Lobster Bisque

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No need to visit a fancy French restaurant to enjoy a luxurious soup — I’ll show you how to make a creamy lobster bisque recipe right at home! This surprisingly easy seafood recipe combines a creamy tomato broth with buttery lobster for a touch of decadence. Best of all, most of the cooking for lobster bisque soup is hands-off.

What Is Lobster Bisque?

Lobster bisque is an intense, rich, and creamy French soup made from homemade lobster stock. Traditionally, it’s made by simmering whole lobster or lobster shells with aromatics to make the stock, blending the stock with other ingredients for a velvety texture, and finally adding lobster meat and cream.

Other bisque recipes can also use a variety of crustaceans, including crab, crayfish, and shrimp, with lobster being one of the most popular.

Lobster Bisque Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for lobster bisque soup, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

• Lobster Tails – Many lobster bisque recipes use whole lobster or lobster shells to make the stock, but I used lobster tails to simplify the recipe — and they are easier to find at stores. Choose the freshest ones you can find, or thawed frozen lobster tails will work as well. For best quality, look for cold water tails with white, spotless meat and no signs of graying or discoloration.
• Butter – Used for sauteing the vegetables. Using butter rather than oil adds a rich and creamy taste to the soup.
• Veggies – Including yellow onion, carrots, and celery. These vegetables form the foundation of any great bisque, providing hints of sweetness.
• Garlic – I recommend using fresh garlic for the best lobster bisque recipe, but you can use 2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic for convenience instead of 4 cloves fresh.
• Tomato Paste – Lends acidity to balance out the other ingredients, and adds umami depth and richness that perfectly complements the sweetness of the seafood. Tomato paste has a more intense flavor than tomatoes in other forms, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute 3 times the amount of tomato sauce or tomato puree.
• Seasonings – I used herbs de Provence, which is a classic French seasoning blend. If you don’t have this, you can substitute Italian seasoning or simply a combination of dried thyme and tarragon. A bay leaf would also make a nice addition while simmering the stock.
• Dry White Wine – Using cooking wine makes the perfect lobster bisque because it intensifies the flavors, deglazes the pan, and helps fats emulsify for a smooth texture. Vermouth or sherry would be suitable alternatives. If you prefer to avoid all of these, you can substitute additional lobster stock instead.
• Heavy Cream – For rich, creamy texture. This also helps to thicken the soup, but you can substitute half and half for a lighter option if you like.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper – Or add a pinch of cayenne pepper if you like a kick.

VARIATION: Make lobster and crab bisque!

You can replace part of the lobster in this recipe with crab meat for an extra layer of seafood flavor and texture that takes this dish to the next level. You could also add shrimp, too!

How To Make Lobster Bisque

This section shows how to make homemade lobster bisque, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

Lobster Stock:

1. Boil lobster tails. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add lobster tails and cook until bright red. Remove tails with tongs and let cool until you can handle them.
2. Boil just the shells. Take the lobster meat out of shells, then return shells to the water and simmer to make lobster stock.
3. Strain. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove any shell pieces from liquids. Set the strained broth aside.

TIP: Got leftover shellfish from another recipe?

If you’re lucky enough to have leftover crab legs, broiled lobster tail, grilled lobster tail, or air fryer lobster, you can use them here. Remove the cooked meat, set aside, and prepare the stock with just the shells.

4. Chop. Cut lobster meat into small bite-sized pieces, reserving a few larger pieces for garnish.

Lobster Bisque:

1. Saute vegetables. In a large Dutch oven or pot, melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, and saute until softened.
2. Add other ingredients. Stir in minced garlic, tomato paste, herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for a couple minutes.

3. Deglaze. Add wine and deglaze pan to remove any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Let simmer until the wine slightly reduces.
4. Simmer. Add prepared lobster stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer.

5. Puree. Pour soup into a blender. Blend on high speed.
6. Add cream and lobster meat. Return soup to the pot, then stir in heavy cream and lobster meat, reserving some for garnish.

