3 Cheese Lobster Mac And Cheese Recipe
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This Creamy Lobster Mac and Cheese is a restaurant quality meal you can make quickly and easily in your own kitchen! It uses simple ingredients and is a great way to upgrade your mac and cheese game for game day gatherings or holiday meals!
This Lobster Macaroni and Cheese is a family-friendly meal with a gourmet restaurant feel. It’s a great way to elevate plain old mac and cheese for parties or holiday gatherings or meals, But the best part? It is so easy to make!
Lobsters and Maine are practically synonymous. It’s no secret how much we love this culinary crustacean. And you can’t go far in Maine without seeing one on a T-shirt or flag or purse. We even put it on our license plates, so why wouldn’t we put lobster in our mac and cheese?
You can use precooked, frozen, or even cook your own live lobster for this recipe. And it’s a great way to use up leftover meat from a lobster bake.
If you love lobster, try my Maine style Lobster Rolls too!
Why You’ll Love This Seafood Mac and Cheese
- Simple to make and family-friendly with a gourmet feel. Literally a restaurant quality dish at home!
- Uses simple ingredients, and the lobster adds a rich flavor.
- A great way to elevate regular mac and cheese for gatherings or holidays
- A tasty way to use leftover lobster meat from a lobster bake.
- Three cheeses! Three!!
Creamy Lobster Mac and Cheese Ingredients
This recipe was inspired by Ina Garten’s “Lobster Mac and Cheese recipe”, but adjusted to be easier, and extra creamy for everyone!
- Shredded Cheese – I like to use a 3 cheese combination of Gouda, sharp cheddar, and Swiss cheese. Shred the cheese yourself for the creamiest mac and cheese.
- Unsalted Butter – If all you have is salted butter, you may opt to reduce the amount called for in the recipe card.
- Fresh Garlic – minced small or squeezed through a garlic press.
- Flour – Use regular all-purpose flour or your favorite gluten free flour
- Dry Mustard Powder – make sure it’s in-date for best flavor
- Whole Milk – warmed
- Salt and Black pepper
- Cavatappi pasta – cooked al dente. Any medium sized pasta will work like shells, fusilli, bowties, rigatoni.
- Lobster – cooked and chopped into chunks.
- Ritz crackers – crushed into small pieces, so much better than regular bread crumbs!
How to Make Lobster Mac and Cheese
Follow these easy step by step instructions for the best results every time.
Step 1
Cook the pasta and drain. Set aside to keep hot. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Add the shredded cheeses to a bowl and toss to mix them together. Set aside 1 lightly packed cup (3 oz).
Step 2
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in the flour and mustard and cook for another minute until thickened.
Step 3
Slowly pour in the warm milk. Whisk until thickened and smooth before adding the next addition.
Add salt and pepper.
Once all the milk is added, turn the heat up to medium high and whisk until the sauce just starts to bubble and thickens to about the consistency of half and half.
Step 4
Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add 2 cups of the cheese mixture in 3 additions, whisking each until just melted before adding the next addition of cheese.
After all the cheese is added, whisk until smooth and creamy, and as thick as cream. Give the sauce a taste and add more salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5
Add the hot pasta and lobster to a large bowl. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and lobster and mix until everything is covered in sauce.
Step 6
Scoop half of the mac and cheese mixture into a lightly sprayed 8×8” baking dish.
Sprinkle on the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the pasta.
Pour the remaining pasta and lobster into the baking dish.
Top with the Ritz cracker crumbs.
Step 7
Bake at 400°F for 15-20 min until bubbly. Do not overbake.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. The sauce will thicken as it sits.
Tips & Tricks
These are my best tips to keep your mac and cheese creamy, never greasy, and to keep those precious chunks of lobster tender.
- Shred the cheeses yourself for a creamy mac and cheese. The pre-shredded cheese is full of additives that keep it from melting smoothly.
- Ensure the cheese sauce and pasta are hot before baking in the oven. This will keep the cheese sauce and lobster from overcooking. The cheese sauce will get grainy and the lobster will be tough if baked too long.
- Heat the milk before adding it to the roux, this will thicken the sauce quicker.
- Add the shredded cheese to the hot white sauce off the heat. This will keep the sauce from splitting and becoming grainy.
- Too much cheese in the sauce will make it grainy. If you want extra cheese, add it to the middle layer or the top.
Substitutions & Variations
- If lobster is not available, use shrimp, scallops, or lumps of crab!
- Any medium sized pasta will work like shells, fusilli, bowties, rigatoni, and Orecchiette. Anything with ridges or a scoop-like shape works to hold sauce!
