13 Delicious Ways To Upgrade Lobster Bisque

Rich and succulent, lobster is delicious in all its forms. But if you want to experience your lobster in the most warming, comforting way possible, then you have to make lobster bisque. It's the kind of dish that you probably don't make that often, instead saving it for special occasions, although some who are more seafood-proficient may whip it up more regularly. Whether you've made lobster bisque countless times in your life or you're attempting your first shot at the dish, there are always ways to make your bowl of soup more delicious.

That's why we've collected some of our favorite ways to upgrade lobster bisque here. You may have tried some of these hacks yourself, while others you may have never heard of. All of them, though, are worth giving a shot if you plan on making some creamy lobster bisque anytime soon. Once you try these out, you may just make lobster bisque night a regular occurrence in your household.

Have you ever tried to make lobster bisque before, only to realize that the soup kind of turns out flat and uninteresting? We've been there too. It can be a big disappointment when you think about how much time it can take to make lobster bisque — and the money it costs for the ingredients. Luckily, there's an easy way to solve this problem. Your best bet is to saute the lobster meat before adding it to the soup. Most importantly, this step slightly browns the lobster meat, which makes it a bit sweeter and more flavorful. But it also allows you to add more fat to the soup, which is an important part of the deliciousness factor.

This is also a step where you can add some preliminary flavor to your bisque by seasoning the lobster meat. Go with the standard seasonings you always use, or switch it up and try adding some different flavors into the mix. We recommend ingredients like garlic, shallots, and thyme, but you can experiment with the flavors you like best.

When you go to a restaurant and order lobster bisque, it's often served as a starter, not as the main course. That's because there's usually not that much lobster in the dish to begin with. But if you're making bisque at home, you may want it to play more of a starring role in your meal. If that's the case, you may want to bulk it up with extra meat — and extra flavor. Adding salmon to the soup is a great way to do that. Because salmon is so rich and fatty, it works especially well in bisque, which is quite a rich soup itself. And since lobster is so light, the addition of salmon provides that extra level of satiation that will take your bisque over the top.

If you want to keep things simple (and as inexpensive as possible), you can just a can of salmon to bulk up your bisque. On the other hand, if you're really trying to go all out, opt for fresh salmon instead and start cooking it along with the lobster. Does this make your bisque a bit pricier? Yes. But it also makes it main course-worthy, so we think it's a valid expense.

Let's be honest: Lobster is not a cheap source of protein. Therefore, when you do happen to buy lobster to cook at home, you want to get the most bang for your buck. Luckily, making lobster bisque is a great way to do just that. Not only will you use the meat in the soup, but you can also make use of the shells by making your own lobster stock from scratch. This will give your bisque an added layer of deliciousness — especially if you make your stock the right way.

The only problem? It can be easy to mess it up. One of the biggest mistakes people make when preparing lobster stock is overcooking the stock. You may think you're not actually cooking any meat, so it's impossible to simmer those shells for too long. But in reality, leaving those shells in boiling water for too long can result in a sour or bitter flavor that lingers long in your mouth after you take a sip of the stock. As you can imagine, that's probably not going to make your bisque taste the best. Therefore, make sure you taste as you go, and pull your stock off the heat right as it reaches its maximum deliciousness.

One of the main ways in which a bisque differs from other types of soup is the fact that bisque boasts an especially thick broth. That's what makes it so creamy and velvety, and it's why bisque tends to taste so much richer than other types of soup you've encountered. Most of the time, lobster bisque recipes you see will tell you to make a roux, which helps to thicken the broth and yields that creamy texture you love. But back in the day, they had another way to thicken their bisque: crushed seafood shells.

If you're making your lobster bisque from scratch, you're probably already cooking those shells down to create a flavorful lobster stock. But instead of removing those shells from the soup altogether, the original bisque-makers would crush them, making them into a thick paste. This paste would then be added to the soup, rendering the texture thick and creamy. Is it a lot of work to crush up shells to create a thicker bisque? Sure. But if you really want to make things the authentic way, it's worth a try.

Lobster isn't cheap, so as much as you may want to pack your soup with as much of the stuff as possible, it's probably not super economical to do so. But at the same time, you probably don't want a soup that's thin and feels like it's completely lacking in seafood, delivering only that thick, creamy broth and not much else. That's why you may want to consider adding another source of protein to the dish. We've already talked about incorporating salmon into your lobster bisque, but if you want to keep things in the crustacean family, then you should try making a lobster and shrimp bisque.

Lobster bisque and shrimp bisque are made in much the same way, so it's easy to add both seafood ingredients to one pot and cook everything together. There are a few benefits to this. Of course, it bulks up your soup, giving you more seafood to scoop up in every spoonful, but it also adds another layer of complexity to the dish. Not only do you have the flavor from the lobster, but the shrimp lends its own subtle flavors to the soup as well. When it all comes together, you'll ask yourself why you never included shrimp in your lobster bisque before.

Lobster bisque tends to be quite rich and creamy, which is a big part of the reason it's so delicious. But that richness can quickly get overwhelming. If you're having more than a tiny bowl of soup, all that thickness may start to feel too heavy and round. This is why you need some elements to brighten up the dish. You can do this with acid, perhaps in the form of lemon juice. But if you ask us, the best way to brighten up your bisque is by adding some fresh green chopped onions on top of the dish as a flavorful garnish.

