Brown Butter Lobster Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes.

Rich, nutty brown butter, sweet lobster, jammy cherry tomatoes…summer pasta perfection. Buttery lobster tails tossed with a golden browned butter cherry tomato pan sauce, with white wine, and plenty of basil. Serve over a plate of quick-cooking cheesy fontina pasta. This is the perfect summer dinner, all made using summery seafood and garden produce.

Toss angel hair with olive oil, basil, chives, and little cubes of fontina, then spoon over buttery lobster and tomatoes. It’s simple, fast, and wildly delicious.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Pantry-simple ingredients: brown the butter, add citrus, toss with starchy pasta water.
• Restaurant-y, but approachable: quick-cooking lobster, minimal prep.

Ingredient Notes

Lobster tails: Use raw tails; kitchen shears make it easy to snip shells and lift out meat. Pat very dry for better browning.

Prosciutto (or bacon): Crisp before the tomatoes so it stays snappy; reserve on a plate and add back at the end.

Cherry tomatoes: Ripe is best; “burst” = skins split and juices release for a natural sauce.

Brown butter: Melt and cook until milk solids turn deep golden and smell nutty/toasty (no burnt specks).

White wine: Dry and crisp (or see non-alcoholic swap below).

Angel hair: Cooks in minutes—pull shy of al dente; it will finish in the pan.

Fontina: Small cubes melt gently from pasta heat for light cheesiness; avoid direct high heat to keep it silky.

Herbs + lemon: Basil is the star; a little lemon zest/juice at the end brightens the butter.

Recipe Inspiration

Every summer I share a lobster recipe or two. And while they are all special and delicious, this summer lobster pasta is by far my favorite. It’s everything you’d want out of a lobster dish…buttery, simple, and heavy on the herbs.

I will be the first to admit that sometimes I can go a bit over the top with some recipes. Sometimes that’s totally fine, but when it comes to lobster, I find that it’s pretty decadent on its own. It really just needs a few simple ingredients alongside it to make it truly something special.

This quick-cooking pasta is like summer in a bowl.

Step by Step

Cook the lobster just to opaque: Quick sauté in garlicky butter; pull when the pieces are opaque and just firm. Don’t overcook or it could become rubbery.

Crisp the prosciutto: Same skillet, medium heat, a minute or two until frilly and deep pink; remove to stay crisp.

Build the pan sauce: Add tomatoes to the brown butter with garlic/herbs; cook until they burst. Deglaze with wine, scraping up brown bits, and simmer briefly until glossy.

Pasta Water: Toss pasta with a splash of starchy pasta water so the sauce clings; add more by the tablespoon if it looks tight.

Add the cheese last: Fold in fontina cubes off heat with olive oil (clarify in copy) and herbs so it softens into the pasta without clumping.

Plate: Pasta first, then spoon lobster + tomato butter over, finish with prosciutto, basil, and lemon.

Let’s talk about the lobster

Since we’re pairing this with pasta, I like to keep the lobster as simple as possible and use lobster tails. I find them to be much, much easier, and quicker to work with.

For this dish, I just take four to six raw lobster tails and cut the lobster meat right out of the shell. It’s super easy to do with a pair of scissors and takes very little time. Once the lobster meat is out of the shell, I gently cook it in a little garlicky butter until the tails turn bright red on the outside and opaque inside.

When you take the tails out of the skillet add in the prosciutto and get it nice and crispy. You could easily use bacon too, but I love incorporating light prosciutto into this pasta. It feels a little more fresh and summery.

From here, the rest is QUICK. Toss in the tomatoes. Add more butter, garlic, and herbs, and then a splash of wine to create a simple but delicious pan sauce. Stir the lobster into the sauce and let everything warm together while you work on the pasta.

For the pasta…

I chose to use super quick-cooking angel hair pasta, which I feel like people either love or hate. Around here we love it and since it’s so quick-cooking, I love it for this recipe. I boil the pasta, then immediately toss it with olive, basil, chives, and cubes of fontina cheese.

Just like my pasta salads, the heat from the pasta will slightly melt the cheese, creating a delicious, light, and cheesy pasta.

Finish it up

By the time the pasta is finished cooking, the lobster should be completed as well.

I always plate the pasta first, then spoon the cherry tomato sauce and chunks of lobster meat over the pasta. As usual with my summer recipes, finish this off topped with plenty of herbs. And that’s it…dinner is done in a matter of minutes.

What’s great about this recipe is that it feels and tastes like a restaurant-quality lobster dish. But it’s made at home and may even be better than what you’d get eating out.

My Thursday night recommendation? Pour yourself a glass of wine, fix up a big plate of seafood pasta, and relax out on the patio or deck…the perfect summer night dinner! Sounds pretty darn good, right? Lovin’ the easy summer living.

And nothing’s better than buttery, herby, seafood pasta, sweet tomatoes, and wine…all together in one dish. Happiest Thursday!

Make it for date night, holidays, or any “we deserve something special” evening.

Looking for other seafood recipes? Here are some favorites:

Sheet Pan Lemon Brown Butter Salmon and Potatoes with Parmesan Asparagus

Spicy Southern Style Shrimp with Lemon Basil Orzo

Brown Butter Lobster Ravioli with Tomato Cream Sauce

Lastly, if you make this Brown Butter Lobster Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

@halfbakedharvest

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