If you are looking to spoil yourself and your loved ones with a little decadence, this incredible Lobster Mac and Cheese will not disappoint. A creamy blend of gruyere and cheddar cheeses is the perfect base for the rich flavors of fresh chopped lobster tail, bringing you the perfect dish for some dinner time indulgence.
To spoil you even more, while the ingredients might sound a little intimidating, this dish is actually pretty quick and easy to make. A few minutes pan cooking your lobster tails and then building a simple cheese sauce will have you on your way to a gourmet presentation of this incredibly flavorful dish – so let’s get cooking!
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What do I need for Lobster Mac and Cheese?
The title of this recipe hits your pretty major ingredients, but there are a few additional items to make sure you’ve got the cream and the flavor just right.
First, you’ll need a couple of lobster tails. If you haven’t worked with lobster tails before, this is actually a great recipe to start with. Why? Because you get to practice cooking your lobster tails and if they’re not perfect on the presentation side, you’re chopping them up and putting them in Mac and Cheese!
You do want to pick tails that are going to give your lobster mac and cheese a nice flavor. Picking out lobster tails isn’t rocket science, but there are a few guidelines to know. Cold water lobster tails tend to have better flavor than lobsters that grew in warm water. If you can only find warm water lobster tails (tails from places like Florida and the Caribbean) or those are the tails that land in your price range, don’t fret! These tails will still be fine! Also look for tails that don’t have any gray or black discolorations on the skin, as that may be an indication they’re not as fresh.
If you’re really hard up to find lobster tails or a fresh lobster tail simply isn’t in your budget right now, you can potentially use pre-cooked, bagged, or canned lobster meat. This is going to change some of the flavor, so be aware of that, but there are options out there to give this a try. We do recommend staying away from any canned meat in oil, as that is going to really change the texture and consistency of the entire dish.
Now that you’ve got your lobster, head to the dairy section for your cheese. This is a combination of shredded cheddar and guyer cheeses. You can buy them blocked or pre-grated.
While in the dairy section, pick up some whole milk, butter, and heavy whipping cream. Yep, this is creamy!
From the baking aisle you’ll need some flour, paprika, cajun spice, panko bread crumbs, kosher salt, olive oil, and old bay seasoning. Finally, make sure you grab a bag of penne pasta and you’re ready to go!
Putting Together Your Lobster Mac and Cheese
We get to the exotic stuff right away with this recipe and pan cook the lobster tail. First, slice the lobster tail lengthwise right down the center so you’ll be able to lay them meat side down on the skillet.
Lightly oil a skillet on medium heat. We use the Ninja 10 1/4 inch skillet for this dish as it has the right depth and maintains an even temperature. Place the lobster tail meat side down on the skillet. You can check out the link at the bottom of the recipe to see if you’d like to add this pan to your collection!
Cook the lobster about two minutes, then flip it and cook it another two minutes. You are firming the meat and giving some texture to it. The shell will start to turn a brighter color and the tail will begin to curl. The remainder of the cooking process will happen when you add the lobster to the mac and cheese and bake it in the oven.
Set the Skillet aside and don’t rinse out- the flavor from the lobster will help flavor your cheese sauce later.
Pull the lobster out of the shell and cut it into bite sized chunks. Put the shells aside to add to your noodle water for flavor.
The next step in cooking lobster mac and cheese is boiling your pasta. Bring a pot of water to a soft boil. Add your penne pasta to the water and then add your lobster shells to the water. Boil about a minute or two under the package instructions direct. It should be firm, but not have any crunch to it. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, which is why you don’t want to cook it until it’s soft in the water.
Drain the pasta when it’s cooked, saving the pasta water in a bowl, and put the pasta aside. You can put the shells aside to use for garnish on your finished plate.
Now for the cheese sauce
First – warm up your oven to 350 degrees so it’s ready when it’s time to cook the full lobster mac and cheese.
The first step of your cheese sauce is a basic rue. Use the same pan you used to saute the lobster tail so you have that nice lobster flavor in it.
Warm up your butter in the pan until it melts, then stir in your flour with a whisk.
Once you have the base for your rue, stir in the milk and the cream. Slowly stir in your cajun spice, old bay seasoning, and paprika and allow to come to a gentle simmer.
Add your grated cheese a handful at a time, slowly stirring in and allowing to thicken to the desired consistency. The sauce will thicken to a consistency that will slowly separate and come back together as the whisk moves through the sauce.
It shouldn’t be a pure liquid that the whisk can easily move through, but also shouldn’t be so thick that it won’t come back together when the whisk moves through. If it thickens too much, you can add a small amount of pasta water to thin it out. Be careful not to add too much pasta water as you can always add more, but once it starts to thin you won’t be able to take it out!
Once your cheese sauce has been fully melted into the sauce, stir the penne pasta into the cheese sauce.
Now for the final step of your Lobster Mac and Cheese! Scoop the mac and cheese sauce into a 7X7 baking dish. For this particular presentation we used two individual sized baking skillets, but that was for some fun.
Evenly distribute the chunked lobster on top of the mac and cheese. Lightly stir the lobster chunks into the mixture.
Mix together your parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper for your breaded topping. Sprinkle the topping on top of the dish.
Place in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 10-15 minutes. It should be bubbly on the sides and slightly browned on the top.
Garnish with the lobster shells if you choose, spoon up, and serve!!!
Please visit our Resources page if you are interested in finding some of the tools and gadgets Dre uses to make cooking accessible while cooking with MS.
Treat Yourself with this Decadent Lobster Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Instructions
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Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
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slice the lobster tail lengthwise right down the center so you'll be able to lay them meat side down on the skillet.
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Lightly oil a skillet on medium heat. Place the lobster tail meat side down on the skillet. Cook it about two minutes, then flip it and cook it another two minutes.
The shell will start to turn a brighter color and the tail will begin to curl. The remainder of the cooking process will happen when you add the lobster to the mac and cheese and bake it in the oven. -
Pull the lobster out of the shell and cut it into bite sized chunks. Put the shells aside to add to your noodle water for flavor.
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Bring a pot of water to a soft boil. Add your penne pasta to the water and then add your lobster shells to the water. Boil about a minute or two under the package instructions direct. It should be firm, but not have any crunch to it.
Drain the pasta when it's cooked, saving the pasta water in a bowl, and put the pasta aside. You can put the shells aside to use for garnish on your finished plate. -
Warm up the butter in the pan until it melts, then stir in your flour with a whisk. Stir in the milk and the cream. Slowly stir in your cajun spice, old bay seasoning, and paprika and allow to come to a gentle simmer.
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Add the grated cheese a handful at a time, slowly stirring in and allowing to thicken to the desired consistency. The sauce will thicken to a consistency that will slowly separate and come back together as the whisk moves through the sauce.
It shouldn't be a pure liquid that the whisk can easily move through, but also shouldn't be so thick that it won't come back together when the whisk moves through. If it thickens too much, you can add a small amount of pasta water to thin it out. -
Once your cheese sauce has been fully melted into the sauce, stir the penne pasta into the cheese sauce.
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Scoop the mac and cheese sauce into a 7X7 baking dish. Evenly distribute the chunked lobster on top of the mac and cheese. Lightly stir the lobster chunks into the mixture.
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Mix together your parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper for your breaded topping. Sprinkle the topping on top of the dish.
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Place in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 10-15 minutes. It should be bubbly on the sides and slightly browned on the top. Garnish with the lobster shells if you choose, spoon up, and serve!!!