Chopped green onions have a sharp flavor that counteracts all that creaminess, but it's not so jarring that it will affect the flavor of the dish as a whole. If you prefer a milder onion flavor, only use the green parts of the scallions. However, if you love the sharp punchiness that only onions can add to a dish, you can include the white part of the scallions as well. Add as much as you want to each individual dish, and see how much tastier it is when you have that nice balance of flavors going on. Who knew a bisque upgrade could be this quick and easy?

So, you're making your own lobster stock for your lobster bisque? Making everything from scratch is one of the best ways to ensure the bisque tastes as good as possible. But if you haven't made much lobster stock before (or haven't made much stock in general), then there may be steps of the process you're missing. One of the most important parts of making lobster stock, for example, is double-straining the liquid before stirring in your other soup ingredients.

Why is this such an important process? Well, if you forget to strain entirely, you're going to have chunks of lobster shells in your soup, which probably isn't the texture you're going for when you're trying to make a creamy soup. But even after you've strained it once, a lot of those finer particles can be left behind. That may yield tiny little crunchy pieces of shell in the soup, which, again, isn't ideal. Yes, it may take a bit of extra time, but double-straining the mixture is important to ensure you get the smoothest possible consistency for your stock and, by extension, your bisque as a whole.

When you make a lobster bisque from scratch, tomatoes are going to be a key ingredient you include in the base of the broth. Although we would usually say that your best bet for the most delicious bisque is to make everything from scratch, there is one easy swap that may just make your bisque even better. Instead of using fresh or canned tomatoes to make the base of that broth, you can use canned tomato soup instead.

First of all, using canned tomato soup makes the bisque-making process a lot easier than it would otherwise be. Since you won't have to prep the veggies from scratch, it significantly cuts down on the prep time for your recipe. But that's not the only reason to include canned tomato soup in your recipe. The soup already has that salty, umami flavor you're going for in a bisque, so you don't need to create that flavor yourself. It's not very often that a shortcut actually makes for a better dish, but in this case, it's a shortcut you may just want to take.

If you're like a lot of people out there, you probably feel like a cup — or even a bowl — of lobster bisque just isn't enough to keep you full. After all, it's usually not packed with lobster itself, so you're mostly getting a lot of veggies. It's great to get more vegetables into your diet, but they're not likely to fill you up for long. Of course, you can always just make an entree on the side of your lobster bisque, but if you actually want to make the soup your main course, there's one simple ingredient you can add to round out your meal and make it more filling: pasta.

Just think about it. Lots of pasta recipes call for a rich, creamy sauce. Isn't that essentially what bisque is? By pouring your bisque on top of some already cooked pasta, you'll get that bold, umami, seafood-y flavor you love with the filling carb content of a standard pasta dish. In fact, this combo goes so well together that we're surprised it's not more common to see lobster bisque pasta on menus.

One of the most important parts of making any type of soup, lobster bisque included, is finding a way to add more complexity to the dish. Without several different layers of flavor, soup can taste boring and bland. That's especially true when you're working with such a rich, creamy soup, where texture can often take the front seat and leave flavor behind. That's why it's important to find multiple ways to add complexity to your lobster bisque, and adding sherry to the mixture is probably one of the best ways to do so.

Sherry is a type of fortified wine, and if you've tried it before, you know that it can have a very intense flavor. Even if you don't like sherry on its own as a drink, it makes for a delightful addition to your bisque, as it can add a salty complexity to the finished soup. There are a lot of different types of sherry to choose from, so make sure you look closely at the labels before buying. We recommend using a dry sherry, like fino or manzanilla, for a more savory flavor profile.

Everyone has different tastes, even when it comes to a specific dish like lobster bisque. Some people are going to prefer their bisque to be lighter with a less pronounced flavor. Instead, they want to focus on that velvety, creamy texture and really enjoy the subtle flavors of the lobster itself. However, not everyone feels that way. Other lobster bisque eaters may want a more flavorful bite, with more dried herbs and spices ... and maybe even some spiciness to boot.

If you fall into the latter category, we have a lobster bisque addition that's going to change the way you look at the soup forever. Simply add some Cajun seasoning, and you'll witness your previously kind of bland soup transform into something that actually offers some kick to it. The Cajun seasonings may slightly cover the taste of the lobster, but if you're craving some spice and complex herbiness in your soup, then this is the extra ingredient you have to add.

Some people want to add spices to their lobster bisque, and other people want to add spice, period. If you're all about the heat, you may want to skip the Cajun seasoning entirely and just go straight for the hot sauce. You can add basically any type of hot sauce to your lobster bisque that you want — we're not going to call the police if you decide that Cholula would make a good accoutrement. But if you ask us, the best hot sauce to use in lobster bisque is Tabasco, or another type of vinegar-forward sauce.

We prefer Tabasco because it has such a pronounced acidity to it. That acidity works really well with the creaminess of the rest of the soup ingredients, helping to balance everything out with a lovely brightness. That heat plays an important role in the dish, as well, but Tabasco isn't the spiciest option out there, so it won't overwhelm those who prefer not to add too much spice to the dish.

Sometimes, you want your soup to be nice, light, and brothy. Other times — especially when you're making a soup that's known for its thickness, like lobster bisque — you want more of a thick, intense broth. There are ways to achieve this thick texture you're going for, including making a roux and adding crushed shells to the broth, which we've already discussed. But once you've taken those steps, there's one super easy way to thicken the soup and enhance the flavor at the same time. Simply let it boil for longer.

The longer you let your soup base boil, the more moisture leaves the broth, giving you a thicker consistency. It also concentrates all those flavors you're working with, so you get a more flavorful broth in the process. Just make sure you don't add your lobster too soon — you don't want to accidentally overcook the seafood just because you're spending more time cooking the soup base.