Summer Lobster Pasta with Fresh Herbs

This easy lobster pasta recipe tosses tender lobster meat and linguine with lemon, garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs for a light and luxurious seafood dinner.

Jump to:

• 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
• ⭐️ Why this recipe works
• 🦞 Ingredients you need
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
• 🤔Recipe FAQs
• 🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
• 🍽️ What to serve with this recipe
• Summer Lobster Pasta with Fresh Herbs
• 💫 Variations on this recipe
• ⭐️ We want to know what you think!
• 🥣 Come on into our kitchen!

🔎 A quick look at this recipe

⭐️ Why this recipe works

• 🦞 Lobster is the star: A light lemon and olive oil dressing lets the sweet lobster flavor shine.
• 🌿 Fresh herbs add loads of flavor: Mint, parsley and basil make every bite bright, fragrant and summery.
• 🍋 The marinade does the work: Letting the lobster rest with the lemon, garlic, herbs and olive oil brings all those delicious flavors together.
• ✨ It’s easy but elegant: This simple pasta is special enough for company but relaxed enough for a summer weeknight supper.

The New York Times recipe that inspired this one began with a summer house in Maine, a steady stream of lobster-loving guests and all the shell-cracking, juice-flying chaos that comes with a traditional lobster dinner. The writer wondered whether you could keep all that sweet, summery lobster flavor and lose the sticky drama. The answer was this peaceful combination of lobster, pasta, lemon and fresh herbs.

The recipe was perfectly titled “The Way Life Should Be”—and I agree. The lobster is already out of its shell and marinating with olive oil, lemon, garlic and lots of mint, parsley and basil. The original recipe calls the herbs optional, but I must respectfully disagree: they are MANDATORY. Otherwise, we have to rename it “The Way Life Kinda Should Be.”

We had this for dinner for the hundredth time a few days ago, and it was a work day for me. When I got home, my heartthrob of a Southern husband had already put the lobster into the marinade and it was waiting on the kitchen counter. The kitchen smelled incredible — all mint and basil and lemon and garlic and lobster — and all I had to do was make the pasta, mix it up and not mess up the picture.

Now THAT is the way life should be.

🦞 Ingredients you need

📝 Ingredient notes

• Lobster: Use cooked lobster meat from the claws and tails, cut into bite-sized pieces. Your seafood market may be willing to steam and shell the lobsters for you—always worth asking!
• Pasta: Linguine or spaghetti work best because the long strands catch the lemony olive oil dressing. Any other long pasta will also work.
• Fresh herbs: Use any combination of parsley and basil totaling ¼ cup, along with the mint. Fresh herbs are essential here; dried herbs won’t give you the same bright flavor.
• Lemon: Freshly squeezed lemon juice gives the dressing its sunny flavor. One medium lemon should provide the right amount.
• Olive oil: Since the olive oil forms the base of the dressing, this is a good place to use a flavorful extra-virgin olive oil.
• Garlic: Mince the garlic as finely as possible so its flavor blends evenly into the marinade.

💡 Ingredient substitution ideas

Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

🤔Recipe FAQs

🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe

These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!

• Measuring Cup: We love these angled cups that show the measurements on both the inside and outside of the cup.
• Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
• Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
• Citrus Juicer: We love this handy juicer that catches every single seed.
• Metal Bowls: We love these sturdy metal bowls for both mixing and casual serving.
• Strainer: This classic strainer is just right for draining pretty much anything, including your favorite pasta recipe (one of ours is pasta with egg sauce!)

🍽️ What to serve with this recipe

We like to amp up the vegetable action with a tomato salad, some skillet corn or some zucchini fritters.

And for dessert, let’s have some Texas Blueberry Cobbler!

Let’s make a light and lovely lobster pasta that truly is the way life should be! 🦞🍝

Recipe adapted from  The New York Times

💫 Variations on this recipe

• 🦐 Try a different seafood: Replace some or all of the lobster with cooked shrimp, crabmeat or scallops.
• 🌽 Add a summer vegetable: Toss in fresh corn, peas, cherry tomatoes or bite-sized pieces of cooked asparagus.
• 🌶️ Give it a little heat: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the lobster marinade.
• 🌿 Change up the herbs: Swap in fresh chives, dill or tarragon for part of the parsley and basil.
• 🍋 Make it extra lemony: Add a teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest along with the lemon juice.
• 🍝 Make it gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free spaghetti or linguine.

⭐️ We want to know what you think!

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Looking for more lobster inspiration? We’ve got you covered! 🥳 Here is our complete collection of lobster recipes.

🥣 Come on into our kitchen!

Did someone forward you this recipe?  Come join our kitchen crew by subscribing to our newsletter…just click here!  We’d love to have you.  👩🏻‍🍳