Lobster Bisque recipe made easy with big chunks of garlic butter lobster tails in every bite and a quick homemade stock!
Smooth and creamy, our Lobster Bisque is always a crowd pleaser and has never been easier! Using lobster tails guarantees a rich and decadent bisque that cooks in under one hour.
Enjoy as a starter or a main, you’ll love the flavours in this so much you’ll be licking the bowl clean!
LOBSTER BISQUE
Traditionally, lobster bisque is made with a stock made of whole lobster shells. Our version is much easier and just as robust, with a simple stock, aromatics, spices and simple ingredients!
HOW TO MAKE LOBSTER BISQUE
The secret is to build those flavours slowly, starting with a homemade lobster stock.
BOIL lobster tails — shells and meat — in salted water for only 5 minutes. This way, we pre-cook the meat and get as much lobster flavours as we can.
COOL SLIGHTLY AND REMOVE meat out of the shells using either of the two methods below:
- Place lobster tail on your counter with the back facing up. Using sharp kitchen shears, cut down through the centre of the back to the end of the tail. With your thumbs and fingers, 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 seperate the shell from the meat underneath it.
- Alternatively, use both hands to press down on tail to crack shell. Hold tail, shell facing down, and pull back on both sides of shell to crack open and remove meat.
CHOP into bite-sized pieces and refrigerate while boiling the empty shells for a further 15 minutes. Keep that stock to add into the bisque later.
WHAT IS LOBSTER BISQUE MADE OF?
Once you have your quick stock, start making the base for the soup with a beautiful mirepoix — onion, carrot, and celery.
You’ll see a mirepoix in most of our recipes, like Chicken Noodle Soup, Homemade Sausage Rolls and Creamy Ham Potato Soup, for maximum flavour benefits.
Sauté with fresh herbs in a blend of oil and butter to sweat and release their flavours before adding garlic, cayenne pepper (for an optional bit of heat) and the rest of your ingredients.
HOW DO YOU THICKEN LOBSTER BISQUE?
Tomato paste and hint of flour help to thicken your soup. Cook the flour for a couple of minutes first before adding liquids.
WHAT ALCOHOL IS IN LOBSTER BISQUE?
The pot gets deglazed with a dry white wine. Use a good quality Pinot Grigio, Sauv Blanc or Chardonnay, one that you would drink! If you can’t drink it, you shouldn’t cook with it.
You can replace the wine with sherry if you prefer! Sherry is a fortified wine that adds a delicious, savoury kick to your soup, similar to our Creamy Chicken Marsala.
Let reduce to half, then stir in your pre-made lobster stock and let simmer until liquid has thickened. It only takes about 30 minutes to get those delicious flavours to marry into each other.
BLEND
Puree right in the pot with an immersion blender OR pour into a blender. If using a blender, you may need to blend in batches of two or three to prevent pressure from building up inside the jug from the heat. Make sure you take the centre piece out of the lid to let the steam escape.
You want your bisque to be nice and smooth. Then, pour it back into your pot, stir in the heavy cream and chunks of lobster. Garnish with fresh tarragon, chives or sliced green onions.
LOBSTER MEAT
To add even more flavour, melt butter a skillet over medium heat and sauté garlic until fragrant. Add in chopped lobster meat, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Lightly sauté until lobster meat is just warmed through, then add into your bisque!
LOBSTER BISQUE OPTIONS
You can change up our lobster bisque recipe based on what you already have on hand:
- BROTH: Use a low-sodium lobster broth or seafood broth/stock.
- LOBSTER MEAT: Frozen or canned lobster meat can be used BUT fresh is best. I cannot guarantee the flavour in your bisque will turn out the same.
- CLAMS OR SHRIMP: Both options are a great substitution for this recipe.
Serve with crusty bread for an epic meal!
HOW LONG DOES LOBSTER BISQUE LAST IN THE FRIDGE?
Refrigerate soup in airtight containers for up to 2 days only! You don’t want to keep your lobster bisque refrigerated very long, as with most seafood.
