A dish of gluten free Lobster Macaroni and Cheese decorated with the head and tail.

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Why make Lobster Macaroni and Cheese? Well why not! We all do a lot of crazy things…surely this doesn’t rank very high on that list.

This all started when I was invited to give a presentation at a conference in Halifax. I was excited to go and looking forward to the wonderful east coast seafood I would enjoy. Also, lobster is in season around Mother’s Day so it seemed timely.

Cooking Lobster

I’m a prairie girl so the first time I cooked a whole, live lobster it was a culinary challenge. Of course it is super easy, just boil it in salted water. The fun really starts when you need to get the lobster meat out of the shell…I suggest you visit YouTube for many excellent videos demonstrating how to do this.

If you aren’t up for the challenge don’t worry. You can buy a cooked lobster and of course you can even buy just the lobster tail where most of the meat is anyway.

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

I’m sure there are specific rules for the perfect Lobster Macaroni and Cheese but I am not aware of them. I simply started with a basic cheese sauce, the one I use for everyday macaroni and cheese. I added some onion and garlic, used a combination of cheddar and Gruyere cheeses, folded in some lobster and that’s it. Since this is what I consider an extravagant dish it only makes good food sense to use real cream…or at least that’s how my mind works.

The sauce was so good I made a little extra. This recipe is going to give you more sauce than you need but I’m sure you’ll find a use for it.

Lobster for a Gourmet Dinner Club

Many years ago I attended a Gourmet Dinner Club evening with an East Coast theme. Our host grew up in Nova Scotia so had her dad buy live lobsters and ship them to her by airplane. Of course you can buy live lobsters in Calgary, I get mine at Boyds Lobster Shop, but our hosts were people who take their lobster seriously.

At that dinner newspapers were spread out on the table and all the lobster paraphernalia was provided. We wore lobster bibs, everyone had their own dish of melted butter and the necessary tools to extract the lobster meat from the shells. I don’t remember the rest of the menu but I do remember her story. A story of growing up in Nova Scotia and being dirt poor. In those days lobster was considered a poor man’s food and she remembers eating lobster sandwiches every day. Fortunately that memory didn’t prevent her from hosting a fun Nova Scotia style lobster dinner.

I think of that story whenever I buy for lobster. If you’ve got a lobster story I’d love to hear it. If you’ve never cooked lobster I encourage you to give it a try. Just for fun.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp onion, chopped fine
3 Tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup cream (I used 10%)
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 cup crumbled, sharp cheddar cheese (half a 230g tub of sharp cheddar)
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 cooked lobster or 2 lobster tails (or as much as you want)
8 oz GF brown rice pasta
OPTIONAL CRUMB TOPPING
½ Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp GF breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
GARNISH – fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese and lobster shells

Directions

1
LOBSTER
2
Boil lobster in salted water for 15 minutes. Cool quickly by placing in cold water. It can be refrigerated over night at this point. Remove all lobster meat, cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
3
CHEESE SAUCE
4
In saucepan melt butter on medium low heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 5 minutes.
5
Add cornstarch, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.
6
When slightly thickened slowly pour in the cream and milk stirring constantly. Continue to stir over medium heat until sauce thickens.
7
Add cheeses and stir until melted. Set aside.
8
PASTA
9
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
10
Pour cheese sauce over pasta, fold in lobster meat and portion into serving dishes.
11
Top with crumb topping or parmesan cheese. Place under preheated broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown topping. Garnish and serve.

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Ingredients

Directions
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp onion, chopped fine
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 cup cream (I used 10%)
  • 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
  • 1 cup crumbled, sharp cheddar cheese (half a 230g tub of sharp cheddar)
  • 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
  • 1 cooked lobster or 2 lobster tails (or as much as you want)
  • 8 oz GF brown rice pasta
  • OPTIONAL CRUMB TOPPING
  • ½ Tbsp butter, melted
  • 3 Tbsp GF breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • GARNISH – fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese and lobster shells
  1. LOBSTER
  2. Boil lobster in salted water for 15 minutes. Cool quickly by placing in cold water. It can be refrigerated over night at this point. Remove all lobster meat, cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
  3. CHEESE SAUCE
  4. In saucepan melt butter on medium low heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 5 minutes.
  5. Add cornstarch, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.
  6. When slightly thickened slowly pour in the cream and milk stirring constantly. Continue to stir over medium heat until sauce thickens.
  7. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Set aside.
  8. PASTA
  9. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
  10. Pour cheese sauce over pasta, fold in lobster meat and portion into serving dishes.
  11. Top with crumb topping or parmesan cheese. Place under preheated broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown topping. Garnish and serve.