Lobster Mac and Cheese
Posted: 02/22/23
Updated: 04/11/23
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Creamy, decadent lobster mac and cheese is perfect for any holiday, date night, or special occasion. Luscious lobster meat and a rich sauce made with two types of cheese transform ordinary macaroni into a delectable, gooey, baked mac and cheese that’s guaranteed to impress.
🦞 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Lobster mac and cheese is honestly a really simple recipe, but it sounds and looks and tastes so decadent that everyone will think you labored over it for hours.
- Because this dish feels so elegant, it’s perfect for special occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, date nights, proposals, Christmas, Valentine’s Day – pretty much any celebration, cheesy lobster mac makes it even better.
- You can serve this as a main course with your favorite sides, or serve it as a side dish to accompany your favorite entrées! What goes with lobster mac and cheese? I honestly love it alongside a juicy filet mignon. If it’s your main course, try pairing it with a simple salad, air fryer asparagus, sautéed spinach or kale, air fryer broccoli, or Italian green beans.
More Irresistible Ways to Prepare Lobster
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- For a really smooth and luxurious cheese sauce, do two things. 1) Make sure your dairy products are at room temperature. 2) Remove the pot from the heat before adding the cheese and milk. Cold dairy products will separate and curdle when they’re added to the hot pot.
- Easily transform lobster mac and cheese into seafood mac and cheese by adding shrimp, crabmeat, scallops, and/or crawfish. You can’t go wrong with any of them!
- Be careful not to boil the pasta too long! Remember, you’ll be baking the noodles for 20-30 minutes later in the recipe. If they’re fully cooked on the stovetop, they’ll overcook in the oven. I recommend boiling the noodles for 1-2 minutes less than the instructions on the packaging recommend. That allows for the extra cook time later.
🦀 Other Can’t-Miss Seafood Recipes
- Creamy Hot Crab Dip (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)
- Sauteed Shrimp in Garlic Butter Sauce
- Grilled Scallops
- Seafood Soup
- Seafood-Stuffed Baked Potato
- Tuna Tetrazzini
Lobster Mac and Cheese
Chunks of tender lobster, a rich sauce made with two types of cheese, al dente pasta, and a crisp breadcrumb topping. Serve as a main course or a side dish.
servings
Ingredients
For the Pasta
- water
- salt
- 1 pound dry cavatappi pasta or elbow macaroni
For the Lobster Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups whole milk at room temperature
- 2 cups shredded fresh gruyere at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups shredded fresh white cheddar at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon dried nutmeg
- 1 pound cooked lobster meat chopped
For the Breadcrumb Topping
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated fresh parmesan at room temperature
Equipment
- Oven
- 9×13 baking dish
- butter or cooking spray, to grease dish
- stovetop
- Large pot
- colander
- Paper towels
- Whisk
- Large wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- Small microwave-safe bowl
- Fork or small whisk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. If needed, adjust racks so baking dish will sit in center of oven. Lightly grease baking dish with cooking spray or butter, making sure to cover bottom and all sides completely. Set greased baking dish aside.
For the Pasta
- Fill large pot with enough water to cover pasta by 1 to 2 inches. Place pot over medium-high heat and warm pot until water begins to boil gently.
- Once water begins to boil, generously salt water, then continue warming pot until water begins to boil.
- When salted water begins to boil, add dry pasta to water and cook 1 to 2 minutes less than indicated on pasta packaging, so that pasta is just shy of al dente.
- Pour pasta and water into colander. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Dry pot with paper towels and return pot to stovetop. Reduce heat to medium.
For the Lobster Sauce
- Heat pot over medium heat until warm, then add butter. Melt butter completely, swirling pot occasionally to evenly distribute butter around pot.
- When butter is completely melted, add flour to pot and whisk until ingredients are fully combined. Let mixture simmer over medium heat 2 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Remove pot from heat. Whisking constantly, add whole milk to pot. Return pot to heat and continue whisking until mixture has thickened, approximately 5 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat once more. Add gruyere, cheddar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk well to incorporate ingredients and continue whisking until cheeses have melted. Return pot to heat.
- Add lobster meat and cooked pasta to pot with cheese sauce. Gently fold in lobster and pasta until fully incorporated and coated in cheese sauce.
- Once incorporated, transfer entire mixture to greased baking dish. Spread mixture out into one even layer, covering bottom of baking dish entirely.
For the Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Place 2 tablespoons butter in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second bursts at 50% power, stirring well between each burst, until butter is completely melted but not bubbling. Carefully remove bowl from microwave.
- Add breadcrumbs and parmesan to bowl with melted butter. Use fork or small whisk to mix ingredients together until crumbly topping forms.
- Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over top of mac and cheese in baking dish, then place baking dish in preheated oven.
- Bake mac and cheese, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes. After 25 minutes, begin checking doneness – mac and cheese is ready when sauce is bubbly and breadcrumb topping is lightly golden brown.
- Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes, then divide lobster mac and cheese into preferred portions and serve as desired.
Notes
- Cheese: Shred the cheeses yourself, right from a fresh block. Pre-packaged shredded cheeses contain additives and starches that keep them from melting like they should.
Suggested Cooking Methods for Lobster Meat
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1serving, Calories: 648kcal, Protein: 36g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 164mg, Sodium: 892mg, Potassium: 421mg, Total Carbs: 54g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Net Carbs: 52g, Vitamin A: 941IU, Vitamin C: 0.001mg, Calcium: 689mg, Iron: 1mg
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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