Lobster pasta is a rich, creamy, and delicious seafood pasta dish with chunks of flavorful lobster meat and creamy Parmesan sauce. This recipe will take you less than 30 minutes to prepare and will make an exquisite dinner!
If you love decadent lobster recipes, make sure to try my Lobster Risotto and Lobster Mac and Cheese.
Table of Contents
Whether you want to surprise a loved one with a special meal or just treat yourself after a long day, this dish has plenty of rich, buttery flavor to melt all your worries away. It’s a fast and easy dinner recipe but perfectly fitting any special occasion and celebration.
The special touch lies in the lobster meat but it doesn’t end there because the sauce is just as important to this recipe as the lobster. When you quickly sauté lobster with butter, garlic, and herbs and then cook the sauce in the same pan, it will bring that unique lobster flavor into the sauce. You will love the overall flavor of this simple dish!
Plus, this seafood pasta is a great way to use up any leftover lobster meat from lobster tails or even the whole crustacean. You can cook the lobster just for this recipe ahead of time and store the meat in the refrigerator for a day or two, until ready to use.
Ingredient You’ll Need
Lobster meat – Claw meat is the best because it is sweeter and more tender, but feel free to use tails or a combination of both. Personally, I prefer to use meat from the whole lobster but that’s not always available. Sometimes you can order lobster meat or find it already take out of the lobster in the local seafood market.
Pasta – Any long shape of noodle is perfect for seafood pasta. Try spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini but perhaps not angel hair as it will be too delicate for this dish.
Heavy whipping cream – Can’t have a cream sauce without this! Allow it to warm on the counter while you prep your other ingredients so it doesn’t scald when added to the hot pan. Heavy whipping cream is the best, rich and creamy option but in a pinch, you can substitute half and half.
Garlic – smash the garlic cloves and mince them to release the best aroma to infuse into the dish.
Parmesan – it’s best to get a block and and grate it yourself for a smoother consistency to the sauce. Many grocery stores do carry freshly grated parmesan cheese if you need to save some time.
Seasoning – Use fresh herbs if possible for the best flavor. This seafood recipe has a blend of minced tarragon, parsley, and chives as well as salt and pepper.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Where to get lobster meat?
While there are plenty of ways to order lobster meat online, many people don’t plan ahead that far or even know about it. Most of the time, we want to find the ingredients when we need to make dinner.
So check your grocery store’s seafood department if they sell cooked lobster meat either freshly made or previously frozen. Many stores do carry that and that’s the easiest way to get it.
You can also get whole lobster from a local seafood market and many will even steam it for you. If the store can’t steam it for you, you can cook it at home. (Read about how to cook a whole lobster at home in my post on Lobster Rolls.)
If you can’t find lobster meat from the whole lobster, you can always fall back on lobster tails. Lobster tails are sold in just about every grocery store whether they are fresh or frozen. You can make lobster tails in the oven and then use the meat for this pasta.
How To Make Lobster Pasta
PRO TIP: gather and measure all of your ingredients before you start to cook! This is a fast going recipe so you don’t want to be running around looking for stuff. It will also give the cream time to warm up a bit so you are not adding cold cream to the hot pan.
REMEMBER to reserve pasta cooking water when straining pasta! TIP: Set a tempered glass measuring cup or a mug in the bottom of the sink as a reminder.
Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, reserving at least ⅓ cup of the starchy water when it’s done. Then, drain the noodles and set them aside while you make the sauce.
Sauté lobster with butter and herbs: Melt butter in a wide skillet on the stove, then combine with the lobster, herbs, salt and pepper (1). Since the meat is already cooked, this process will simply heat it while infusing all of the flavors with each other.
Sauté the garlic and add reserved pasta water: Next, remove the lobster meat from the pan and stir in the minced garlic. Cook until it starts to brown and becomes fragrant and add the pasta cooking water (2).
The reserved water will act as the base for the cream sauce, adding flavor as necessary starch to thicken the mixture. It also helps the sauce stick to the noodles so everything is well coated.
Stir in remaining ingredients: Once the water is simmering, add the heavy cream (3), grated Parmesan cheese, and additional herbs and seasoning (4). Reduce the heat if needed and stir until the cheese is fully melted and smooth.
Avoid anything higher than a medium-low and simmer gently so the dairy doesn’t scald and separate.
Combine everything together: Toss the noodles in the cream sauce until fully coated (5), then stir in the lobster meat (6), and serve!
Recipe TIPS
- Again, prep your ingredients before starting to cook! It’s a fast moving recipe, you will need to have everything within reach.
- Thaw frozen shellfish slowly. While some stores carry fresh, cooked meat, others may only have frozen. Be sure to thaw it lowly, in the refrigerator overnight. Discard any accumulated liquid.
- Cooking your own lobster meat? Find instructions and a video in the lobster rolls along with helpful tips for separating the meat from the shell.
- Prep in advance. If you will be cooking the shellfish yourself, you can make it the day before and keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two, until you’re ready to make the seafood pasta.
- Remember to reserve pasta water right before you’re ready to strain pasta. Don’t do it too soon or there won’t be enough starch in the water.
- Make a larger batch. If you need to feed a larder crowd, it’s easy to double this recipe. Just makes sure to use a large pan for cooking.
