Lobster mac and cheese
Nov 21, 2025
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If you thought mac and cheese couldn’t get any more luxurious, wait until you try it with sweet, buttery lobster. This lobster mac & cheese is my elevated take on the comfort classic, made extra silky with a garlic-infused roux and finished with tender lobster meat folded through a three-cheese sauce. It’s rich, creamy, cheesy and feels like the kind of dish you’d serve at a celebration, Thanksgiving dinner, Valentines date or when feeling a little fancy.
Why you’ll love this Lobster Mac & Cheese!
So I absolutely love lobster. When cooked correctly, it’s sweet, tender and just an absolute delight on your tastebuds. I love lobster so much that I have used it to create so many different recipes such as my lobster bisque, buttered lobster pasta, creamy lobster pasta, garlic confit bbq lobster tails and this lobster mac & cheese.
This dish feels so special because it’s the perfect marriage of comfort and luxury. You still get that familiar, cosy mac and cheese we all love, but the addition of sweet lobster takes it somewhere completely unforgettable. It feels like something you’d make to spoil someone you love, or to celebrate a big moment. The garlic-infused sauce adds this beautiful depth, the lobster makes every bite feel indulgent, and when it comes out of the oven all golden and bubbling… it just feels like a little moment of joy.
Ingredients For Lobster mac and cheese
Obviously the star of the show here is the lobster! But there are a few other ingredients that are more accustomed to your pantry that you will need to make this lobster mac and cheese.
- Whole lobster – using the entire lobster gives us the richest, most luxurious flavour. We use everything from the meat to the shell to season the pasta water. But… a whole lobster is expensive and sometimes hard to source so I am not going to tell you that you have to use a whole lobster. Lobster meat or even an alternative shellfish such as prawns / shrimps will still work beautifully. Try and source the freshest shellfish but don’t be afraid of using frozen. just make sure you de-frost it the night before.
- Garlic confit – While I love to use my garlic confit as much as I can, this can be replaced with 2 cloves of raw garlic.
- Cheese – I have used a mix of two cheeses, cheddar and Gruyere, but you can really use any cheese you like! A lovely Colby Jack, some grated parmesan or Velveeta would work well too. Just make sure you freshly grate your cheese and don’t buy pre-grated as it does make a difference!
A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Lobster Mac & Cheese
Once you have gotten over your fear of cooking with lobster (quite an intimidating protein for some), this lobster mac & cheese is a breeze to make!
Step 1: Preheat oven to 130°C / 320°F. Submerge the garlic cloves in olive oil and bake for 1 hour.
Step 2: On a low heat in a 26cm dutch oven or oven proof dish, add the butter and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the garlic infused olive oil. When the butter is melted and slightly foaming, add the lobster and poach it on a very low heat for 5 minutes until no longer glassy. The lobster meat should be tender and pink. Scoop out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set to the side.
Step 3: Add the flour and garlic to the pan and whisk to form a roux. Stir constantly for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the milk to the roux, one third at a time and whisk until combined and lump free. Whisk the sauce for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Take off the heat and stir through the cheese with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Add the pasta and lobster meat to the sauce and gently stir through.
Step 4: Sprinkle the remaining cheese all over and bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top. Serve immediately.
Expert Tips for Cooking Lobster
If you’re worried about making the lobster, perhaps it’s a shellfish that you haven’t forayed into yet. However I have made it simple (and also instructional!), follow along with me here and read all my tips below.
- Choose a fresh, quality lobster – Look for a live lobster (if you’re game to kill it yourself) or the freshest chilled lobster you can find. This is the star of the dish, so freshness matters.
- Prepare the lobster – Hold the lobster firmly and twist off the head. I wrap the lobster between two tea towels so I don’t cut my hands!
- Use kitchen shears to cut the tail down the centre and open it up. Remove the tail meat by gently pulling it out with your fingers.
- Butter-poach the tail meat – Melt butter over low heat and add the lobster meat. Cook gently until the flesh is opaque and tender. Low and slow keeps the lobster juicy, buttery and delicate.
FAQ’s
Yes! Frozen lobster tails work beautifully. Just thaw them fully before cooking, and make sure to pat them dry so they don’t water down the sauce.
A combination of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan works perfectly. Cheddar gives flavour, mozzarella adds that stretchy melt, and parmesan brings saltiness and depth.
Short, curved shapes like macaroni, cavatappi or small shells grip the creamy sauce and hold the chunks of lobster beautifully.
Of course! This makes an incredible mac and cheese on its own. You can also swap the lobster for prawns or crab.
