Easy lobster bisque recipe with succulent pieces of lobster tail in a creamy savory broth blended with puréed carrot, celery, and onion. Then it is seasoned with fresh herbs. It’s a delicious romantic soup for date night!
Lobster bisque is such a comforting soup. The bulk of the soup is actually puréed vegetables. That’s what makes this bisque so savory and tasty!
Ingredients for Lobster Bisque
- Lobster Tails
- Butter
- Carrots
- Celery
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- All-Purpose Flour
- Chicken Broth
- Seafood/Fish Broth or Use Reserved Water Remaining From Boiled Lobster Tail
- Dry White Wine
- Whipping Cream
- Thyme Sprigs
- Bay Leaves
- Salt
- Pepper
What is bisque?
A bisque is a smooth and flavorful soup made with shellfish.
Bisque actually originates in France way back in the 17th century and the first recipes had crawfish in it. A variety of shellfish have been cooked in bisques over the years – crab, lobster, shrimp, and crawfish.
What type of lobster meat should I use?
Some use different lobster parts for their lobster bisque, like the meat from the lobster’s claws, tails, head, or rib area. All of these parts contain edible meat and are great for lobster bisque.
This particular recipe uses lobster tails.
In the ingredients list, I say approximately 1 pound of lobster meat for this meal because it’s difficult to get an exact amount of meat.
Some lobster tails are 3 ounces while another is 12 ounces so the number of tails needed will vary.
How to Boil Lobster Tails
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, add lobster tails with shells on and boil for 5-7 minutes.
How to Tell if Lobster is Cooked
Lobster tail shells will turn bright red when they are cooked and the meat inside will change from translucent to solid white.
How to Shell a Lobster Tail
Once the lobster tail is cooked, I find it easiest to place the underside of the shell down on a cutting board and press down on the top. This cracks the underside to break the shell.
Flip the shell over and pull all the fins out. If pushing down on the top did not crack it enough to loosen all of the underside, use kitchen scissors to cut along the sides.
This video shows how to cut and remove the shell if you are having difficulties.
How to Thicken Lobster Bisque
I’ve seen recipes for lobster bisque that use rice and puree it with the vegetables to make it thicker. I found it thick enough with the pureed vegetables.
However, if you decide to, I would add ½ cup of cooked rice to try it out.
What type of broth should I use?
For the broth, I tried making the recipe using only seafood stock and it was too fishy of a taste for our liking.
Instead, using 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of seafood broth or reserved boiled lobster water was a perfect balance.
The boiled lobster water really gets the lobster flavor infused into it.
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Easy Lobster Bisque
Ingredients
- Approximately 1 pound 16 oz Lobster Tail (May take 2-4 tails depending on their size)
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Diced Carrots
- 1 cup Diced Celery
- 1 Small Yellow Onion diced
- 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Seafood/Fish Stock or Reserve 2 Cups of Water Remaining From the Boiled Lobster Tail
- 1 cup Dry White Wine
- ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 Thyme Sprigs
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Place lobster tails (in shells) in a boiling pot of salted water. Boil for about 5-7 minutes (depending on the size of tails) until the lobster tail turns bright red and the inner meat is no longer translucent and turns white.
- Remove lobster tail from water and allow to cool in a colander. Remove fins from the end of the tail. Lay tail on counter and press down firmly on the outside of the shell to crack it. Remove meat with a fork. Cut lobster meat into chunks and set aside.Note: It's okay if you find the lobster is not fully cooked after chopping it. It will cook through when added to the soup later.
- In a large pot set to medium-high heat, add butter. Once melted, add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook 7-8 minutes until vegetables are softened. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and stir vegetables to coat.
- Slowly add wine and stir to blend. Add salt, pepper, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, chicken broth, and seafood broth (or reserved lobster water) and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves from pot. Using an immersion blender, blend soup until all vegetables are pureed and soup is smooth. Add heavy whipping cream and lobster meat and cook for an additional 5 minutes at medium-low heat.
Karen says
Looks great.
Can I prepare this a day or two in advance and reheat it at serving time?
Is the white swirl simply heavy cream drizzled on top?
Tiffany says
Hi Karen,
I recommend preparing the soup up to 24 hours in advance if you plan to make it ahead. However, I would not prepare the lobster that early. Reheating lobster does not fare well and it can become tougher than it originally was.
The white swirl is heavy cream. It’s great for decorating the top of thicker soups. I recommend whisking the cream for about 30 seconds so it slightly thickens. Drizzle it with a spoon just before serving otherwise it can separate in the bowl.
Jerris Dennis says
Loved it so rich