Recipe FAQs
This dish doesn’t need much else, so a slice of crusty bread or a green salad would be more than enough. I’ve also got several different biscuit recipes that are perfect for mopping up any leftover sauce.
If you’re thinking appetizer, you will want to serve something light and refreshing like Caprese Salad or a Bruschetta.
Heavy whipping cream will give you the best rich and creamy consistency. If you have to, you can substitute half and half but I would not recommend using anything with less fat than that.
Lactose free – there is a great lactose free half and half option that I often use by Organic Valley brand. I works very well.
Milk Alternative – if you need to use an alternative to milk, use plant based butter (Green Valley Creamery is a personal favorite) and plant based heavy whipping cream. Plant based/vegan heavy whipping cream is harder to find and you have to make sure to get one that is meant for cooking not just making whipped cream!
Yes, absolutely!
All you have to do is use your favorite gluten free pasta to make this dish. All other ingredients are already gluten free but do double-check the labels to make sure.
Storage and Reheating
Keep leftovers in an air-tight food storage container in the refrigerator and use within 3 to 4 days for best results. Warm in a pan on the stove, over medium-low heat, stirring frequently and adding a splash of liquid.
You will need to add some liquid because cooked pasta does soak up liquids when stored. Use milk, half and half, or some more heavy whipping cream when reheating the pasta.
I DO NOT recommend freezing lobster pasta for a couple of reasons. Cream-based sauces don’t tend to hold up well in the freezer, and the meat will likely become mushy once thawed and reheated.
Some More Amazing Pasta Recipes
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Lobster Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb pasta like spaghetti, linguini, or bucatini
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 12-14 oz lobster meat – claw meat, tail meat, or a mix of both*
- pinch salt
- pinch fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tsp fresh minced tarragon
- 1-2 tsp fresh minced parsley
- 1 tbsp minced chives
Sauce:
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup water reserved after cooking pasta
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp fresh minced tarragon
- 1 tsp fresh minced parsley
- 1 tbsp minced chives
- salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare and measure out all of the ingredients because it's a pretty quick recipe.
- Cook pasta in salted water according to the package instructions, strain, and set aside. Make sure to reserve 1/3 cup of water after pasta is cooked.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium heat and when it's hot, add butter to the pan.
- Add lobster meat to the pan along with some salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp. of tarragon, 1 tsp. of parsley, and 1 tbsp. of chives. Toss lobster meat with all the added ingredients and butter and cook it for just a minute or two, until it's hot.
- Take the lobster meat out of the pan and set aside while you prepare the sauce.
- Add minced garlic to the pan and let it sauté until fragrant.
- Pour in reserved pasta cooking water and let it come to simmer. Stir in heavy whipping cream, Parmesan cheese, herbs, pepper, and a little salt. Gently stir everything together and let it heat through. Taste to see if there is enough salt.
- Add cooked pasta and toss to combine.
- Mix in lobster meat and serve!
Video
Notes
- Lobster Meat: You can get already cooked and shelled lobster meat at some grocery stores or cook your own. It will take 2 1.5-1.75 lb lobsters to get 12-14 oz of lobster meat.
- Cream Substitution: Heavy whipping cream will give you the best rich and creamy consistency. If you have to, you can substitute half and half but I would not recommend using anything with less fat than that.
Lactose free – there is a great lactose free half and half option that I often use by Organic Valley brand. I works very well.
Milk Alternative – if you need to use an alternative to milk, use plant based butter (Green Valley Creamery is a personal favorite) and plant based heavy whipping cream. Plant based/vegan heavy whipping cream is harder to find and you have to make sure to get one that is meant for cooking not just making whipped cream - Gluten Free: All you have to do is use your favorite gluten free pasta to make this dish. All other ingredients are already gluten free but do double-check the labels to make sure
Darrick J. says
I purchased a few tails to grill for a cook out that was canceled. Instead of grilling the tails I decided to make a lobster Mac and came across this recipe. A delicious find. My wife was surprised when she came home to this awesome pasta dish.
Camela H. says
As I read through your recipe, I could already tell it would be a hit. I did make a change using mixed seafood (lobster, scallops, shrimp) but kept everything else the same. That sauce was incredible the and the aroma in my kitchen was driving my family crazy!
Love all the fresh ingredients in this dish! First time cooking with fresh tarragon and it really was the star of the show here. My husband absolutely loved it, and so did I. Excellent recipe, thank you for sharing!
wilhelmina says
This pasta was SO GOOD! I made it for a date night with my hubby and it was perfection!
LyubaB says
I’m thrilled to hear that the pasta was a hit!
Missy says
We grilled steak and lobster over the weekend and had some leftover lobster. I used it to make this lobster pasta and it was the incredibly delicious. A real treat that we enjoyed so much.
LyubaB says
I’m glad you enjoyed it so much, and it’s that is a wonderful example of how leftover ingredients can be transformed into something delicious!
Jennifer K. says
I made this for Valentines. All the cracking to get the lobster meat was well worth the effort. My husband and I both loved it. I will definitely make this again. Will also be awesome with crab meat.
LyubaB says
I am so glad you both liked it, Jennifer.