This Indulgent Lobster Mac and Cheese recipe features a creamy decadent sauce made with four cheeses and tender chunks of lobster baked together with pasta to gooey perfection. Serve as the ultimate decadent side dish or as a comforting main course! If you love seafood pasta like this, try my Creamy Shrimp Linguine, Cajun Shrimp Pasta and Light Shrimp Scampi pasta.
I’m a comfort food fanatic. I love all things biscuit, fried chicken, pizza and most importantly, mac and cheese related. There’s nothing like a cold Chicago night spent in the kitchen stirring up a pot of cheesy goodness. Sweatpants, pasta and a night in? Yes, please.
But every now and then, I get tired of the classics and I explore something new, something even more indulgent. And tell me, what is more indulgent than buttery, tender lobster? So, this Winter we’re getting fancy y’all! Let’s treat ourselves with the cheesiest, creamiest Lobster Mac and Cheese we have ever had!
What Is Lobster Macaroni and Cheese?
Lobster Mac and Cheese is a such decant meal, but every bite is worth it. From the tender pasta to the thick, creamy cheese sauce each morsel is more extravagant than the last. The addition of buttery bites of lobster elevates this comfort meal to a new level.
If you’re doubts about the combination of seafood and dairy are holding you back, I encourage you to take a risk. I love this recipe so much that I could straight up eat it out of the pan. Bring a fork, you’ll want to do the same!
How To Cook Lobster
Lobster is an intimidating protein but I promise that half the battle is buying fresh, high quality tails. Investing in fresh meat that comes from your local fish market will make for the best result possible. More tips come from here.
TIP: Cold water lobsters have firm, whiter meat that makes for tastier, more tender bites. When buying your tails, ask the provider if the lobster was caught in cold or warm water. If they can’t tell you, acknowledge the warning sign and go somewhere else.
Baking is a super simple method of cooking lobster that will save you time and stress when making this lobster mac and cheese recipe. For the best results, follow these easy steps:
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees
- Butterfly lobster tails (cut them in half vertically)
- Place tails on baking sheet
- Brush tails with butter and lightly season(add a bit of lemon juice for some extra zest)
- Bake for 10 minutes
TIP: When your tails come out of the oven the meat should be firm and only very slightly opaque. Remember, the meat will continue to cook while baking.
How To Make Cheese Sauce for Mac and Cheese
A mac and cheese recipe is nothing without a rich, delectable cheese sauce. The sauce should be buttery, creamy and full of perfectly balanced spice. Let me tell you how it’s done:
Make your roux! A roux is the base to your cheese sauce; it creates structure and thickens the mixture. Whisk quickly and once combined, stir in milk.
TIP: Use room temperature milk to avoid seizing and clumping.
Stir your milk until thickened. Use the constant whisking as a little therapeutic moment. Add in seasoning and, you guessed it, whisk some more.
TIP: Taste as you go! Seasoning is always based on preference. A little extra paprika or garlic never hurt anyone.
Cool the roux for a moment. We don’t want the cheese to be too runny and hot. Add in the cheeses in clumps and mix until melted.
TIP: Don’t use pre-shredded cheese; it’s drier and will not melt as easily. Instead, buy in blocks and shred them yourself.
TOP IT OFF
Okay, you’ve made it this far so the rest is smooth sailing. Let’s get this bad boy in oven!
Mix in the pasta. Be gentle! Pasta is delicate and you want each piece to retain its shape.
Top with extra cheese. If you’re looking for that Instagram worthy cheese pull then layer on more cheese. Try not to cover up those gorgeous chunks of lobster though.
Bring on the breadcrumbs baby! These crunchy bit may seem unnecessary but the textural component is crazy good. Just a little extra crunch brightens up the bite.
TIP: If you like a little more bubbly, browned goodness, then use the last few minutes to broil. Watch carefully!
Vegetarian and Vegan Options
For a vegetarian option, substitute the lobster with sautéed mushrooms or roasted vegetables.
For a vegan option, use a non-dairy butter and cheese substitute.
Storage and Reserving Instructions
The Lobster Mac and Cheese can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat, bake it in a preheated oven at 375°F for 10-15 minutes or until it’s heated through.
Substitution Information
If you’re unable to find cajun seasoning, you can use Old Bay or another seafood seasoning. If you’re unable to find cavatappi pasta, you can use elbow macaroni.
Other Favorite Mac and Cheese Recipes
Still need more mac in your life like this lobster macaroni and cheese recipe? I got you. Here a few more of my best mac and cheese recipes to get you going. I apologize to your waistline in advance!
