This is super creamy baked Lobster Mac and Cheese for a crowd, with a roux for a base. It's luxuriously creamy and delicious! Perfect for a fancy dinner to impress guests. This serves 4-6 guests, you can easily double it for a larger dinner party.
Cooking lobster is something that can intimidate people but SHOULD NOT. It is amazingly easy to make lobster, and everyone needs this delicious seafood mac and cheese recipe in their life.
I am fully aware that this is a calorie commitment. Let me assure you, most emphatically, that this is worth every single calorie. Cheese. Lobster. Cheese.
Also, LEFTOVERS. HELLOOOOO.
I love to eat white mac and cheese with a Roasted Broccoli Salad or if you want MORE carbs (Hi, me,) you'll need some Soft Fluffy French Bread to go with it.
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🥘 Ingredients
The list of ingredients isn't too complicated. It's a mix of simple spices, thickener for the sauce, dairy, cheeses with excellent melting power, and of course, lobster.
- Dry Pasta - Elbow macaroni
- Olive Oil
- Lobster Tails - 2 small tails or one large 8-10 oz tail
- Butter - Salted
- Garlic - Fresh minced
- Salt & Pepper
- Chicken Bouillon
- Onion Powder
- Milk - Whole
- Sour Cream - Can be light or full fat
- Cheese - Havarti, Colby Jack, and Parmesan
📖 Variations
- This recipe uses macaroni elbows, but other smaller pasta such as shells, penne, or cavatappi would work well.
- Want it spicy? Add red pepper flakes to the sauce as it's cooking!
- Switch up the cheese combination! A substitution for the Havarti would be a nice gouda or gruyere.
🔪 Instructions
I'll walk you through the process of how to make baked lobster mac and cheese. These instructions combine a few steps, saving time and making it even easier!
Start by bringing two medium pots of salted (adds flavor) water to a boil over medium heat.
In the first pot, cook the noodles for 7-8 minutes until tender. Drain and toss with olive oil, cover and set aside.
How To Cook Lobster Tails For Mac and Cheese
In the second pot, cook the lobsters by boiling them for 3-4 minutes, until the internal temp is 145 degrees F. Then remove from the water, cool, and separate the meat from the tail by slitting the tail down each side of the underbelly and peeling the shell off. Chop the meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
Note: There are videos on youtube of removing meat from lobster tails if you need help!
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add in the garlic. Saute 1 minute, then add the flour and cook for another minute.
Add in the salt, pepper, onion powder, and chicken bouillon and whisk together.
Slowly pour the milk into the flour mixture, whisking simultaneously to prevent clumping. Cook for 2-3 minutes while whisking until the sauce is smooth and thickens slightly. Then add sour cream.
Stir in 1 cup of the Havarti and 1 cup of the Colby jack cheese.
Add in the cooked noodles to the sauce and gently stir until the noodles are coated evenly.
Add in the cooked and chopped lobster meat and stir into the mac and cheese.
To finish, sprinkle 1 cup of Havarti, 1 cup of Colby jack, and ¼ cup grated parmesan over the top (if using an oven-safe frying pan).
If using a pot, transfer to an oven-safe casserole dish before sprinkling the cheese on top.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the edges are bubbly. Serve warm!
💬 FAQ
Yes! Simply half the recipe! I would, however, still use the same amount of lobster. Just because.
Good cheeses to use for mac and cheese are a softer melting cheese such as gouda, havarti, or muenster that are mild in flavor and that lovely cheese pull. Cheddar alone does not melt well into a creamy sauce, but is added to this recipe for a nice punch of flavor.
YES! You can freeze this recipe. Cook the noodles to al dente (still firm) instead of soft if you plan to freeze, and make the recipe as directed. Let cool, then transfer to a freezer safe, air-tight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Yes! Because the sauce is not completely made of cheese, it reheats well in the microwave or in the oven.
Look for cold water lobster. It's known to be less fishy tasting and a tender texture and taste due to the slower growth that cold water causes. Many packages say whether they are cold water or not, or you can ask at the meat counter to make sure they are cold water caught.
⏲️ Make Ahead
This recipe is best served fresh but can be made ahead if needed.
To make ahead, make the recipe as directed, but do not bake in the oven. Let cool and cover, then refrigerate for up to 3 days.
✏️ Top Tip
Don't use pre-shredded cheese! It will ruin the sauce and make it grainy because of the anti-caking agents and additives in it. Using block cheese and grating it fresh is best.
I hope that this creamy baked lobster mac and cheese is everything you dreamed it would be. Make sure to let me know how it goes in the comments below!
📖 Recipe
Baked Lobster Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- 2 medium saucepans
- 1 Large frying pan or pot, if planning to transfer to casserole dish to bake.
- 1 casserole dish optional
Ingredients
- 8 oz macaroni noodles
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 small raw lobster tails (or 1 large 8-10 oz tail)
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter salted
- 1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 cups Havarti cheese (6 oz) NOT pre-shredded
- 2 cups colby jack cheese, grated (6 oz) NOT pre-shredded
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated (1.5 oz) Not pre-shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F
- Bring two medium-sized pots of salted water to a boil. In one, cook noodles for 7 to 8 minutes, until tender. Drain and toss with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Cover and set aside.
- In the other pot, cook lobster tails for 3-4 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 145° F. Drain and let cool before separating meat from both tails, then dice into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- In a large oven-safe frying pan (or a pot if using a casserole dish to bake) melt butter over medium heat, and add minced garlic. Cook about 1 minute until fragrant, then add flour, salt, pepper, chicken bouillon, and onion powder. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Slowly pour milk into the flour mixture, whisking at the same time to prevent clumping until all the milk is added. Add sour cream and stir. Continue whisking and heating the sauce until smooth and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add in the cooked noodles and lobster meat and mix together. Adding these first helps prevent the cheese from becoming overheated and oily.
- Add in 1 cup each of the colby jack and havarti cheese, then stir until melted.
- If your frying pan is oven safe, proceed to sprinkle the remaining cup of havarti and cup of colby jack cheeses on top of the noodles and sauce. If using a pot, transfer to an oven-safe casserole dish before sprinkling the cheeses on top. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheeses are melted and bubbly around the edge. Serve warm. Garnish with fresh sprigs of thyme optionally.
Kyson R Smith
This was extremely good. I would eat this again any time.
Emma Johnson
You are a joy to be around.