Creamy, flavorful, and loaded with big pieces of lobster; it’s everything Lobster Bisque is meant to be! Made with staple ingredients and easy step-by-step instructions. It’s the best way to make those special lobster dinners truly shine!
I’ve been doing some very important, and extremely thorough seafood research during my time on the East Coast. I think I’m now qualified to put up, in my opinion, the best lobster bisque recipe out there. Rich flavor, plenty of lobster meat, and spiced to perfection. If you’re going to spend extra on a special ingredient like lobster, I promise you’ll be glad you used it up with this recipe.
Lobster bisque is surprisingly easy, and maybe even more-so surprisingly low in calories. Even with all that butter, wine, and cream, the easy two-ingredient homemade seafood stock and those big pieces of lobster meat make this comforting dish extremely light! If this recipe isn’t the ultimate culinary win-win, I don’t know what is.
Ingredients
Click “Jump to the Recipe” at the top of the page or keep on scrolling down to the recipe card for ingredient amounts and the full recipe instructions. Below you’ll find substitutes, tips, tricks, and answers to questions you may have!
- Water
- Lobster – I used four lobster tails. You can use whole lobster for this, as well! Two 1 – 1/4 lb lobsters will be plenty. Claw meat, here we come.
- Butter – I like to use unsalted to have full control over the sodium in the recipe. You can use salted if that’s what you have handy.
- Veggies – Onion, carrot, and celery. The classic mirepoix! Use more or less of each one if you’d like.
- Garlic – As much or little as you like. While I used fresh cloves, jarred garlic will work too.
- Flour – To create a roux that will thicken the soup. Want to make this gluten-free? See below for instructions using cornstarch.
- White wine – I used a Chardonnay. Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc will all work.
- Tomato paste – Make sure you’ve got tomato paste and not tomato sauce. Tomato paste usually comes in small cans or tubes and it quite thick. You can make your own tomato paste by cooking down plain tomato sauce, stirring often, until thick.
- Bouillon – I found an awesome lobster bouillon. You can use any type on hand! Chicken or veggie will be the best alternatives.
- Old Bay – If you can’t find Old Bay seasoning anywhere, you can use Creole seasoning instead.
- Thyme – Fresh is best! Other fresh herbs that would work well would be oregano, or basil.
- Cream – I like to use half and half cream (10%MF). Coffee cream (18%MF) or, the traditional cream for bisque, heavy cream (35+%MF), will all work as well. Use canned coconut milk for a dairy-free bisque.
- Salt & pepper – Season to taste.
- Chives – Not all garnishes are necessary, but I highly recommend using chives for bisque. They add such a wonderful fresh, light onion flavor.
How to make lobster bisque
- Cook the lobster: Pour the water into a medium-sized pot and bring it to a boil. Add the lobster tails and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the shells are vibrant red and meat is no longer translucent. Reserve the water in the pot. Remove the meat from the shells and set it aside.
- Make the stock: Add the shells back to the pot of water, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the shells for 20-30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove any foam from the surface of the water. Strain the water into a large measuring cup and discard the shells. You should have about 4 cups of water. If you have less, top the measuring cup up to the 4 cup mark with water or broth.
- Sauté the veggies – Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the veggies begin to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Roux & wine – Add the flour. Stir well, then let it cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the wine and tomato paste until completely smooth. Let it bubble for 1-2 minutes. Add your prepared lobster shell stock, the bouillon, Old Bay, and thyme to the pot.
- Simmer – Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it’s completely smooth. Stir in the cream, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Finish – Roughly chop the lobster meat and stir it into the pot, or portion individually into the bowls before filling them with bisque. Garnish with chives to serve.
Easily shell lobster tails
You can dirty your scissors and fight with the tail to rip the meat out, or you can try this incredibly simple method to get all the meat out in one whole piece.
First, pluck the fins off the end of the tail. They come off really easy- just give each one a firm tug. Next, use your pointer finger to push the meat out through the hole you’ve created by removing the fins. That’s it! The meat should come out easily.
Dietary modifications for lobster bisque
Gluten-free
To make your soup without flour, you’ll need to make a cornstarch slurry. Do this by mixing 2 tbsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water together.
After step 5, bring the soup to a bubble over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch/water slurry until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
Alcohol-free
I actually made this bisque with a fantastic alcohol-free Chardonnay I found at the grocery store. I wanted to test out the flavor to see how well it matched up. It was amazing! I would highly reccomend alcohol-free wine for cooking if that’s an option for you.
If not, you can make a really fast and easy substitute. Use 1 1/4 cups of stock (seafood, chicken, or veggie), and 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Dairy-free
The best cream alternative out there is canned coconut milk. Make sure you don’t get the coconut milk beverage that comes in a carton. You also don’t want to use canned coconut cream as it is way too thick. Canned coconut milk is the baby bear of the coconut world; it’s just right!
Tips for making the best lobster bisque
- The longer the better for simmering your shells. If you have time, simmer them for up to an hour. If needed, you can top the pot off with water to make sure it doesn’t reduce too much.
- I served this soup by portioning lobster meat into each bowl, then ladling the bisque into the bowls. It will be hot enough to warm up the lobster
How to store leftover lobster bisque
As with most seafood dishes, the shelf-life isn’t extremely long. Your bisque will last, stored in an airtight container, in the fridge, for 2 days. If you need it to last longer, you can keep it in the freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
To reheat your lobster bisque, it’s best to gently warm it in a pot over medium heat, stirring often. You can also reheat in the microwave. I suggest 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between, to ensure the bisque doesn’t get too hot and over-cook the lobster pieces.
Craving more simple soup recipes? Try these:
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Lobster Bisque
Ingredients
- 5 cups water
- 4 lobster tails* 3-4 oz each
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 medium onion diced, about 1 cup
- 1 large carrot sliced, about 1/2 cup
- 2 ribs celery sliced, about 1/2 cup
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup flour all-purpose
- 1 1/2 cups white wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp bouillon I used seafood, you can use chicken or veggie
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup half and half cream 10% MF. You can use heavy cream instead.
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
- chives chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Pour the water into a medium-sized pot and bring it to a boil. Add the lobster tails and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the shells are vibrant red and meat is no longer translucent. Reserve the water in the pot. Remove the meat from the shells and set it aside.
- Add the shells back to the pot of water, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook the shells for 20-30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove any foam from the surface of the water. Strain the water into a large measuring cup and discard the shells. You should have about 4 cups of water. If you have less, top the measuring cup up to the 4 cup mark with water or broth.
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the veggies begin to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the flour. Stir well, then let it cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the wine and tomato paste until completely smooth. Let it bubble for 1-2 minutes. Add your prepared lobster shell stock, the bouillon, Old Bay, and thyme to the pot.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it's completely smooth. Stir in the cream, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Roughly chop the lobster meat and stir it into the pot, or portion individually into the bowls before filling them with bisque. Garnish with chives to serve.
I’ll be right over 🙂
Looks delicious.
Just a great addition to my menus and the taste is superb! You make all recipes so accessible!
Thank you so much! You made my day 😀
Made this tonight. Hands down one of the best bisque soups I’ve ever had. I added shrimp for more seafood flavor. It was definitely a hit with my family….especially my son!