Reheat on low-medium heat.
CAN YOU FREEZE HOMEMADE BISQUE?
We don’t recommend freezing lobster bisque.
MORE LOBSTER RECIPES
Lobster Tails with Bacon Cream Sauce
Butter Seared Lobster Tails
Broiled Lobster Tails
Lobster Bisque
Ingredients
BISQUE
- 4 lobster tails
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped tarragon, plus more to serve
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, (or plain flour)
- 1 1/4 cup dry white wine, or sherry
- 4 cups lobster stock (recipe as follows), OR seafood or fish stock
- 3/4 - 1 cup heavy cream
GARLIC BUTTER LOBSTER MEAT
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste
Instructions
LOBSTER STOCK
- Fill a large pot with 5 cups of water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sea salt and bring to a boil.
- Add the lobster tails, cover with lid and let boil for 5 minutes, or until bright red.
- Remove lobster tails, reserving the liquid stock. When the lobsters have cooled slightly, remove the meat from the shells, reserving the meat and any liquid that comes out of the shells.
- Return lobster shells back to the water in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a further 15 minutes to draw as much flavour out of the shells as possible.
- While stock is simmering, chop the meat into bite-sized pieces and refrigerate.
BISQUE
- Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium heat, Sweat the onions, carrots, celery and fresh herbs. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with the bouillon powder, salt and pepper/s. Stir in 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Mix in tomato paste, cook for a further minute to coat vegetables. Sprinkle over flour and cook, while stirring occasionally for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour in wine, simmer and let reduce to half. Stir in lobster stock, reduce heat and gently simmer while stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened slightly and flavours have blended, about 30 minutes.
- Take off the heat, transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, purée with an immersion blender until very smooth. Return to medium-low heat and stir in heavy cream.
GARLIC BUTTER LOBSTER MEAT
- Melt butter a skillet pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in chopped lobster meat, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Lightly sauté for 1 minute while stirring occasionally, until lobster meat is just warmed through.
TO SERVE LOBSTER BISQUE
- Mix 3/4 of the lobster meat into the bisque. Pour into individual serving bowls. Top each bowl with remaining lobster meat and extra tarragon.
Notes
TO REMOVE LOBSTER MEAT:
- Place lobster tail on your counter with the back of the tail facing up. Use sharp kitchen shears to cut down through the centre to the end of the tail. With your thumbs and fingers, 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 seperate the shell from the meat underneath it.
- Alternatively, use both hands to press down on tail to crack shell. Hold tail, shell facing down, and pull back on both sides of shell to crack open and remove meat.
Christine says
Born and raised in Baltimore MD so, I would say I am a connoisseur of seafood. This recipe is the BEST lobster bisque soup that I have ever eaten. The lobster bisque flavor was amazing, and I only used lobster claws. Thank you for posting this recipe it will go into my best of the best file and will be used frequently.
Karla says
Amazing recipe, made 2 adjustments no cayenne and oregano instead of tarragon and came out spectacular. Thank you so much for this amazing and easy recipe =)
Ashley says
Fabulous! I cook all the time and this is one of the best things I’ve ever made! Wanted to provide some info to help others feel more at ease making it. My store did not have bouillon powder so I substituted 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base. I don’t use black pepper in anything I cook so I didn’t put it in this bisque. Followed everything else exactly. My lobster tails (four tails) weighed 1.35 pounds total. Next time, I’ll try to find a large lobster tail to make the process go faster with removing it from the shell. I used fresh tarragon and thyme, but I’ll use dried tarragon next time. It doesn’t taste any different to me fresh vs dried. I will use fresh thyme, though, because it tastes better fresh, in my opinion. I used Sequoia Grove Chardonnay for this recipe. I strongly suggest using a Chardonnay of equal quality as opposed to a Sauvignon blanc or Pinot Grigio. The bisque was perfect! Next time, I will increase the flour by 50% to make it just a bit thicker.
