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Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe

Posted August 23, 2017 by Stephanie

Yesterday Mike and I watched the total eclipse and it was amazing. Words cannot express how beautiful it was. The moment totality arrived and we were able to take off our eclipse glasses and look at the moon in front of the sun, with its corona blazing was truly awe inspiring. It was like nothing I’ve never experienced – I felt it viscerally. It felt almost wrong, the way the world went from warm, bright and airy to chilly, dream-like, dark and dusky. It was equal parts incredibly beautiful and terrifying.

In fact, I cried – practically sobbed – while I repeated incoherently, “I didn’t know, I didn’t know it would look like this.” I clung to Mike’s hand while the two minutes of totality passed by in what seemed like seconds, the sky’s pale purple murkiness quickly giving way to blue sky brilliance as the moon moved out of the sun’s path. The second it was over, all I could think was, “again!” Even now, not even a day later, the whole thing feels like a dream. To be honest, I can’t wait for the next total eclipse, even if I’ll be waiting for a long time.

Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

This creamy lobster pasta has nothing to do with the eclipse and more to do with our time on the East Coast, where lobster reigns supreme. We must’ve eaten over a dozen lobsters in the time we were there, many of them stuffed into lobster rolls, and some simply boiled in sea water, cracked open and dipped in butter. I kind of sort of went a little lobster crazy, because when I think of Atlantic Canada and New England, I think about lobsters.

Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

It was kind of fun that we go to try both Canadian lobsters (from PEI and Nova Scotia) and Maine lobsters. The main difference, as far as I could tell, was that both Canadians and Americans thought their lobsters were best. The other difference was that in Maine we were able to try soft shell lobsters, which can only be had in Maine (or, I’m guessing, other New England states) because they don’t ship well.

Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Soft shell lobsters are lobsters that have just finished the process of molting, or growing a new shell. Their shells are typically a bit softer, hence the name, and they also have quite a bit more space between their meat and shells, so they can grow into themselves. There is a pretty big debate on which is better, hard or soft, but they’re essentially the same. I found that soft shell lobsters were a bit more tender, while hard shell ones were more dense. When you break into a soft shell, you do find a somewhat shrunken looking tail or claw, so if you’re going for a softie, it’s recommended that you go for a bigger lobster so you get more meat.

Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

We made this pasta in Canada, with a hard shell lobster that we bought at a local supermarket. It was only $7.99 a pound and they cooked it for us! We got a freshly boiled lobster to go, took it home, broke it down and made this pasta. It’s kind of a take on a classic Chinese banquet dish, creamy lobster with noodles. Typically Chinese people don’t cook with cream, but this dish is kind of a thing, at least in here it is. The rich and creamy sauce goes perfectly with lobster and noodles. Super decadent and delicious!

Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Creamy Lobster Pasta Recipe
serves 2


  • 4 ounces pasta of choice (I used linguini)
  • 1 lobster, cooked
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Set a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat and cook your pasta of choice according to the package.

While the pasta is cooking, separate the lobster meat from the shell, reserving the shell. Roughly chop the meat and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the evaporated milk and add the shells, to flavor the sauce. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with the cold water. Pour into the sauce and simmer until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat down and add the lobster and warm gently.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and immediately add to the pan with the sauce. Toss everything together, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and enjoy immediately.

15 Comments

  1. Penny says:

    Yum. I am having a conventional lobster dinner tonight, but would prefer to have this one.

    You say to set the lobster shells aside. Do you have a specific purpose in mind? Should we stay tuned for next time? If so, the shells had better go in the freezer to avoid any spoilage.

    The last time I had lobsters, I boiled the shells and made both sauce american (Julia Child & Company) then reboiled them and made about two quarts of lobster stock. Those shells are just so full of flavor.

    1. David says:

      Use the shells in the sauce to flavor them and then remove them before adding the cornstarch and water mixture

  2. Erika says:

    Arggggg you’re making me so sad I missed watching the eclipse! But I love your description of the experience–so visceral, it almost feels like I was there! Sounds UNREAL. Thanks for describing it for those of us that missed it…and also this a-mazing sounding recipe!!

  3. Penny says:

    Ah, on re-reading I see where you used them to flavor the sauce. Good call.

    I heartily recommend the Julia Child variation, though.

  4. joe says:

    When do you remove the shells?? before the cornstarch/

    1. Stephanie says:

      i leave them in while the sauce is thickening, and then when serving, just pull them out. if you like, you can pull them out before the cornstarch too because the sauce will cling to them quite a bit. kinda weird, but i like licking the sauce off the shells >_<

  5. I only ate lobster for the first time quite recently and it was so, so delicious – I can’t quite get it out of my head. Although the meat extraction is daunting! This is so delicious-looking. I hope I can find some fresh lobsters to make it…

  6. Em says:

    Do you mean green onions when you say shallots?

    1. Stephanie says:

      the tiny red onion looking things :)
      you can use regular onions if you can’t find shallots – they’re usually kept where all the other onions are!

  7. BelovedandHisOwn says:

    Wow!Looks delish! Need to try it :) Cheers!

  8. Dana Renée says:

    This looks AH-mazing!! I’m thinking about making a variation of this with shrimp added. Anyways, this looks perfect.

  9. alana says:

    awww, i loved your eclipse story!! how special that you guys got to see it!! as for dis pasta, don’t tell moses about this recipe, because it’ll be all he’ll want. looks so good!

  10. Debbie says:

    Why evaporated milk vs Heavy cream? I can’t wrap my head around it. We always made country gravy with Evaporated milk growing up. I want to give this a try but I’m nervous.

    1. Stephanie says:

      hi debbie,

      it’s evaporated milk in this case because this recipe is based on chinese restaurant lobster noodles. most chinese places don’t keep heavy cream around since evaporated milk is more shelf stable. you can try using heavy cream, i suspect that it will work much the same but have a slightly different flavor. hope that helps!

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