Lobster Mac and Cheese
The first time I had Lobster Mac and Cheese was at a fabulous Atlanta restaurant called “Chops”. Atlanta has it’s fair share of upscale restaurants, but Chops is definitely at the top of the list. Their version of Lobster Mac and Cheese is amazing!
I don’t have the luxury of eating at Chops on a regular basis so I made a rendition of the dish and I know you’re going to love it!
Boil the lobster tails in salted water for about 8-10 minutes, remove and let cool. Remove the meat from the tails and cut into bite size pieces. Boil a pound of elbow macaroni for about 5-6 minutes, or until it is “al dente”.
The base of this mac and cheese is a roux made from equal parts of butter and flour. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook for about a minute, whisking constantly, and then gradually add the heavy cream. Keep whisking until the roux is smooth and creamy. Add the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese has melted and everything has come together.
Combine the cooked macaroni with the cheese mixture and spread a third of it onto the bottom of a greased 8″ x 8″ baking dish. Sprinkle a third of the lobster meat onto the macaroni and cheese layer.
Cover the lobster layer with a third of the shredded cheese.
Keep layering until you have the final layer of shredded cheese on top and then sprinkle bread crumbs to cover the entire dish. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes, or until it is bubbly and the bread crumbs are golden brown.
The Parrano cheese gives this macaroni a tangy bite that I just love. You can substitute Gruyere cheese if you can’t find Parrano cheese. Serve it as a hearty main dish or try it alongside a big juicy steak for a new twist on “Surf and Turf”!
- 4 T butter
- 4 T flour
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2-3 lobster tails
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni
- 4 oz. Parrano or Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease an 8" x 8" baking dish
- Boil the elbow macaroni for 5 minutes or until al dente, drain and set aside
- Boil the lobster tail for 8-10 minutes, let cool and cut into bite size pieces
- In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and then add the flour, whisking until combined
- Gradually add the heavy cream, whisking constantly until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy
- Stir in the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and Parmesan cheese and stir until melted
- Pour the cooked macaroni into the cheese mixture and stir to combine
- Place a third of the macaroni mixture onto the bottom of the baking dish and then sprinkle with a third of the lobster meat and then with a third of the shredded cheese
- Continue to layer the dish until you have the last layer of shredded cheese on top
- Sprinkle the dish with the italian breadcrumbs and bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top
- Remove from the oven and serve hot
Amy- I having a surf n’ turf style dinner party and have an estimated 20 people to feed and definitely want to serve this as a side dish. Any recommendations on serving this to a crowd. Your receipe says that it yields 8 servings.
Hi Nichole, I would definitely double the recipe if not triple it. It will not go to waste!
I am trying this for the first time tonight. A friend gave us some lobster and I didn’t want to eat it the same old way, looking for something different and landed on thus! It’s in the oven now, yes it will be more like a midnight snack now, had a few hiccups along the way, all my fault! One question I had (and I hope I interpreted it correctly) is that the Gruyere and Cheddar cheeses are combined when adding the layers? Neither one was added to the melted cheese mixture? That’s the only question I ran into. It smells heavenly baking…. Cheese heaven!
Kim, I am so sorry I am just now seeing your comment. I hope it turned out OK!
i just made this for our Christmas dinner. I doubled the recipe and used a combo of shrimp & lobster with sharp white cheddar, Asiago, Parmesan, and Jarlsberg cheeses. I sprinkled the top with panko bread crumbs. This made for a fabulous surf & turf with our prime rib roast. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi April! That sounds amazing, I LOVE Jarlsberg cheese! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
Love your recipes. I copy them as a “Word” document. I am always frustrated by the lack of punctuation marks in the abbreviations as well as the instructions, i.e.,: Tablespoon should be T. Teaspoon should be tsp. There should be a period at the end of every sentence. Otherwise, no problem. Thanks. Marianne
Hi Marianne, I’m sorry that you are having problems. Have you tried to use the print tab? It has always printed out with the punctuation marks for me. I will look into that and see if there is a way that I can input recipes so that it will copy and paste correctly. I used to use abbreviations but started using the entire words because I had people asking me what they meant. I figured it would be easier to just to spell it out. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know.
THIS looks amazing. I just had Lobster Mac n Chz at a restaurant in St. Chas MO. It was sooo good. I have never attempted to add lobster, but it sounds very yummy. I might add drained pimento for color, too. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re very welcome. Thanks for stopping by!
This looks so amazing, I was looking for something seafood to try today, before returning to work from vacation…I’ve found it, heading to get my lobster and a nice bottle of white wine to compliment!! Can’t wait to eat!
I m so glad you liked it. Thanks for letting know!
I found your blog on the list of BlogHer Pro conference attendees. Glad it did, this looks divine and I love your food photography. Looking forward to connected with all the bloggers at the conference.
Thank you Matt! I am looking forward to the conference and hopefully making some new friends. Let me know if you and Olia would like to meetup while we are there!
This is beautiful! I think you’ve take “comfort food” to a whole new level.
This looks so delicious!I love how mac & cheese is layered here! Superb.
I am a massive fan of both lobster and mac and cheese.. never mixed the two together before though. This look so delicious, definitely a recipe I need to try!
Wow, this looks amazingly decadent and delicious!