Libby says
My husband made this recipe over a year ago when he was catering an event and needed a second use for lobster tails to go with surf and turf. He brought me the leftover bisque and I’ve been wanting him to make this again ever since I tasted it.
He made it this week for my birthday and it was even better than I remembered. Now I can’t get it out of my head!
Unfortunately lobster is out of my price range for a weeknight supper, so today I bought some affordable shell-on shrimp and frozen seafood mix, and I’m going to follow the recipe but use the shrimp shells for the fish stock, and cook the seafood mix in garlic butter to add to the bisque after I puree it. I am so excited to try it that way. Thank you for this excellent recipe!
Angela Harris says
This dish elevates any family gathering! We opted for a non-traditional Thanks giving meal and assigned my 12 year old to make this 1st course. It was a long process so I acted as her sous chef to prep the lobsters. Also you’ll have to take your time pureeing the mixture to ensure a smooth consistency. We used 1.5 onions instead of two because ours were very large. Next time I think we”ll use coconut cream to make it non dairy. Also, I thought the wine was a bit much upon 1st taste but my daughter taught me the power of patience and letting the alcohol reduce properly. It was excellent! The portion /ingredient conversions were excellent. This recipe is great!
Karina says
Hi Angela, I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that the dish elevated your non-traditional Thanksgiving meal and that your 12-year-old took the lead in preparing it! It sounds like a wonderful family collaboration. Your thoughtful adjustments and the idea of using coconut cream for a non-dairy version are fantastic. I’m also glad your daughter’s patience paid off with the wine reduction. Thank you for sharing your experience, and I’m delighted the recipe was a great success for your family gathering.
Christine says
Wow your 12-year-old was assigned to make the 1st course, I love it great ideal for my grandchildren.
Babs says
This was an amazing recipe! I have never made lobster bisque before but it is one of my all time favorite soups! This morning my husband asked me to make “lobster bisque “ so I was looking for a recipe that looked delicious and was easy… when I found the instructions for the quick lobster stock I thought lets try it! It did take me more time then was stated, but I wasn’t worried. I wanted to combine the flavors and bring it all together … and boy did it! I will make this again! Next time I will cut the recipe in half cuz it’s more than we can eat in one sitting. Thank you so much for the great recipe!
Alicia Joos says
This was crazy good and my whole family loved it. I omitted the Cayenne cooking for little kids, although they ended up loving the modified recipe. I used Bristol cream, full-bodied Sherry. Immersion blender was not powerful enough to grind it to a very silky, smooth consistency, so I had to put it in the Vitamix, but it was well worth it.
Bonnie says
This was fabulous! I served this for Christmas Eve dinner and everyone raved about it. Thank you for a great recipe!
Betty says
I use Hondashi Japanese fish stock
Rachel Tanner says
I made this for a party and it was a huge hit. I used shrimp and langoustine instead of lobster though, used the shells to make the stock. It turned out amazing.
Michelle says
My first lobster bisque ever and wasn’t sure if it is normally this amazing but oh my goodness it is delicious!!! The directions were so helpful and easy to follow. I halved the recipe since it was my first time making it and we wish I wouldn’t have…it was gone in a hot minute! I felt like a chef making this. Thank you for this epic recipe ❤️
mary ellen says
This is my first time attempting lobster bisque, I search for the best recipe and I happened upon your sight. I followed your recipe to the T and the result was the best we have ever had. I write to thank you for the directions. They are so well organized, easy to follow, detailed and clearly written. My family applauded and I .did take a small bow and, shared that I credit my success to Cafe Delites! Again, thanks. I’m sharing your recipe with anyone, who like me is nervous about attempting Lobster Bisque.
