This recipe makes the absolute creamiest homemade lobster mac and cheese I have ever had. With the addition of lobster, it becomes an elevated comfort dish that you could serve at a chic brunch or dinner party with friends at home.
Did you know that the trick to making an incredibly creamy mac and cheese comes from French Cuisine? It is all in the Mornay!
If you love all things cheesy, like I do, you will also love my recipes for Le Chef's French Onion Soup Gratinée, One pot cheesy chicken and orzo, Foolproof Eggplant Lasagna Recipe and Tomato Soup Gratinée.
What is Mornay Sauce ?
Mornay is a variation of Béchamel, one of the five Mother Sauces of French Cuisine. All young apprentice cooks first learn the five Mother sauces on their journey to becoming a Chef. Le Chef's Sébastien's years as an apprentice in Michelin starred restaurants in France taught him how to make an unbelievably good Mornay sauce that is rich & creamy while being incredibly flavorful at the same time.
So, please indulge me as I take you on a crash course of French cuisine with the end result being the best Mac and cheese you have ever tasted!
How to Make Lobster Mac and Cheese
Ingredients for the creamiest Lobster Mac and Cheese
- 5 tbsps of butter
- 2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- 1 cup grated Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 cups grated Comté Cheese (1 cup for the Mornay Sauce, 1 cup for the gratinée on the top)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 5 branches of thyme
- 2 tbsps of flour (all purpose)
- 1 ½ cup chopped lobster meat (fresh or frozen is fine - just make sure it is defrosted)
- 2 teaspoons of salt
Equipment needed
An oven safe baking dish like this Oval Le Creuset, the perfect size for four servings
A silicone spatula - perfect for folding the Mornay Sauce, nothing sticks to this!
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
First, lets sautée the lobster.
Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add in 1 clove of chopped garlic, and 3 tbsps of butter along with the lobster meat and 2 branches of thyme. Sautée for 3 minutes to flavor the lobster. Transfer the lobster, and the lobster drippings, into a large bowl. Use a silicone spatula to scrape get every last bit of flavor from the pan. Remove ⅓rd of a cup of the lobster meat to be used as garnish. Set aside.
Boil water for pasta with a tsp of salt. Cook the macaroni to package instructions for firm pasta. Strain, then add the cooked pasta to the bowl with the lobster and the lobster drippings. Stir and set aside.
How to make Mornay Sauce
In a sauce pan over medium low heat, bring the cream, remaining garlic and thyme branches to a low simmer. This is Le Chef's tip for a flavorful Mornay sauce. No salt is needed. Let simmer for a couple minutes for the flavor of the thyme and garlic to infuse with the cream. Remove the thyme branches from the cream with a pair of kitchen tongs and discard.
Meanwhile, make a pomade out of 2 tbsps each of butter and flour. If the butter is not room temperature, heat it in the microwave for no more than 10 seconds. In a small bowl, fold together the flour and butter, using your silicone spatula. Fold until the mixture forms a thick paste that is well integrated.
While the cream is simmering, mix in the pomade with a whisk. Be very careful to keep the heat under the cream low and not let it burn. Whisk gently but firmly for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Congratulations, you have made a Béchamel sauce!
Remove the Béchamel pan from the heat and add in the grated mozzarella and 1 cup of grated Comté. Blend well. The sauce will be thick and creamy. Voilà! Now you have made a Mornay sauce too.
Pour the Mornay sauce over the pasta and lobster mixture. Mix well so that every piece of pasta is fully coated.
How to Make Macaroni Gratinée
Transfer the Pasta into a greased baking dish. I use this 9 inch Le Creuset
Set the dish on the middle rack of your oven and switch over to broil. Watch very carefully, after 3-4 minutes you should see your lobster mac and cheese bubbling and starting to brown. A beautiful thing to see!
Remove the dish from the oven and top with an even layer of the remaining Comté cheese as well as the chopped lobster meat you had set aside.
Replace the dish under the broiler for another 4-5 minutes until the top is brown and bubbly. Careful not to let it burn! This will make a beautiful gratinée.
Serve immediately.
Is Lobster Mac and Cheese a side or a main dish?
Mac and cheese is traditionally known in the USA as a side dish, however the addition of Lobster (or any other protein of your choice) elevates it to main dish status!
I like to serve this dish hot out of the oven with a simple green salad on the side dressed with a homemade vinaigrette. The acidity from the vinaigrette cuts through the creaminess of the Mac and Cheese beautifully.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Mornay is a variation of Béchamel sauce - one of the five Mother Sauces in French Cuisine. It is made mixing equal parts room temperature butter and flour into a pomade and then adding the pomade to warm milk or cream. Blend together and then add in the cheese of your choice. Voilà! That's a Mornay!
Béchamel, Espagnole, tomato, velouté, hollandaise, and mayonnaise. Learn to master these 5 sauces and you can cook almost anything! Mornay is considered a variation of béchamel with the addition of cheese (yum!)
While the basics of the dish are rooted in French cuisine - Mac and Cheese is clearly an American favorite. Rumor has it that Thomas Jefferson brought the recipe back to the US from France - it is said to be his favorite dish.
American tradition is to use Cheddar primarily however in this recipe we are going for a more flavorful Comté cheese - a hard aged cow's milk cheese from the region of Franche-Comté in France. Gruyere is also a good substitute. We will also use grated mozzarella for extra creaminess.
