This Trader Joe's Lobster Soup Is The Secret To A Restaurant-Worthy Pasta Dish

Trader Joe's is well known for meal-ready offerings in each store's cold and frozen-food sections. Many consider them a grab-and-go version of gourmet eating, with global cuisines at affordable prices. Those who embrace the concept do so with open arms, ready to try just about anything arriving at the 580-plus TJ's stores in America. Even so, a new product occasionally bombs or fizzles out. The relatively new Trader Joe's lobster bisque is apparently not one of those. 

With loads of social media videos, posts, and tags, TJ's lobster bisque is definitely having a moment in the spotlight, though not as you might imagine. By all accounts, the product itself is sufficiently delicious on its own — but a particular rendition of it is getting all the glory. Think creamy seafood pasta with only five or six ingredients, all available at Trader Joe's, including the lobster bisque and a compatible Trader Joe's product: frozen langostino tails, which are similar in taste and texture to lobsters.

It's worth noting that Trader Joe's products come and go, often returning seasonally or as supplies replenish. While the lobster bisque is still prominently featured in the current TJ's product list, the branded langostino tails are absent as of April 2024. Instead, an online search on the company's entertaining website leads to an alternative, its wild raw Argentinian red shrimp from Patagonian waters. Regardless, TJ's lobster bisque is the star of this restaurant-worthy pasta dish, and it's one of the best Trader Joe's soups available. 

Though Trader Joe's provides a plethora of recipes featuring its products, there's no indication the viral lobster bisque pasta dish originated with the chain's recipe developers. It is, however, a glowing showcase of its company brands. To make the creamy gourmet pasta in less than 30 minutes, you need the 16-ounce container of lobster bisque, made with cream and pieces of lobster and seasoned with sherry, butter, and thyme. The other pasta ingredients are garlic, optional onions, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and either langostino or shrimp.  

Trader Joe's carries many interesting dried pastas, in all shapes and forms, including organic cascatelli and fusilli corti bucati pastas from Italy as well as pappardelle and standard spaghetti, elbow, and macaroni options. Any of those will work with lobster bisque pasta, so choose one and cook as normal, then set aside. Next, sauté the cherry tomatoes, chopped garlic, and optional diced onions in olive oil, then add the langostino or shrimp and toss together in the pan. Now pour in the lobster bisque.

All that's left now is to add the cooked pasta, mix it all up, and garnish with Parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, and fresh basil or oregano. Simplicity is key here, allowing your newly created lobster sauce to permeate the dish and highlight the seafood. Of course, there's plenty of room for adding complexity with things like mushrooms, red pepper flakes, a splash of lemon juice, or some fried Italian pancetta.