Easy Lobster Bisque

Date: Feb 13, 2018 by Lacey Baier · This post may contain affiliate links · 122 Comments

Ever wanted to know how to make lobster bisque and what’s it made of? Check out this easy lobster bisque recipe which is creamy, delicious, and you’d never know is gluten-free, dairy-free, clean, and easily paleo-friendly!

For the longest time, I used to order lobster bisque at restaurants whenever I saw it on the menu. This was back in my “pre-clean” days so I didn’t really think then much about the amount of butter, cream, or flour that might have been in the bisque.

All I knew was that it was rich, creamy, and delicious.

I never really thought that I should just try to make my own lobster bisque at home because there was just something about it that seemed so elaborate, so fancy. Like it could only be made at a fancy restaurant.

Silly me.

Lobster bisque is actually very EASY to make. In fact, you’re not gonna believe just how easy it is to make tasty, luscious lobster bisque at home -- and without the hefty price tag at a fancy pants restaurant.

How To Make Lobster Bisque

The basics behind lobster bisque is that you need to cook the aromatics, like onion, shallot, and garlic first, then add a little flour to thicken, add some liquid, and then blend it all together.

It’s really that simple.

What I found is the best way to make lobster bisque is to make my own lobster stock to use as the liquid.

Please don’t freak out by this idea - here me out.

In order to cook the lobster, you’re going to boil a pot of water. So, that water is the beginning of our stock.

Once the lobster is cooked and you remove the flesh from the shell, just toss the emptied lobster shells back into the pot and boil for another 10 minutes to get your stock.

See? Super easy! Trust me - this will make a huge difference in the final flavor of your lobster bisque.

How To Thicken Lobster Bisque

The usual way to thicken lobster bisque is to use flour. When you’re cooking the onion and garlic, you then add flour and a little liquid (usually wine, chicken broth, or lobster stock), and make what’s called a roux which is essentially a creamy flour mixture that is used to thicken your bisque.

Instead, in this lobster bisque recipe, I use chickpea flour instead of all-purpose flour (which is what’s usually used in lobster bisque recipes). The chickpea flour works perfectly and makes it so this lobster bisque is gluten-free and refined flour free.

The other way to thicken lobster bisque is by blending it. Once everything is cooked and tender, just add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. You could also use an immersion blender right in the pan. Just make sure to not have the lobster in the soup yet so you don’t also blend in all that tasty lobster (unless you want to!).Personally, I like to have large chunks of lobster in my lobster bisque.

Is Lobster Bisque Good For You?

The short answer for most lobster bisque is, sadly, not really. Most lobster bisques served in restaurants are filled with butter and cream. This makes them sinfully indulgent and fine to enjoy on occasion, but not really that good for you.

In order to lighten up this easy lobster bisque recipe, I make a few changes so I could enjoy it more often while still maintaining my healthy lifestyle.

Here’s how to make lobster bisque healthier:

Replace all-purpose flour with chickpea flour
Replace heavy cream with full fat coconut milk
Remove the butter
Blend to thicken, rather than add even more flour
Reduce sodium by removing a lot of the salt
Replace they sherry with dry white wine and low sodium chicken broth

All in all, the flavors of this healthier lobster bisque recipe are amazing and you don’t even miss the “original” ingredients. Plus these changes make this lobster bisque gluten-free and non-dairy which allows people who are sensitive to either to enjoy a special treat.

If you're wanting to keep this recipe paleo, you'd just need to replace the white wine with additional low sodium chicken broth, since wine isn't really a paleo thing. This is also the case for clean-eating, though it's not 100% agreed upon as to whether a little wine (especially dry wine, like in this lobster bisque recipe) is acceptable on a clean eating diet. Personally, I use a little here and there, particularly in a few yummy recipes (like this one, too!).

What's your favorite indulgent recipe that you'd LOVE to make healthier? Share in the comments below and I might turn it into a #makeithealthy recipe on the blog!

This post contains affiliate links for the kitchen items I use regularly and highly recommend.

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