7. Finish. Continue cooking over low heat until warm. Serve the recipe for lobster bisque in a bowl with a drizzle of cream, fresh herbs, and remaining lobster meat on top.

Tips For The Best Lobster Bisque Soup

This recipe doesn’t have to be intimidating. Here are some tips for creating an unforgettable dish:

• Strain the broth. It’s important to strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve as there will likely be small pieces of lobster shell in the broth.
• Avoid immersion blenders. Using a regular blender helped a lot with the consistency versus using an immersion blender. It turned out really smooth and creamy, whereas I had trouble getting it smooth enough using an immersion blender.
• No need to use thickeners. To avoid using cornstarch or flour like other lobster bisque recipes do, I only used 3 cups of the lobster stock so the soup ended up a bit thicker once it was pureed. With the heavy cream added, the texture is perfect – it’s thick and creamy and has the same consistency as it would with flour.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Cool completely and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• Meal prep: You can chop vegetables, cook the lobster, and make lobster stock ahead of time. Store them separately in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.
• Reheat: Warm the soup slowly on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Avoid overheating or boiling, as this can make the bisque too thick.

Can You Freeze Lobster Bisque?

Yes, you can freeze lobster bisque recipes. Col completely, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

What To Serve With Lobster Bisque

The creamy richness of the bisque pairs perfectly with many different flavors and textures, from light and refreshing salads to hearty accompaniments…

• Salad – I recommend pairing lobster bisque with sweet salads like kale salad, French carrot salad, or pear salad.
• Bread – Use your favorite crusty bread, or try lighter options like cauliflower breadsticks or almond flour biscuits.
• Easy Vegetables – Try this soup with easy roasted green beans, caramelized and buttery roasted fennel, or French baked ratatouille.
• Main Dish – Try an elegant French-style main like French onion chicken, juicy filet mignon, or coq au vin. Fancy seafood like Chilean sea bass (with French beurre blanc sauce) or more lobster tail would also work well.

5 from 6 votes

Lobster Bisque Recipe (Easy & Creamy!)

Make the best lobster bisque recipe with simple ingredients like lobster, stock, garlic, herbs, and cream. It's easy, creamy, and luscious!

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 10 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.

• 4 4-oz Lobster tails ▢
• 4 cups Water (or enough to cover the lobster tails) ▢
• 1 tsp Sea salt (divided) ▢
• 1/4 cup Butter ▢
• 1 medium Yellow onion (chopped) ▢
• 2 large Carrots (chopped) ▢
• 4 stalks Celery (chopped) ▢
• 4 cloves Garlic (minced) ▢
• 3 tbsp Tomato paste ▢
• 1 tsp Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning) ▢
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢
• 1 1/4 cups Dry white wine ▢
• 1 cup Heavy cream ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Lobster Stock:

1. In a large pot, bring the water with ½ teaspoon of salt to a boil. Add lobster tails and cook for 5 minutes, until bright red. Remove the lobster tails with tongs and let cool until you can handle them.

2. Remove the lobster meat from the shells, then return the shells to the water and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve to remove and shell pieces and set broth aside.

4. Chop the lobster meat into small pieces, reserving a few larger pieces for garnish.

Lobster Bisque:

1. In a large dutch oven or pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and saute for 8-10 minutes, until softened.

2. Stir in minced garlic, tomato paste, herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning), the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the wine and deglaze pan to remove any burnt bits stuck to the bottom. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the wine slightly reduces.

4. Add in 3 cups of the lobster stock you made above. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend for 1 minute on high speed. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, but it may not end up quite as smooth.

6. Return the soup to the pot, then stir in heavy cream and lobster meat, reserving some for garnish.

7. Continue cooking over low heat for 5 minutes, until warm.

8. Garnish with remaining lobster to serve. (If you like, I also like to garnish with a drizzle of cream and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.)

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 cup

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 203

Fat 13.7g

Protein 9.4g

Total Carbs 5.7g

Net Carbs 4.5g

Fiber 1.2g

Sugar 2.9g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: lobster bisque, lobster bisque recipe, lobster bisque soup

Calories: 203 kcal

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