To Gratinée means to cooking something "au gratin". This means to add cheese, or béchamel sauce, to the top of a dish and bake, or broil, it until the cheese becomes crispy. You can make many recipes au gratin such as my famous French Onion Soup Gratinée recipe or Lasagna.
How to Store Lobster Mac and Cheese
This recipe can be kept in the fridge 3 days and reheated in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes before serving.
Lobster Mac and Cheese is a great dish to bring to a potluck or family gathering - just make sure to pop it in the oven for a few minutes immediately before serving so that the cheese gets nice and melt again.
I don't recommend freezing this dish.
Substitutions
I lieu of lobster meat, you can easily switch with 1.5 cups of any of the below ingredients:
- crab meat
- shrimp
- spicy Italian sausage
- grilled chicken
Other Le Chef's Wife Family style recipes you might enjoy:
Please let me know if you make this recipe by rating it and leaving a comment.
Bon Appétit, mes amis!
Au plaisir,
Le Chef's Wife
ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE
Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.
We were just recently featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You Can watch our full segment here:
Creamiest homemade Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Gratinée
- Cuisine: French
Description
This recipe makes the absolute creamiest homemade mac and cheese I have ever had. With the addition of lobster, it becomes an elevated comfort dish that you could serve at a chic brunch or dinner party with friends at home.
Did you know that the trick to making an incredibly creamy mac and cheese comes from French Cuisine? It is all in the Mornay!
Ingredients
- 5 tbsps of butter
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- 2 cups grated Comté Cheese (1 cup for the Mornay Sauce, 1 cup for the gratinée on the top)
- 1 cup grated Mozzarella Cheese
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
- 5 branches of thyme
- 2 tbsps of flour (all purpose)
- 1 ½ cup chopped cooked lobster meat (fresh or frozen is fine - just make sure it is defrosted)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- First, lets sautée the lobster.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add in 1 clove of chopped garlic, and 3 tbsps of butter along with the lobster meat and 2 branches of thyme. Sautée for 3 minutes to flavor the lobster. Transfer the lobster, and the lobster drippings, into a large bowl. Use a silicone spatula to scrape get every last bit of flavor from the pan. Remove ⅓rd of a cup of the lobster meat to be used as garnish. Set aside.
- Boil water for pasta with a tsp of salt. Cook the macaroni to package instructions for firm pasta. Strain, then add the cooked pasta to the bowl with the lobster and the lobster drippings. Stir and set aside.
- In a sauce pan over medium low heat, bring the cream, remaining garlic and thyme branches to a low simmer. This is Le Chef's tip for a flavorful Mornay sauce. No salt is needed. Let simmer for a couple minutes for the flavor of the thyme and garlic to infuse with the cream. Remove the thyme branches from the cream with a pair of kitchen tongs and discard.
- Meanwhile, make a pomade out of 2 tbsps each of butter and flour. If the butter is not room temperature, heat it in the microwave for no more than 10 seconds. In a small bowl, fold together the flour and butter, using your silicone spatula. Fold until the mixture forms a thick paste that is well integrated.
- While the cream is simmering, mix in the pomade with a whisk. Be very careful to keep the heat under the cream low and not let it burn. Whisk gently but firmly for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Congratulations, you have made a Béchamel sauce!
- Remove the Béchamel pan from the heat and add in the grated mozzarella and 1 cup of grated Comté. Blend well. The sauce will be thick and creamy. Voilà! Now you have made a Mornay sauce too.
- Pour the Mornay sauce over the pasta and lobster mixture. Mix well so that every piece of pasta is fully coated.
- Transfer the Pasta into a greased baking dish. I use this 9 inch Le Creuset
- Set the dish on the middle rack of your oven and switch over to broil. Watch very carefully, after 3-4 minutes you should see your lobster mac and cheese bubbling and starting to brown. A beautiful thing to see!
- Remove the dish from the oven and top with an even layer of the remaining Comté cheese as well as the chopped lobster meat you had set aside.
- Replace the dish under the broiler for another 4-5 minutes until the top is brown and bubbly. Careful not to let it burn! This will make a beautiful gratinée.
- Serve immediately.
Bon Appétit!
Notes
If you are making this dish in advance, save the gratinée step for just before you serve. The Lobster Mac and Cheese can stay in the fridge, tightly covered with plastic wrap for 3 days.
Suzanne says
An entirely new world of possibilities for Mac’n Cheese lovers! Scrumptious!
Vickie says
I'm sure this is wonderful with heavy cream, but could I possibly use whole milk? Heavy cream just doesn't agree with my digestion.
lechefswife says
Bonsoir Vickie, Thank you for your comment. Absolutely, feel free to use whole milk. It won't be as rich but it will still be very tasty! Enjoye!
Bonnie says
Would this be good if I omitted the lobster? Thanks!
lechefswife says
Hello Bonnie, Thank you for your comment. Of course, the mac & cheese would be delicious on its own. Simply omit the lobster or sub another protein if you prefer. Bon Appétit!
Alex says
Easy to make but I use carb meat instead cause I couldn't any near me 🙁
But super good, would make again :)))
lechefswife says
Crab meat would be absolutely delicious with this recipe! I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thank you for your comment 🙂