopped red tomato, 2 sprigs fresh tarragon, 6 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 large bay leaves, and ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns to pot. Stir to incorporate.
- Add ½ cup brandy and ½ cup sherry to pot and stir to incorporate. Bring mixture to gentle boil, then allow mixture to boil 5 minutes or until majority of liquid has evaporated.
- Add 2 cups bottled clam juice, 2 cups cooking liquid (reserved after boiling lobster tails), and reserved lobster juices to pot. Stir to incorporate, then reduce heat under pot to medium.
- Allow mixture to come to strong simmer. Simmer mixture 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove pot from heat and replace with large saucepan. Fit large sieve into saucepan, then carefully pour contents of pot into sieve.
- Strain soup, firmly pressing on solid ingredients with back of wooden spoon to express as much liquid from ingredients as possible. Once strained, discard leftover solid ingredients.
- Add ¼ cup tomato paste to saucepan and whisk until tomato paste is fully incorporated.
- Simmer soup over medium heat approximately 15 minutes or until soup has reduced to approximately 3 cups.
- Once soup has reduced, remove saucepan from stovetop and let cool slightly.
- Optional: If making lobster bisque in advance, stop here. Transfer soup to airtight container and let cool completely, then refrigerate up to 1 day. 20 minutes prior to serving, reheat soup on stovetop over low heat, then continue with instructions below.
- Add ½ cup whipping cream (at room temperature) to soup and whisk to incorporate, then return saucepan to stovetop. Simmer mixture 5 minutes.
- While mixture simmers, add 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water to small mixing bowl. Whisk until ingredients are fully combined.
- Add prepared cornstarch slurry to saucepan and stir to incorporate. Increase heat under saucepan to medium-high and bring mixture to boil, then let mixture boil 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Once soup has thickened, taste bisque and add ½ teaspoon salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Stir to incorporate ingredients.
- Remove saucepan from heat and let cool slightly, then add chopped lobster meat to soup. Stir to incorporate, then return saucepan to heat.
- Simmer mixture, stirring constantly, until lobster meat is just warmed-through.
To Serve
- Once lobster meat is warm, ladle prepared bisque into serving bowls. Garnish with chopped fresh chives if desired and serve immediately.
- This recipe does not freeze well.
- Prepared bisque should be refrigerated in an airtight container for no more than 2 days maximum.
To Remove Lobster Meat from Tails
- Using Kitchen Shears: Take your cooled lobster tails from their water bath and use shears to cut straight down the back of the tail. Then, pop the hard membranes on the inner side of the tail using your thumbs. Once you’ve done that, you should be able to open up the shell and pull the meat out in one piece.
- By Hand: Lay the cooled lobster tail on its side on the kitchen counter or on a cutting board. Using both hands, press down on the shell until it cracks. Hold the tail with the shell facing down and the fins pointed toward you. Pull on both sides of the shell to crack it open the rest of the way so you can remove the meat.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 342calProtein: 7gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 877mgPotassium: 548mgTotal Carbs: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gNet Carbs: 14gVitamin A: 3771IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 104mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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It came out SPECTACULAR! My husband unabashedly licked the bowl. Thanks it was tedious but worth it
So glad you and your husband loved the bisque! I agree- it is definitely worth getting every single drop that is left! 😊
I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!!! So flavorful and not too thick. I will definitely make this again.
The only thing is that I was disappointed it only made enough for two small bowls. I followed the directions exactly for the 4 servings but we definitely didn’t get that much.
I’m sorry about that, Clementina! Soups cook down differently each time they’re made so that could’ve been some of the discrepancy. Not that it should’ve varied so drastically, though. Still, I’m so happy you loved the flavors of the bisque. Thank you so much for your review!
Delicious! I poached my Costco lobster (not the most flavorful) in unsalted butter with a smashed garlic clove and chilled it overnight. It makes the lobster delicious. Then I added a lot of the lobster butter to some water and used that as the lobster juice.
Really like the sherry and brandy in the stock it made it really flavorful.
Thank you so much, Gail! I’m so happy you enjoyed the bisque. We appreciate your kind comment!
How do I acquire this “lobster liquid”? Just from the lobster sitting in the bowl post boil?
Also – what sherry would you recommend for this?
Hi, Rose! Any dry sherry will be great in this lobster bisque! Hope you enjoy! 😊
Hi, Rose! There’s two different liquids you want to reserve from the lobster. One is the liquid you boiled the lobster in (Step 2), and the other is any juice that’s excreted onto the cutting board when you chop the lobster meat and shells (Steps 4 and 5).
Haven’t made yet but looks Amazing. Can Shrimp be Subbed for the Lobster and if so how much should I use? 1 lb?
We actually have a recipe for shrimp bisque! https://40aprons.com/shrimp-bisque/
What type of Brandy and Sherry did you use? I don’t ahve these in the house and want to make sure I buy a good brand. The brandy will be drunk but the sherry will not.
Hi, Gayle! One thing to keep in mind in recipes like this is that you don’t need to splurge on anything that’s really top shelf. You’re only using a small amount and it’s mixing with so many other flavors. Any domestic brands would work just fine!
If you’ve already got a brand of brandy you love to drink, that would be perfect to use here since you’re planning to drink whatever you don’t need for the bisque.
Just made this for New Years Eve last night. It was OUTSTANDING! I’ll never use another recipe!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks so much for the review, Sharon!
Did add some Tabasco sauce and imitation lobster,quite tasty,love tarragon it’s a great herb,will add real lobster meat when served tomorrow Thank You for the recipe
So happy you enjoyed it, June!
Best lobster bisque I have ever made. Not an easy dish to make many steps.
Best lobster bisque I have ever made. IT does taste like Ruth Chris’ bisque. Not an easy dish to make, lots of empty pots
Great job making it, Vera! Sounds like it was worth the dirty dishes! Thanks so much for the review!
Looks great. Did not make it yet. Was wondering if there was a way to make this in a crockpot? I am a beginner cook so not confident with changing things but if you could let me know your thoughts I would greatly appreciate it.
Hi, Liz! I’m not sure this one would translate well to the Crockpot. The ingredients are added in increments throughout multiple steps with the liquids cooked down at least twice, which would be hard to do in the slow cooker. It definitely wouldn’t be a strict “set it and forget it” recipe like most Crockpot recipes are.
You can prepare the bisque slightly ahead of time, if that helps. Step 9 includes instructions for stopping the process to finish later.
Thank you. It was really my boyfriend who wanted to do the crockpot to be honest with you I just wanted to follow what was on the recipe here so I’m gonna stick with what you have on here and I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again 😊
Enjoy, Liz! Let us know how it turns out!