Description
You don’t need a beach vacation to enjoy incredible seafood. This homemade lobster mac and cheese is made with tender lobster tails, cavatappi pasta, and a creamy blend of cheddar, Gruyère, Havarti, and Parmesan for a rich, restaurant-style comfort food dinner that’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 16 oz cavatappi pasta pasta
- 5 lobster tails
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups cups milk
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Havarti cheese, shredded
- 2 tbsp chopped chives for topping
Instructions
Cook Lobster
- Boil water in a large pot and add salt generously. Make sure the pot is filled with enough water to cover the lobster tails. Once the water is boiling, drop the tails in the water. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until the lobsters are bright red.
- Using a pair of tongs, remove the lobsters from the boiling water and place them on a rimmed baking sheet or plate to cool.
- Once the tails are cooled, fork out the meat or cut open each tail to remove the meat Use sharp culinary scissors to cut on each side of the soft underside of the tail. Once both sides are cut, pull up on the shell to reveal the meat. Use a fork or your finger to get under the meat to pull the meat out of the shell. Remove the grey vein that runs along the center of the meat. Discard the lobster shells.
- Chop the meat into smaller pieces. Place the meat into a bowl.
Cook Pasta
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Once the pasta is cooked, strain out the water. Add 1 tbsp of butter to the pasta and mix to coat. The butter will make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together in one clump.
Mac and Cheese Sauce
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. While pasta is cooking, grate cheese. Combine all the grated cheese into one bowl and toss together to mix. Set aside.
- Make your cheese sauce: Start by making the roux for the sauce. In a Dutch oven or deep skillet, over medium-high heat, melt butter until just bubbling. Add in flour and whisk for a couple minutes until it thickens.
- Add paprika, onion, and garlic powder, and dijon mustard to the roux and whisk to combine. Pour milk and heavy cream into the skillet and whisk until it all comes together.
- Add half of the cheese mixture to the sauce, whisking until melted. Save the other half of the mixture for topping.
- Remove the cheese sauce from the heat. Pour cooked pasta into the sauce, and chopped lobster. stirring to coat all the pasta with the cheese sauce.
- Pour the cheesy pasta into a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes until the cheese is turning a golden brown color.
- Once cooked, remove the dish from the oven and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with a sprinkle of chives.