- SLOW COOKER MAC AND CHEESE
- BUTTERNUT SQUASH BROCCOLI MAC AND CHEESE
- CAULIFLOWER MAC AND CHEESE
- SOUTHERN BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE
Lobster Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
For the Lobster
- 5 lobster tails Go up to 6 tails if you want it super meaty
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
For the Pasta
- 8 cups water
- 1 lb cavatappi pasta
For the Cheese Sauce
- 1 1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar
- 1 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack
- 1 1/2 cup shredded gruyere
- 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
For the Assembly
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup panko crumbs
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
For the Lobster
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut lobster tails in half vertically and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and brush the tops of lobster tails with butter then sprinkle with cajun seasoning.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until they develop a beautiful color then remove from shells. Roughly chop lobster into large chunks in a medium sized bowl and pour remaining butter from the baking sheet over the lobster and set aside.
- Lower temperature on oven to 375 degrees.
For the Pasta
- Next add water in a large pot along with some salt and boil pasta according to the package. Drain and set aside.
For the Cheese Sauce
- Toss all shredded cheeses together in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add olive oil to pan and heat over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute then add 3 more tablespoons of butter to the pan and allow to melt down.
- Quickly whisk in flour and cook for approximately 1 minute.
- Pour in heavy cream and whole milk continuing to whisk.
- Next add onion powder , garlic powder, dry mustard, paprika and cayenne continuing to whisk.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in half of shredded cheeses and allow them to melt continuing to stir.
To Assemble
- Once cheese melts down, turn off heat. Add beaten eggs and 1 tablespoon of butter to pasta. Toss everything together until butter has melted. Add pasta to a 9x13 inch baking sheet and stir in beaten eggs and 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Add pasta to 9x13 inch baking sheet. Next pour as much of the cheese sauce as you would like (for super cheesy, use it all) and half of the lobster to the pasta and mix super well.
- Next spread remaining lobster over top of mac and cheese. Top with remaining shredded cheeses leaving the lobster pieces bare so they will be seen once baked. P.S. Add extra shredded cheese to the top of this dish if you want it to be super cheesy and have all the cheese pulls.
- Finally in a small bowl, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and add breadcrumbs and toss together.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top leaving the lobster mostly bare so it peeks through and bake at 375 for 27-35 minutes.
- Rest for 10 minutes, sprinkle with parsley then serve.
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This website and recipes have been such a lifesaver! I grew up with the southern roots so it makes me feel this much closer to home ! Love this so much!
I recently discovered your website while I was searching for Lobster Mac and Cheese. With Southern roots myself, I was drawn to your site and, sure enough, my instincts were right on. The best Lobster Mac n Cheese ever!!!
Thank you for this recipe! My husband lives for pasta, seafood, and good old mac and cheese. I made this as a special Christmas dish and it became his VERY favorite food! When his brother came up he requested I make it for him. Now I am getting ready to make it for the 3rd time for my hubby’s 40th Birthday. I’m sure this will be a recipe we make for special occasions. I’m going to add crab to it too, my husband’s Grandfather (who will share cake with us carefully on my husband’s birthday) has NEVER had crab or lobster and he is 80!!! So this is the perfect recipe to broaden his horizon!
This was excellent. I made it for my son’s birthday and he was so happy. You helped us make a great celebration even better. Thank you!
I can’t cook from scratch so this recipe was easy to follow.
By far the best lobster Mac & cheese I’ve ever tasted. Definitely worth trying.
Much better recipe than the other lobster mac’s that came up in search despite the lower rating.
Thank you Jason! I sometimes have people that come here and rank my recipes lower for terrible reasons and it shows up on google unfortunately.
I bought lobster tails on sale and I had no idea how to prepare them. I stumbled across some recipes for lobster mac & cheese. I liked your recipe because it has several kinds of cheeses, plus different spices. I was right to trust my gut! This is delicious! What I changed it is instead of using milk plus the cream, (Cream now has additives that I’m allergic to ) I use the whole amount of dairy with half-and-half. The roux came together very quickly! Easy homemade mac & cheese and incredibly tasty! I can’t wait to make it for a gathering, God willing.
Exceptional tasting, Cooking at home, this meal was easy. The spices in the cream, perfect. Bite-sized lobster with some shreaded, turned out great. For this meal I used the tradional aluminum large rectangular baking pan.
Made this for New Year’s Eve. Split batch as one of guest has shellfish allergy and didn’t want to chance it. Huge hit for both plain and lobster! Will make this every year! Thanks for great recipe
I made this dish to accompany our 2020 Seafood Kinda Christmas, it was a major hit!! I added shrimp and lump crab meat and my family devoured it!