The Easiest Lobster Ravioli Recipe

This easy lobster ravioli recipe is a restaurant-quality dish that literally takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish! Al dente cheese ravioli is tossed in a creamy garlic white wine sauce with chunks of sweet, tender lobster meat throughout.

 

You Will Love This

• This lobster ravioli recipe could not be easier! This dish is totally do-able in just 20 minutes thanks to store-bought ravioli that cooks in just 4 minutes, and fresh lobster tails that cook perfectly tender in a simple garlic white wine cream sauce.
• It’s a date night dream or a fancy feeling weeknight dinner that your family will love! You don’t need to spend time on homemade ravioli to make this dinner feel special – trust me!
• Homemade pasta dough is great, but it’s kind of like homemade pie crust – there are tons of delicious store bought options that are filled with flavor that taste just as good as homemade, AND they’ll save you hours of precious time!
• If you loved this easy lobster pasta recipe, be sure to check out my:
  • One Pot Creamy Crab Soup
  • Creamy Baked Crab Dip
  • Garlic Parmesan Chicken Penne Alfredo

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Refrigerated Cheese Ravioli – You don’t have to make your own ravioli to create a special homemade meal! In this lobster ravioli recipe, we are going to take store-bought refrigerated cheese ravioli and turn it into a restaurant quality dish in just 20 minutes! If you can find lobster ravioli at the grocery store, even better – Trader Joe’s makes a great one! If not, cheese ravioli works great!
• Butter + Olive Oil – I love to use a combination of butter and olive oil for this lobster ravioli recipe! The butter adds a delicious flavor and the oil has a higher smoke point.
• Shallot – The delicate sweetness of a sautéed shallot is a delicious way to kick off this simple lobster ravioli sauce. I do not recommend using onion in place of the shallot. If you don’t have any on hand, just omit the shallot.
• Garlic – Freshly sliced or minced garlic is the best way to flavor this garlic butter sauce for ravioli. Jarred garlic or garlic powder are not going to give you that same fresh flavor.
• Herbs + Spices – Dried oregano and Old Bay Seasoning combine for a delicious herby layer of flavor with just a hint of spice!
• Dry White Wine – This lobster ravioli sauce recipe is the perfect place to showcase a dry white wine that you enjoy drinking. If you’re not into white wine and aren’t sure what to pick, go for Sauvignon Blanc, Pinto Grigio, Dry Riesling, or Chardonnay. Skip the sweet white wines for this recipe. And remember, the actual alcohol cooks off in the sauce, but the delicious wine flavor adds depth and dimension to the sauce. If you don’t like to cook with wine, use chicken broth instead.
• Lobster Tails – Try to find thawed lobster tail at your local grocery store or fish monger. If you can only find frozen lobster tail, check out my tips below for thawing. Also, so below for how to shuck the lobster.
• Heavy Cream – Heavy cream is going to add just the right amount of creaminess to this sauce without making it too thick. Half and half or whole milk are not going to give you the same creamy texture.
• Parsley + Lemon Juice – Fresh chopped parsley and lemon juice are added to this lobster ravioli sauce near the end of the cooking process to layer in that fresh flavor and balance out the creaminess of the lobster and the sauce. If you want to add some serious lemon flavor to this lobster ravioli sauce, add a teaspoon or two of lemon zest when you add the fresh garlic. This will infuse that lemon flavor throughout the dish.

Instructions

Boil ravioli in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. While the ravioli is cooking, shuck the lobster tails by flipping them over cutting the shell down the middle.

Gently open the shell and pull the large piece of meat away from the top of the shell. Repeat with the remaining lobster tail. Here’s a simple video that shows exactly how to do it. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet and add shallot. Cook for a minute, stirring frequently. Add garlic, oregano, and Old Bay Seasoning. Cook for a minute, stirring frequently.

Stir in white wine and let it come to a gentle simmer. Add lobster meat and shells to the pot and simmer for 1-2 minutes.

Flip meat and shells over and cook for another minute or two or until the lobster meat is opaque and cooked through. Cooking the shells with the lobster meat adds a bit of flavor to the sauce and also helps you to know when the lobster is cooked through as the color of the shell will change to a deep orange red.

