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Lobster Tails are the ultimate special occasion dinner, and this easy lobster tail recipe proves you don’t need a fancy restaurant to enjoy them. Broiled to perfection and drizzled with a rich garlic butter white wine sauce, they’re ready in under 20 minutes.
Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, or just craving something luxurious, this is the foolproof guide for how to cook lobster tails at home. With bold flavor and minimal effort, you’ll learn exactly how to broil lobster tails like a pro.
What Makes This Recipe Work
Broiling is one of the simplest ways to bring out the sweet, tender meat in lobster tails. This method gives you a golden, slightly crisp top while keeping the inside juicy and flavorful. If you’re wondering how to cook lobster tails without fuss, this recipe is a reliable go-to.
The garlic butter white wine sauce adds depth without masking the lobster’s delicate taste. It seeps into every crevice, creating rich, restaurant-quality flavor in every bite. Learning how to broil lobster tails at home has never been this easy or delicious.
What Goes Into This Recipe
You only need a few simple ingredients to make these buttery lobster tails feel like a luxury. Most of the flavor comes from the rich garlic butter wine sauce that pairs beautifully with the naturally sweet meat.
A few standout ingredients:
- Lobster Tails: Sweet, tender, and the star of the dish. Broiling locks in moisture and enhances their natural flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Forms the rich base of the garlic sauce and keeps the lobster meat soft and buttery.
- White Wine: Adds brightness and depth to the sauce, balancing the richness of the butter and garlic.
- Garlic: Crushed cloves infuse the sauce with bold, savory flavor that complements the lobster perfectly.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Cook Lobster Tails
- Prep Oven: Position a rack in the middle of the oven, about 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Preheat the broiler and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Thaw Lobster: If using frozen lobster tails, thaw them in a pot of cold water for at least 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- Make Sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, then stir in the white wine. Let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes before whisking in the honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Prepare Tails: Using kitchen shears, cut through the top shell down the center of the back, leaving the tail fan intact. Loosen the meat with your fingers and lift it above the shell, placing an onion wedge underneath.
- Season Lobster: Arrange the lobster tails, meat side up, on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper if desired and brush or pour half of the garlic butter sauce.
- Broil and Serve: Broil for 12 to 14 minutes or until meat is opaque with lightly charred edges. To serve, garnish with parsley and lemon slices. Drizzle with the remaining sauce.
Lobster tails are rich, buttery, and full of flavor, so they shine when paired with sides that bring balance. A crisp Avocado Greek Salad with Greek Salad Dressing adds freshness and tang, cutting through the richness perfectly.
For something warm and comforting, serve your lobster with Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi or a bowl of Vegetable Soup. The gnocchi’s creamy sauce complements the lobster without overpowering it, while the soup adds a cozy, wholesome touch.
Recipe FAQ’s
Frozen lobster tails work perfectly. Thaw them overnight in the fridge, or in a pot of cold water for about 30 minutes if you’re short on time. Avoid microwaving or using hot water—slow and steady is best.
Use a good quality dry white wine. Pinot Grigio is our favorite for this recipe, but Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay also work well. Always choose something you’d enjoy drinking.
We don’t recommend it. White wine gives the sauce its signature flavor—broth or Dijon can’t quite match it. If you’re concerned about alcohol, just use less and simmer it well to reduce the content.
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Broiled Lobster Tails
Ingredients
- 4 lobster tails 6 ounces each
- 1/2 onion cut into 4 wedges
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 6 cloves garlic large, crushed
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed, adjust to your taste
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 pinch cracked pepper to taste
- 4 lemon slices to serve
- 2 tablespoons parsley freshly chopped
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven (4-6 inches from heat element). Preheat broiler and line a baking tray / sheet with foil.
- Thaw out lobster tails, if frozen, in a pot of cold water for 30 minutes or more, until fully thawed. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the white wine. Allow to simmer and let reduce slightly (about 2-3 minutes), then add the honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk until the honey has melted through the butter and the mixture is well combined. Set aside.
- Using sharp kitchen shears, cut the top shell down the centre of the back to the end of the tail, leaving tail fan intact. Remove vein or shell shards, if any. Run your finger between the meat and the shell to loosen it. Spread the meat slightly open. Pull and lift the lobster meat off of the bottom of the shell, being careful not to pull the tail out completely. Place an onion wedge beneath the meat (between the meat and the shell).
- Place lobster tails, meat side up, on baking sheet. Set aside. Sprinkle each lobster with a pinch of salt and a little pepper (If desired).
- Using half of the sauce, pour or brush over each lobster (concentrating on the meat) and reserve the remaining sauce for serving.
- Broil for 12 to 14 minutes or until lobster meat is opaque, and edges are slightly charred.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with the remaining sauce and lemon slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this tonight, and it was amazing! I don’t make lobster often, but this will be my go to recipe from now on. I had Prosecco on hand, so that’s what I used, and the flavour was sublime! Thank you so much for sharing this easy but delicious recipe.
I made this recipe last night … I’d never attempted to broil lobster tails before.t it was well written, easy to follow … and a great recipe. The white wine added a subtle touch… will make it again!
This is,without a doubt, the best way to cook lobster tails. I never make them any other way.anymore. THANK YOU!!
Hello Karina! I’m so excited I found this recipe. I want to make it this weekend but have a MAJOR problem, I have no idea how to buy wine. There’s hundreds at the store I’m so overwhelmed. Could you tell me what brand you use so I can pick it up PLEASE. I love white wine sauce and want to be able to make it at home. Thanks so much. You can direct message me if you would rather than post it.
Any dry white wine will do!
Generally, if you get a wine that is in the middle of the shelves, it’ll be good. The top of the shelves is for more expensive wines and the bottom is for less expensive. Middle of the road is usually good for cooking. You can use a bottle that costs between $12-$20 and most times will be just fine. Sauvignon blanc is a good dry wine. Personally I am a sparkling wine drinker and like the dry, tart wines. I use prosecco in my recipes that call for dry white wine. I hope this helps. It’s intimidating to try and figure it out. :o]
I. Tired this lobster and sauce tonight and it was excellent ! The sauce. Was really easy to make, I will make this again . I would like to try this sauce over grouper as well.
My husband and I really loved this recipe. I was very simple and the lobster came out perfectly. The onion really kept it moist.
It definitely came out a bit on the sweet side but I’ll probably just use less honey next time.
I made this for our Christmas dinner (husband and me only), and it was AH-MAY-ZING!!!!! Definitely as good as (actually, maybe even bar better than) anything I’ve had at a restaurant! Definitely a keeper, and may become our new Christmas meal tradition! Thank you for posting such delicious and EASY recipes! This site is my new go-to for dinner ideas. Keep the recipes coming, especially Instant Pot ones!
AMAZING! Be prepared to have your family and friends request this every time you cook. I reduced the honey content to 50% of the suggested amount after the first of MANY meals. That is just my opinion. Thank you for helping me branch out into cooking Lobster, as I was previously intimidated by the thought of such. I would love to share a picture, as an amateur, of your recipe coupled with my Jalapeño Steak, shrimp, and sides. I will include SOME detail so you can tweak it to your palette. It is my personal choice not to participate in “social media”, so, if you can provide an email address I can show you what my beautiful Wife and I have done with this recipe. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to copy and paste the photo in the comment box. My email address is below. Merry Christmas and God Bless.
Yes that is so good to hear! Feel free to tweak some of these recipes to your liking as you will enjoy it more! I apologise that we don’t have a feature to upload photos in the comments, I would love to see you and your wife’s creations of our recipes! Send them to: [email protected]