Yes. Raw garlic will give you a stronger, sharper flavour. Garlic confit will keep the sauce soft, sweet and mellow.
How To Serve
Serve your lobster mac and cheese straight from the oven while it’s still bubbling and golden on top. I love spooning it into shallow bowls so you get a little bit of everything in each bite — the creamy sauce, the chewy pasta and those sweet chunks of lobster. A squeeze of lemon or a sprinkle of fresh parsley adds a bright finish, and if you really want to impress, serve it alongside a piece of steak for a surf n turf situation or some buttery garlic bread. It’s indulgent, comforting and perfect for sharing.
how To Store
This dish truly is at its best when enjoyed fresh from the oven — the sauce is creamiest, the cheese is gooey and the lobster stays tender. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, but just know that the sauce will thicken as it cools and doesn’t reheat quite as nicely. If you do warm it up, add a splash of milk or cream and reheat gently on the stovetop or in a low oven to loosen the sauce again.
More Pasta dishes to Love!
If you make this lobster mac and cheese, please tag me on Instagram, Tik Tok or Pinterest so I can see your wonderful creations from Daen’s Kitchen! If you have any questions or would like to leave a review, please do so here! I always love answering your food and recipe related questions and hearing your feedback on my recipes.
Lobster mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 1 lobster, lobster meat to weigh roughly 500g / 1lb
- 8 oz macaroni pasta
- 6 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp white all purpose flour
- 1.5 cups milk
- 1/2 cup red or white cheddar, grated +1/4 cup extra
- 1/2 cup gruyere, grated
- salt + pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 130°C / 320°F
- Peel garlic: Separate all the cloves from the garlic bulbs and place into a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water for 5 minutes then drain. The skins will become loose and easy to peel off.
- Bake garlic: Place the garlic cloves, sprig of rosemary and a generous amount of salt into an ovenproof dish and cover with 1/2 cup olive oil, or more if needed. It’s important the garlic is fully submerged in olive oil so it does not burn. Roast for 1 hour or until the garlic is soft to touch and has a golden colour. There will be a slight bubble in the oil when it cooks. Separate the oil from the garlic cloves and set both to the side.
- Prep lobster: Remove the lobster meat from the shell. Using shearing scissors, turn the tail over and cut down the middle. Peel the shell away and remove the meat. Cut the lobster meat into 4cm / 1 ½ inch long pieces or smaller if you prefer.
- Cook pasta: Bring a pot of heavily salted water to the boil. Place the lobster shell into the pot of water along with the pasta. Follow the instructions on the back of the pasta packet for al dente pasta and drain your pasta 2 minutes before the suggested cooking time. Drain the pasta and lobster shell. Lay the pasta onto a cooling rack and discard of the lobster shell. Coat the pasta with a drizzle of olive oil to ensure it does not stick while you prepare the sauce.
- Cook lobster meat: On a low heat in a 26cm dutch oven or oven proof dish, add the butter and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the garlic infused olive oil. When the butter is melted and slightly foaming, add the lobster and poach it on a very low heat for 5 minutes until no longer glassy. The lobster meat should be tender and pink. Scoop out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set to the side.
- Roux: Add the flour and garlic to the pan and whisk to form a roux. Stir constantly for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the milk to the roux, one third at a time and whisk until combined and lump free. Whisk the sauce for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Add cheese: Take off the heat and stir through the cheese with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Season to taste. Add the pasta and lobster meat to the sauce and gently stir through.
- Bake: Sprinkle the remaining cheese all over and bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Whole lobster – using the entire lobster gives us the richest, most luxurious flavour. We use everything from the meat to the shell to season the pasta water. But… a whole lobster is expensive and sometimes hard to source so I am not going to tell you that you have to use a whole lobster. Lobster meat or even an alternative shellfish such as prawns / shrimps will still work beautifully. Try and source the freshest shellfish but don’t be afraid of using frozen. just make sure you de-frost it the night before.
- Garlic confit – While I love to use my garlic confit as much as I can, this can be replaced with 2 cloves of raw garlic.
- Cheese – I have used a mix of two cheeses, cheddar and Gruyere, but you can really use any cheese you like! A lovely Colby Jack, some grated parmesan or Velveeta would work well too. Just make sure you freshly grate your cheese and don’t buy pre-grated as it does make a difference!
- Baking dish – My baking dish is 26cm in size.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!`
This was incredible!! I will never make mac and cheese without garlic confit and lobster now. Thank you!!