Use a slotted spoon to remove lobster meat and shells from the pan. Chop lobster meat into small pieces and discard lobster shells. Whisk in heavy cream and chopped parsley. Let it heat through for a minute or two. 

Add pasta and toss to coat evenly. Cook for a minute or two or until the pasta is warmed through. 

Add chopped lobster meat back in. Toss to coat evenly. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper. Enjoy!

Tips

• Always salt your pasta water! Add about 1-2 tablespoons of Kosher salt to your pasta water (double this amount if you’re cooking a whole pound of pasta). This is your first chance to season the pasta itself and it will really boost the flavors of your entire dish.
• If you’re going to serve the cooked tails whole (instead of chopping up the lobster meat), slip a skewer through them so they don’t curl up. As the lobster cooks, it’s naturally going to curl up a bit around the edges. Skewering the lobster before cooking ensures that it stays nice and flat during the cooking process.
• This sauce is creamy but it’s not thick. It’s super light and fresh since ravioli can sometimes be a heavy dish, so feel free to add more or less heavy cream depending on how you like your sauce. I’m a real saucy gal, so I add the full 1/3 cup and sometimes more so that it really coats the pasta and lobster well!

Variations

Feel free to switch up the ingredients in this lobster ravioli sauce and make it your own! Some of our favorite variations include:

• grape tomatoes
• sun-dried tomatoes
• Parmesan cheese
• shrimp (or other seafood)
• ricotta cheese
• goat cheese
• fresh dill
• fresh chives
• peas
• asparagus

The Basics of Lobster Tails

Lobster can be intimidating – I get it! But I’m here to tell you that prepping and cooking lobster is likely much easier than you think! Below are my best tips and tricks for finding lobster tails, thawing them and shucking them!

Finding Lobster Tails

• Check your local grocery store’s deli or fish counter for fresh (previously frozen) lobster tail. Most will have them in stock all the time, or at least around Valentine’s Day.
• If you can’t find them thawed and ready to cook, check the freezer section at your grocery store.

Thawing Frozen Lobster

• Lobster tails must be thawed before cooking! The best way to thaw frozen lobster tails is to refrigerate them for 24 hours. They will leak a bit during this time so be sure they are on a plate, in a bowl, or sealed in a Ziploc.
• If you don’t have time to do that, seal the lobster tails inside a Ziploc baggy and put them in a bowl in the sink. Run cool water over them until they thaw, checking every 15 minutes or so.
• 1-2 tails will take about 30 minutes but 3-4 or more tails will take closer to an hour or so. So plan accordingly! Also, plan to cook the lobster tails right after thawing.
• You’ll know the lobster is thawed when it can easily be bent and there are no frozen parts of meat.
• If the lobster isn’t thawed before cooking it will end up being tough and chewy and nobody wants that!

Shucking Lobster

• I think shucking the lobster is what intimidates people the most about cooking lobster. It is not hard though!
• The lobster meat actually comes away from the shell very easily before or after it’s cooked! If you’re working with a whole lobster it may be a bit more work, similar to working with a whole crab.
• But when you have just the lobster tail, it’s actually super easy! Just use a kitchen sheers to cut the shell. Flip the lobster tail over and use the scissors to cut right down the center all the way to the tail. Then gently pull on the shell to open the tail, and then gently pull the large piece of meat away from the top of the shell. Here’s a really great video showing exactly how to shuck a lobster tail.

Pink Lobster Meat

• You may have noticed that one of my lobster tail’s meat had a bit of a pinkish hue. This is totally fine and does not mean the lobster is bad!
• It just means that it’s a female lobster who likely had recently produced eggs. Some say that the pinker the meat, the more flavorful the meat will be!

FAQ

Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: You can cook the ravioli ahead of time and get your ingredients ready to go, but this lobster ravioli dish is best enjoyed fresh!
• Storage: You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• Reheating: This recipe is really best served fresh, but if you want to reheat leftovers, add the ravioli and lobster to a pan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring frequently until everything is warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

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