Dairy-Free Lobster Mac and Cheese

This creamy lobster mac and cheese is elevated comfort food at its finest. We make ours dairy free, but you can use regular cheese and cream if you don’t need it to be!

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If you love mac and cheese in your household like my family loves mac and cheese, you’re in for a treat with this recipe!

We’ve been making lobster mac and cheese in our house for decades. It started when the kids were toddlers, and we wanted to make something familiar and something we knew they liked. But we wanted to add a special twist for the holidays.

Enter lobster macaroni and cheese.

This has all the creamy richness and cheesy deliciousness that you love in regular mac and cheese, but taken up a notch thanks to the addition of succulent lobster meat.

Elevated comfort food at its best!

Ingredient notes

The recipe is made as a dairy-free lobster mac and cheese, because that’s how we make it. However, you can easily substitute regular cheese and heavy cream for the dairy-free versions we use. Here are a few notes about some of the main ingredients:

• Pasta – Because we’re elevating the dish, I like to use a corkscrew shaped pasta like centellani or cavatappi. You can use regular shells or macaroni elbows if you prefer.
• Cheeses – Two kinds of cheeses adds depth of flavor to this dish. If you want to make this dairy-free version, use your favorite dairy-free cheese alternative shreds. If you don’t need or want this to be dairy-free, go for the full dairy cheese!
• Almond milk – You can use regular heavy cream, half-and-half, or even whole milk instead of almond milk.
• Lobster – We’re using cooked lobster meat to save time. You can either cook your own lobster meat from the meat of two lobster tails. Or, you can usually find cooked lobster meat in the seafood department of your local grocery store. Note: do NOT use imitation lobster meat! This will not have the same flavor or texture as real lobster meat.
• Shallots & garlic – shallots offer a milder flavor than onions, and I find they work best in this mac and cheese. Garlic adds some sharpness for contrast.

Step-by-step instructions

To show you just how easy it is to make this recipe, I’m including my signature step-by-step photos and brief overview instructions.

You’ll find the full list of ingredients along with measurements, and more detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Start by cooking the pasta according to package directions. Then melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Allow the butter to come to a low simmering boil, and cook for just about 30 seconds after that. Increase the heat to medium-high.
3. Add the cooked lobster meat to the pan, and cook, stirring into the butter, for 1-2 minutes. Then remove the lobster meat and transfer it to a plate; set aside.

4. Add the shallots and garlic and cook.
5. Whisk in the flour.
6. Keep stirring the flour and add the almond milk until it creates a roux.

7. Add both cheeses.
8. Keep whisking until the cheeses are melted into the sauce and smooth. Note: if you are using dairy-free cheese, this may take a little longer than regular cheese, as dairy-free versions tend to take longer to melt. If needed, add a little hot starchy pasta water to help melt the cheese and whisk it smooth.
9. Add the spices in.

10. Add the cooked pasta and a little bit of hot starchy pasta water. Toss to combine.
11. Add back the cooked lobster and stir to combine.

Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Recipe FAQs

Serving suggestions

When we serve this for New Year’s Eve, we’ll sometimes serve it with air fryer filet mignon and a mango avocado prawn salad.

For an everyday family dinner, serve this lobster mac and cheese with a fresh Asian cucumber carrot salad. If you’ve got kids at home, you can also enjoy this as a side salad with breaded chicken tenders.