Lobster Bisque

Rich and flavorful Lobster Bisque is an easy recipe to make at home. Succulent tender pieces of meat cooked in a lobster stock are served in a delicious puréed cream base soup.

Why this recipe works:

If you want to feel like you’re eating in a fancy restaurant while enjoying all the perks of a homemade meal, this Lobster Bisque will blow your mind.

• Flavorful lobster stock: The broth in this delicious soup is a combination of seafood stock with a rich broth made from the lobster shells and herbs.
• Fantastic texture: The combination of small tender pieces of lobster with the pureed bisque that is finished with cream creates the most wonderful combination.
• Easy to make: You will be shocked at how quick and easy this fancy soup is to make! It’s the kind of recipe that will impress and delight all who enjoy it.

Ingredients used to make this recipe:

• Lobster: I used wild caught lobster tails, but you can also use langostino or shrimp to make this bisque with some additional steps in order to create the stock.
• Seafood stock: I use one can in addition to water, Herbes de Provence, and salt (not pictured) to make the flavorful lobster stock.
• Mirepoix: Equal parts of carrot, onion, and celery are cooked in butter. Garlic and tomato paste are then added, thickened with some flour, and deglazed with white wine.
• Heavy cream: This is what really turns the blended lobster bisque into a rich and creamy meal.

How to make Lobster Bisque:

This recipe has two main components: the lobster stock and the bisque.

How to make lobster stock:

1. Remove the meat: The first step is to remove the lobster meat from the shells. The shells are then added to a pot with the seafood stock, water, herbs and salt.
2. Simmer the stock: The stock is cooked over low heat, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
3. Cook the lobster meat: Once the flavors of the stock develop, the lobster meat is added and cooked just until it starts to firm and is no longer opaque.
4. Chop the lobster meat: The lobster is removed from the stock and chopped into bite sized pieces. It will be added to the soup just before serving.

Make the lobster bisque:

The bisque can be made while the stock is cooking, thus decreasing the overall time it takes to make this recipe.

1. Mirepoix: The mirepoix is cooked in butter until the vegetables are tender and slightly browned. The garlic is then added followed by the tomato paste.
2. Add flour: All-purpose flour is added to this mixture and allowed to cook for a bit. This is what will help thicken the lobster bisque.
3. Deglaze: Once the flour is mixed in, the ingredients will really begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. The white wine is added for flavor but also to deglaze the pan. It will immediately thicken.
4. Add lobster stock: Using a fine mesh strainer, add all of the lobster stock to the bisque while straining the shells.
5. Puree: Using a counter top blender or an immersion blender, puree the soup.
6. Add cream: At the very end, stir in the heavy cream along with the cooked lobster meat and cook just until heated through.

Recipe tips for perfect results:

• Seafood variations: I highly recommend using real lobster for this recipe in order to get a true lobster bisque. Pro tip: you can sometimes find lobster on sale the week after Valentine’s Day. Alternatively, you can use langostino, shrimp, Dungeness crab legs, or a seafood mixture, however without the shells you will need to use all seafood stock and not water.
• Small batch recipe: This recipe makes about four servings. You can easily increase this by moving the slider in the recipe card below and it will scale the recipe to your desired number of servings.
• Freezing and storage: Due to the tender delicate nature of the lobster meat as well as the cream in this soup, I feel like it is best enjoyed immediately or within a few days, if refrigerated. I do think lobster bisque can be frozen, but my preference is to enjoy fresh.
• Reheating: Lobster bisque should be reheated gently. Either reheat in a pot on the stove over low heat or in the microwave at 50% power until heated through.

Other great lobster recipes:

• Lobster Mac and Cheese
• Crawfish Étouffée
• Broiled Lobster Tails
• Brown Butter Lobster Rolls
• Lobster Ravioli

If you’ve made this or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. I love hearing from my readers!

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Lobster Bisque

Prep15 minutes mins

Cook50 minutes mins

Total1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings 4 servings

Author Krissy Allori

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Rich and flavorful Lobster Bisque is an easy recipe to make at home. Succulent tender pieces of meat served in a puréed cream base soup.

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Equipment

• immersion blender
• stock pot
• strainer

Ingredients 

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LOBSTER STOCK:

• ▢ 16 ounces lobster tails I used four 4-oz sized tails
• ▢ 15 ounces seafood stock okay to use water instead
• ▢ 4 cups water (I just filled the 15-oz can twice)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (aromatic blend of dried herbs including rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil, savory, sage and lavender)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt

BISQUE:

• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped (1 medium sized onion)
• ▢ 1 cup carrots peeled and finely chopped (3 medium sized)
• ▢ 1 cup celery finely chopped (4 medium sized stalks)
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• ▢ lobster stock strain and use all of it
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

LOBSTER STOCK:

• Split lobster tails lengthwise with sharp kitchen shears. Remove meat and set aside. Add empty shells to stockpot or 4-qt sauce pan. Cover with seafood stock and water. Add Herbes de Provence and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat as low as you can while still maintaining a simmer. Allow to simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.
  
• Add the lobster meat, cover with lid, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove when meat is bright red and white. If any part is still translucent, continue to simmer until cooked. Remove meat from pot and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into small pieces and refrigerate until ready to add to bisque.
  

BISQUE:

• While the lobster stock is cooking, you can begin to make the bisque at the same time.
• Heat butter over medium high heat in a large pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir to coat in butter and cook until soft, about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
• When vegetables are just about done and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, add garlic, stir to combine, and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Add tomato paste, stir well to coat vegetables, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  
• Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle over flour over mixture, stir well to combine, and cook while stirring frequently to prevent burning for an additional 2 minutes. The mixture should really start sticking to the bottom of the pan and turning brown. Do not allow it to burn.
  
• Add wine to deglaze pan. Stir well with a flat bottom wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan. Allow in wine to simmer for several minutes. The liquid will reduce and the mixture will become thick.
  
• Set a fine mesh sieve or strainer over your pot and pour the lobster stock through the strainer into your pot. Discard shells. Stir broth into bisque base until well combined. Reduce heat to lowest setting to maintain a gentle simmer and allow to cook for about 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Stir occasionally during this time.
  
• Remove bisque from heat. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup right in the pot. Alternatively, transfer to a blender to purée and then return bisque to pot.
  
• Add heavy cream and chopped cooked lobster pieces to bisque and stir well. Heat over medium-low heat until bisque is heated through. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. Serve hot with crusty bread on the side.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 486kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Cholesterol: 152mg, Sodium: 1300mg, Potassium: 583mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 6806IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 159mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave me a comment below