Traditional Lobster Bisque Recipe
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This Traditional Lobster Bisque Recipe is perfect for special occasions. Classic lobster bisque recipe highlights fresh lobster meat, heavy cream, white wine, bay leaf, and aromatic vegetables to create a traditional lobster bisque you will crave repeatedly.
Serve with a side of Rustic Bread and a beautiful Orange Fennel Salad. You will also love Lobster Ravioli Sauce with Lemon Brown Butter.
Quick Look at This Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Servings: 6 people
- Dietary Info: Gluten Free, can be made Dairy Free
- Method: Stovetop
- Technique: Sauté onions, celery, and garlic in butter until fragrant, then add lobster shells, tomato paste, and seasonings. Simmer with broth and wine to extract flavor, strain the mixture, and return to the pot. Stir in cream and cooked lobster meat, then heat gently until silky and smooth before serving.
- Flavor & Texture: Rich and indulgent, this bisque has a deep, savory lobster flavor with buttery, aromatic undertones. It’s velvety and creamy, with tender chunks of lobster throughout, creating a luxurious, comforting experience in every spoonful.
Why You’ll Love This Family Favorite!
This homemade lobster bisque is one of those recipes I make when I want something elegant but surprisingly approachable at home. It is a luxuriously creamy bisque loaded with tender chunks of lobster and bright, fresh flavors. It feels special enough for a fancy dinner, yet it’s simple enough to make any night feel like a treat.
- Restaurant-Worthy at Home: You’ll feel like you’re dining out, but all from your own kitchen.
- Velvety Creamy Texture: The combination of butter, cream, and slow-simmered lobster stock creates a smooth, indulgent bisque.
- Rich, Lobster Flavor: Sautéing the lobster shells with aromatics and tomato paste extracts deep, savory flavor that shines in every spoonful.
You’ll also love my Baked Lobster Tails and Lobster Pasta!
Made With Amore,
“Really tasty and easy to make! Made it twice so far!”
– Sylvia
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Traditional Lobster Bisque Recipe
This Lobster Bisque recipe tastes complex but has super simple ingredients – minus the lobster tails.
- Cold Water Lobster Tails (freshly thawed): Choose fresh or high-quality frozen tails for tender, flavorful lobster meat.
- Butter: Adds richness and depth to the bisque.
- Olive Oil: Helps sauté vegetables evenly without burning, giving a smooth base flavor.
- Onion: Provides savory depth and sweetness. Pick firm, unblemished onions for maximum flavor.
- Carrots: Add natural sweetness and color; choose firm, brightly colored carrots for freshness and texture.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
- Dairy-Free: Swap heavy cream for coconut cream for a dairy-free version; texture stays creamy, flavor slightly changes.
- Tarragon Substitute: If unavailable, use dill, fennel, or marjoram for a similar aromatic note.
- Seafood Variations: Replace lobster with shrimp, crab, or clams for a different bisque.
- Spicy Twist: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for extra heat.
How to Make Traditional Lobster Bisque Recipe
This recipe is so easy; using lobster tails guarantees a rich and decadent bisque that cooks in under one hour. Follow the step-by step photos and see the recipe card at the bottom for a printable version.
- Fill a large pot with 5 cups of water. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sea salt and bring to a boil. Add the lobster tails and bay leaves, cover with a lid and let boil for 5 minutes or until bright red. Do not cook all the way. The lobster meat is cooked in butter at a later time.
- Using kitchen tongs, remove the lobster tails, and save the stock in the pot.
- Let the lobster tails cool slightly, and remove the meat from the shells using kitchen shears see notes.
- Reserve the meat and any liquid from the shells. Chop the lobster meat into large bite-sized chunks. Place in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until later.
- Return the lobster shells to the water in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes to get as much flavor out of the shells as possible. Add stock contents to a colander over a large bowl. Pick out noticeable shells. Discard lobster shells. Set lobster stock aside.
- Melt butter and oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium heat. Cook the onions, carrots, celery, and fresh herbs until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and paprika. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato paste, and cook for another minute to coat vegetables. Sprinkle vegetables with cornstarch and cook while occasionally stirring for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the wine, simmer, and let reduce to about half.
- Stir in lobster stock, reduce heat and gently simmer while occasionally stirring until the liquid has thickened slightly and the flavors have blended for about 30 minutes.
- Take off the heat, transfer the mixture to a blender (or immersion blender), and blend until completely smooth.
- Return to medium-low heat and stir in the heavy cream.
- When ready to serve, melt 1 tablespoon of salted butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add lobster meat and season with freshly cracked salt and pepper. Cook while stirring, just until coated in butter and cooked through for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not overcook lobster. Stir lobster meat into the bisque. Serve immediately.
Recipe FAQs
Bisques, in general, are always made of crustaceans such as lobster, crab, shrimp, and crayfish. The crustacean shells (usually with a vegetable base) are simmered to make a seafood soup stock. The stock (with the vegetables) is pureed to create a velvety smooth, and creamy texture before adding the seafood meat to the soup. A stew remains chunky with a clear broth base and chunks of vegetables, lobster, other meats, and seafood varieties.