Laura says
My husband loves Lobster Bisque, and orders it whenever it’s on any restaurant menu. I’ve made your bisque recipe several times since last fall, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s THE BEST lobster bisque, and our whole family LOVES it. Thank you so much for sharing this stellar recipe, that is now part of our special occasions. It’s earned a spot pinned to my “Favorites” board. 🙂
Barb Hutchison says
Extremely delicious and also a very forgiving recipe. I had to sub water and fish sauce for the stock as I had discarded the tails the night before and also didn’t have as much lobster as the recipe called for but oh my goodness, it was absolutely delicious! My husband and I both loved it. Thank you for the great recipe!
K says
Made this last night. Hands down the best I’ve had and it will be a regular rotation. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Jeanita Youngs says
This is the most delicious bisque I’ve ever had.
So easy to make.
Josh Cheron says
Easy to make and delicious. I made a few tactical adjustments if anyone’s interested; I think they make the recipe both easier and less expensive without sacrificing the end result…
First I doubled the recipe, so keep my proportions in mind…
1. Instead of lobster meat, tails or otherwise, I used a 2 lb. bag of frozen thawed langostino tails from Wegmans ($33.)
2. Instead of chicken bouillon I used a couple of heaping tablespoons of Better Than Bouillon lobster base ($5/jar.)
3. Instead of lobster stock (since I wasn’t using lobsters in the shells) I used 2 X 32 oz. of chicken broth ($2/container.)
Zach Miller says
Made this for New Year’s Day with friends and family, was VERY good!
Joyce says
I made this on Christmas Eve. My hubby and I thought it was the best lobster bisque we have ever had. Thank you for this recipe!
Monique says
I am not normally one to write reviews but this is worthy of 5 stars.
We boiled the lobsters the day before and then I found your recipe.
I did not have celery so used celery salt, used dried tarragon and cut back on the cream a bit. Loved the cayenne- just added what I thought was enough for my families level of heat tolerance.
The lobster tossed in the garlic butter was the “icing on the cake”.
Angela Stoll says
Made this for Christmas Eve. Delicious!!!
Jen says
Just made this for Christmas Eve/Seven Fishes and it was amazing!
Absolutely delicious. A tip to get more flavor is to broil the lobster tails and then use the shells in the broth.
Thanks for such a great recipe!
Amanda says
Holy crap! That was so good. We used cream sherry, which really worked well.
Judy says
Thanks I ambso excited to try this recipe for our family on Christmas Eve. I needed to know the servings because I need to feed 10 people. Could I double the recipe?
CindiO says
Maybe I’m a bit slow, but it took me a long time to make this. However, it was definitely worth it. Everyone loved it. Next time I will leave the cayenne pepper out. It was too strong. Also, I’ll keep the stock covered the entire time as I only ended up with 3 cups instead of 4 (I added an additional cup of chicken broth because that’as all I had). This is the first time I made lobster bisque and I’m so happy how it turned out.
Karina says
I’m so glad Cindi! Thank you sharing your feedback 🥰
Deb B. says
Made this for dinner and it turned out excellent. To save a few steps, I used canned frozen chopped lobster and made the stock using “better than bouillon” lobster base. I would suggest adding the cream sparingly, as I used only a half a cup and think any more would have diluted the flavours of the soup.
Shenae says
Wow! I made this for dinner tonight. It was amazing! So tasty. My hubby and I really enjoyed it. Thankyou!
Debra Hoch says
This soup is delicious! The best I think I have ever had. Simple and amazing! Can’t wait to make it again! I love how each step was explained.
Jacqueline vaughn says
OMG! I loved this recipe. Thank you for the simplicity. It turned out GREAT!! I didn’t use the bouillon powder. I used a pilot grigio. Thank you Thank you!
Sherry says
I have Celiac Disease and a sensitivity to dairy (I know, what a life!!) but I made this with GF Flour and cornstarch. Instead of cream, cashew milk. AMAZING!!! Perfect in every way. I live in Panama and the fish market has fresh lobster every day (I know, what a life!!!). 4 tails were $10 so this was not only delicious but super tasty. Also included some leeks because the DH loves them. Just a great recipe that I’ll be using all the time.
Sherry says
Sorry, meant to say it was economical!! For the butter I used casein free Ghee – very buttery. We had it as a main (3 bowls each!).