- Swap one or two of the cheeses for all sharp cheddar. Gouda can be swapped for muenster, mozzarella, or Monterey jack cheese.
- Use panko breadcrumbs toasted in 2 tablespoons of butter instead of the crushed crackers.
- Top the cooked mac and cheese with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley or chives.
- Double the recipe for a 13×9” pan!
Type of Lobster to Use
You can use all lobster tails or a mix of tails, knuckles, and claws. I use pre-cooked lobster meat for this lobster mac and cheese recipe to make things easy.
How to Cook Lobster
If cooking your own live lobsters, follow these directions from Harbor Fish Market. They’re a well-respected, family-owned fish market since 1966 with online availability and local stores in Portland and Scarborough, Maine.
- In a large pot, bring 2 – 4 inches of lightly salted water to a full and rapid boil.
- Add live lobsters, to the pot.
- Lobsters 1.5 -2 lbs will cook 22-25 min. Depending on the size of your lobster, add or subtract 3 min to the cooking time for every ½ lb over or under this guide.
- The lobsters are done when their shell has turned bright red.
What Kind of Cheese Goes with Lobster?
I like to use a sharp and tangy cheese like cheddar or Swiss since the lobster is already super buttery and sweet. I also love the added gouda in this recipe because it melts super creamy and adds an extra buttery and nutty flavor to the mac and cheese.
Tip: When you’re selecting cheese try not to choose “extra sharp” or “dry aged” cheeses. They don’t melt smoothly. A sharp cheddar is perfect for both flavor and texture. You can use Gruyere instead of Swiss for extra sharpness, but I find that Swiss melts smoother.
What to Serve with Lobster Mac and Cheese
This recipe is perfect for everything from a romantic dinner, a major holiday, or to liven up a regular Tuesday. Serve it on its own or pair it with any of the following great options.
- A Caesar salad or Apple Walnut Salad
- Pan Fried Asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan or Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
- Biscuits or Parker House Dinner Rolls
- Homemade French Fries and Coleslaw
How to Store Lobster Macaroni and Cheese
Allow the mac and cheese to cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container in the coldest section of your refrigerator. Stored properly, leftovers will be good for up to three days in the fridge.
How to Reheat Leftover Lobster Mac and Cheese
Reheat leftovers in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes covered and then uncovered for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
I don’t recommend microwaving leftovers as it tends to make the lobster tough and rubbery.
FAQs
Up to three days. Reheat leftovers at 350°F for 20 minutes covered and then uncovered for 10-20 minutes until heated through.
Assemble the dish the day before except for the cracker topping. Let the lobster mac sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes covered with foil. Turn the heat up to 400°F and remove the foil. Add the crushed Ritz crackers and cook until bubbling and browned.
Absolutely. Just thaw the frozen lobster first!
More New England Seafood Recipes
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Creamy Lobster Mac And Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups 8 oz dry Cavatappi pasta
- 3 oz 1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
- 3 oz 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
- 3 oz 1 cup Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk warmed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ lb cooked lobster meat chopped into chunks
- 15-16 Ritz crackers crushed into crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and cook the cavatappi in boiling water with 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook per the package instructions to “al dente”. Drain and keep hot.
- In a bowl, add the shredded cheeses and mix them together. Remove 3 oz (1 lightly packed cup) and set aside in a separate bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat., Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the flour and dry mustard and cook for another minute until thickened.
- Slowly pour in the warm milk in three additions. Whisk until thickened and smooth before adding the next addition. Stir in the salt and pepper.
- Once all the milk is added, turn the heat up to medium high and whisk until the sauce just starts to bubble and thickens to the consistency of half and half.
- Take the pan off the heat, then gradually add the 2 cups of cheese in three parts. Whisk until the sauce is smooth after each addition of cheese.
- Scoop half of the mac and cheese mixture into a lightly sprayed 8×8” baking dish.
- Sprinkle the layer of mac and cheese with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- Pour the remaining pasta and lobster over the cheese, into the baking dish and top with the Ritz cracker crumbs.
- Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until bubbly. Do not overbake.
- Remove the mac and cheese from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. The sauce will thicken as it sits.
Notes
- Shred the cheeses yourself for a creamy mac and cheese. The pre-shredded cheese is full of additives that keep it from melting smoothly.
- Make sure the pasta and cheese sauce are hot when they go into the oven, this will prevent overcooking.
- I use a combination of knuckles and claw lobster meat. You can use all or a combination of knuckles, claws, or lobster tails.