Yes, you can make lobster bisque ahead of time. Keep lobster separate if making ahead. Store the parboiled lobster and the bisque separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator; before serving, heat the bisque and cook the lobster with butter in a pan. Store the bisque base and par-cooked lobster meat separately in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
For this recipe, try to find a lobster variety called “cold lobster,”- which refers to the region it is caught. Cold lobsters generally come from Maine or New England area, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, as opposed to warm lobster tails, which generally come from Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The meat of cold-water lobster tails is more flavorful, firm, yet tender.
Lastly, look for more petite lobster tails ranging in size from 4 oz to 12 oz. this size is optimal for quality taste and texture.
Place the lobster tail on your counter with the back of the tail facing up. Cut down through the center to the end of the lobster tail using sharp kitchen shears. Carefully use your thumbs and fingers to open the shell to loosen it from the meat, opening the meat away from the shell side walls. Pull the meat up from the bottom of the shell to separate the shell from the meat underneath it.
Lobster Bisque should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. As with most seafood, do not store longer than 2-3 days for fresh and best results. To reheat, add the bisque to a saucepan and heat until warm.
Serving Suggestions
This delicate lobster bisque recipe is the perfect main dish for several side options! Make Shredded Zucchini and Cheese Pasta (easy) or Best Italian Oven Roasted Potatoes and Easy Soft Italian No Knead Bread with a side of Italian Fennel, Citrus, Pomegranate, and Salad.
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- Use cold-water lobster. The taste is superior and worth it for this incredible crab bisque recipe.
- Don’t overcook lobster. When par-boiling the lobster, cook it enough so it easily pries away from the shell – we are not trying to cook it all through.
- Sauté in butter just until opaque. The goal of sautéing the lobster in butter is to infuse it with flavor. If the lobster cooks too much from the boiling process, toss it in the butter and gently warm but don’t continue to cook, or it will become rubbery and stiff.
- Time-saving tip: Chopping the vegetables for the soffritto is the most time-consuming part. You can chop them the day before, store them in the fridge, or even buy pre-diced onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
Other Seafood Recipes You’ll Love
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Traditional Lobster Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 pound cold water lobster tails freshly thawed
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped, plus more for garnish
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups lobster stock, recipe as follows, OR seafood or fish stock (store-bought)
- 2 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup white wine or sherry wine
Instructions
Make the Lobster Stock
- Fill a large pot with 5 cups of water. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sea salt and bring to a boil.
- Add the lobster tails and bay leaves, cover with a lid and let boil for 5 minutes or until bright red. Do not cook all the way. The lobster meat is cooked in butter at a later time.
- Using kitchen tongs, remove the lobster tails, and save the stock in the pot. Let the lobster tails cool slightly, and remove the meat from the shells using kitchen shears (save the shells)*.
- Reserve the meat and any liquid from the shells. Chop the lobster meat into large bite-sized chunks. Place in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until later.
- Return the lobster shells to the water in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes to get as much flavor out of the shells as possible.
- Add stock contents to a colander (not a fine mesh sieve) over a large bowl. Pick out noticeable shells. Discard lobster shells. Set lobster stock aside.
Make the Bisque
- Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium heat. Cook the onions, carrots, celery, and fresh herbs until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and paprika. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato paste, and cook for another minute to coat vegetables. Sprinkle vegetables with cornstarch and cook while occasionally stirring for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the wine, simmer, and let reduce to about half. Stir in lobster stock, reduce heat and gently simmer while occasionally stirring until the liquid has thickened slightly and the flavors have blended for about 30 minutes.
- Take off the heat, transfer the mixture to a blender or immersion blender, and blend until completely smooth. Return to medium-low heat and stir in the heavy cream.
Heat the Lobster
- When ready to serve, melt 1 tablespoon of salted butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add lobster meat and season with freshly cracked salt and pepper. Cook while stirring, just until coated in butter and cooked through 1 to 2 minutes. Do not over cook lobster. Combine with the bisque and serve.
Notes
- Use cold-water lobster. The taste is superior and worth it for this incredible crab bisque recipe.
- Don’t overcook lobster. When par-boiling the lobster, cook the lobster just enough so it easily pries away from the shell – we are not trying to cook the lobster all the way through. The lobster is cooked later with butter.
- Sauté in butter just until opaque. The goal of sautéing the lobster in butter is to infuse it with flavor. If the lobster cooks too much from the boiling process, toss it in the butter and gently warm but don’t continue to cook, or it will become rubbery and stiff.
- Time-saving tip: the most time-consuming part is chopping the vegetables for the soffritto. You can chop them the day before and store them in the fridge, or even buy pre-diced onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really tasty and easy to make! Made it twice so far!
Yay! Thrilled you loved. It’s a special one.
Is it possible to use shrimp or crabmeat onstead lobster?
Yes! Absolutely.
LOVE love love!! I used some red wine and some white Also I cut the amount of cream called for in half. Added lemon zest as well Delicious!
I love the addition of red wine! Happy you loved it.
Easily the best lobster bisque recipe! So tasty and easy to make.