Kimberly Freeland says
I made this recipe a few months ago and it was too spicy for me and my husband. I recently went to Put n Bay and had their lobster bisque. I was inspired to make your recipe again. I just made it today and I followed your recipe again except instead of using black and cayenne pepper I replaced it with 2tsp of old bay seasoning. It turned out great. Also used better than bullion instead of bouillon powder.
JanieB says
Kimberly – I’m about to make this. I was shocked that someone mentioned Put-In-Bay’s lobster bisque!! It is sooo awesome!!!
Sydney says
(2020July I had 5 or 6 lobster heads and legs no tails or claws. Just smashed them a bit and cooked at 10 lbs pressure for about 10 minutes( … just because I could) Turned out just fine. Kitchen didn’t smell too great but the soup was YUMMY!! Will definitely make again.
Kevin Baxter says
I am using some home made fish stock.
Save all your prawn, crab and lobster shells in the freezer with all your carrot and onion cut offs and when it starts taking up to much space take it all out and make a stock.
Kelly says
Hi Karina,
Could you make the stock the day before and then re-heat and add the lobster meat prior to serving? Thx!
Kevin Baxter says
Sorry Kelly just noticed your question now. I make decent sized batch’s of stalk and freeze for whenever it is needed. Keeping a leftover bag of all meat and veggie leftovers that go good in stock makes it so I never have to by my broths or stocks store bought. Also I never have to add much consumable meats and veggies to my broth because I have all my scraps. All tastes the same in the end but better and more to my personal taste than store bought.
Jolene says
Made this recipe tonight for dinner, definitely will be making it again. In love! My whole family loved it as well.
Jessica says
This is fantastic! So worth the price of lobster. I made some garlic croutons to go with it and I did a mixture of crab and prawns. Sooooo good!
shanzeh says
Is there a non-alcoholic substitute I can use other than sherry?
Joel says
If there is concern about consuming alcohol, all of the alcohol is cooked away during the process and only the flavor remains.
Trish says
your recipe calls for 4 lobster tails, about how many ounces would each one be? Thanks! Can’t wait to make it!
Chris says
Looks divine! Might you be able to suggest a substitute for the chicken bouillon powder? Thanks and always enjoy your creativity ?
Chelsea Strachan says
I have the same question! What’s a substitute for boullion powder?
Lori L Stowell says
I see a lot of questions about the chicken bouillon, I just used one bullion cubes instead.
Connor says
Used better than bouillon garlic base would like to try it using a lobster base I know minors makes one it is just hard to find at retail locations
Sabrina says
Yes yes yes! Just made it and my boyfriend went back for the rest of the pot! I love you. You make me look like a fancy chef. I have your Drunken Strawberries soaking in wine now. Can’t wait for dessert!
Karina says
I’m so so glad Sabrina! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. Hope you both enjoy those strawberries!
Danny says
Is blending necessary cuz I don’t have one?
Kathy says
I made this as soon as I got it in my inbox and holy hell its so good. My husband and I licked the bowl clean as you said we would and we’ve never felt the need to do that. If anyone is doubtful TRY THIS BISQUE. You don’t regret it!
Brendin says
I made this for my Wife and I, I didn’t really follow the recipe really. Subbed and added ingredients to make it dairy free and different spices but appreciate the insperation. It was delicious! I’m sure if used everything listed in the ingredients list it would also be great.
Janet Bradley says
I have frozen shrimp in the freezer, could I substitute shrimp for the lobster this time????
Karina says
Absolutely!
Cathy McDermott says
Hi Karina, Do you include the shells when blending? Or take them out? I love lobster bisque and would love to make this. It sounds so good! Thank you.
Karina says
Hi Cathy, I take them out as I found during testing that it didn’t really alter the taste overall. Boiling them for so long really brought out their flavour. You can definitely leave them in though and blend them together with the rest of the soup. Traditionally that’s how a bisque is made. I hope you like it either way!