Lobster Mac & Cheese – Comfort Meets Fancy
Macaroni & Cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. How can you not love pasta and creamy cheese sauce? I took my favorite comfort food and amped it up a notch by adding super fancy seafood. Lobster Mac & Cheese is the perfect combination of comfort and fancy. Make it for your next party or on a random Friday night to bring in the weekend with style. Here is how to make it.
Prep Time
The first steps to Lobster Mac & Cheese are to prepare the lobster and the pasta. I use Cavatappi as my pasta of choice. Cavatappi has a pretty shape and the ridges on each noodle hold sauce well. To stay traditional, feel free to use elbow macaroni. It will taste just as delectable. Follow the package directions to prepare your pasta, drain, and put to the side.
Let’s talk Lobster. I will admit, lobster can be pricey. I watch for lobster tails to be on super sale and toss them in the freezer for a rainy day. If lobster is outside the budget, there are plenty of substitution options. I have prepared this meal with lump crab meat as well as imitation lobster and crab. Yes imitation lobster is just flavored white fish, but I promise it is delicious in this creamy pasta dish and the price tag can not be beat. Once you make your lobster choice, chop the meat, and put it to the side.
Cheese Sauce – What Holds Everything Together
In my humble opinion the cheese sauce makes or breaks Mac & Cheese. Over the years I played around with many different ingredient combinations and the one I am about to share is my absolute favorite. Place unsalted butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Melt the butter, stirring often to avoid burning. Add flour and mix together to form a roux. Turn the heat down to medium to medium low. Add heavy whipping cream and milk to pot. Whisk the ingredients together until well combined – no lumps. Slowly bring the sauce to a boil whisking constantly. I adjust the heat as needed, but you want to be careful not to scald the milk. I recommend not going over medium high heat. As the sauce begins to boil it will thicken. Once thick turn heat off, add cheese, stir until smooth and creamy.
Mix It Up
Add pasta and lobster into the pot with the cheese sauce. Mix together until everything is well mixed. Then pour your covered pasta into a 9×13 baking dish. Pictured is a disposable foil pan I occasionally use when making casseroles.
Final Step
The final before baking is to cover with a yummy crumb topping. A simple combination of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and olive oil becomes a delicious crunchy topping after baking. Sprinkle crumb topping over the lobster mac & cheese and put in the oven to bake.
Time to Eat
20-30 minutes later the Lobster Mac & Cheese comes out of the oven hot, bubbly, and delicious. Lobster Mac & Cheese can make any night of the week a party night. I consider this meal comforting with a side of classy. I’ve served it on Christmas for the last several years and it is always a winner. Happy Cooking!
Lobster Macaroni & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb lobster meat - cooked and chopped substitute crab or imitation lobster/crab meat
- 1 lb cavatappi, cooked
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup flour
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup swiss cheese, shredded
- 1 cup bread crumbs substitute cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare lobster tails according to package specifications. Chop cooked tail meat and put to the side.
- Prepare Cavatappi according to package instructions. Drain and put to the side.
- Place a large pot on stove under medium high heat. Add butter to pot.
- Melt butter, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
- Add flour into pot. Stir to combine butter and flour. This forms a roux, or paste-like consistency to the butter and flour. Turn temperature down to medium.
- Pour in heavy whipping cream and milk. Whisk to combine.
- Bring to a boil slowly, stirring constantly. Adjusting the temperature as needed. Be careful not to scald milk/cream.
- As the temperature rises and the liquid begins to boil it will begin to thicken. When sauce thickens, turn off heat.
- Add in cheeses. Mix together to melt cheese into the sauce. Stir until sauce is thick, creamy, and smooth.
- Add cavatappi and lobster into the pot. Mix together until well combined.
- Pour contents of pot into a 9x13 baking dish.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and olive oil into a small mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle crumb topping over the top of 9x13 pan.
- Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes.
- Lobster Mac & cheese ready to serve when hot and bubbly. Serve as a stand alone or along side a nice green salad.
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