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When you’re craving for some sweet, succulent lobster meat coated with spicy mayo piled into a buttery toasted bun, here’s the recipe you need to make hassle-free lobster rolls at home.
I rarely make sandwiches with seafood, but I always have a special spot for lobster roll ever since I had the best one in Boston. There is something magical about the sweet and succulent lobster meat mixed with mayonnaise on a buttery roll. Hmm, just the thought of it is already making my mouth water.
What is Classic Lobster Roll?
The lobster roll is a sandwich that originated in New England. It’s made of just a few ingredients: large chunks of lobster, butter, lemon juice, and mayonnaise, stuffed into a grilled hot dog bun. Some versions may contain diced celery or scallion. Potato chips or french fries are the typical sides.
Lobster Roll with Spicy Mayo
There are variations of this sandwich from different parts of New England. Some may or may not contain diced celery, scallion, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, or lettuce. For this recipe, instead of making them with Japanese mayonnaise like I always use, I went with my Homemade Spicy Mayo!
Use Lobster Tail for Lobster Rolls
Although the word “lobster” might discourage you to try this recipe at home, I highly recommend you giving it a try. It is super easy requiring just a few simple ingredients. I suggest getting lobster tails for hassle-free cooking. Lobster tails are easy to work with – simply defrost and boil. You can peel off the meat easily with hands.
Split-Top Buns for Lobster Rolls
To make my lobster rolls a bit more authentic, I used split-top New England style lobster roll buns. Luckily, I found out that a local lobster restaurant carries 12 rolls in a bag for sale. They are made by Le Boulanger. You can also check out your local specialty grocery stores. You might be lucky to find a bag of top-split buns like these.
Now I almost feel like I’m back in Boston! I may not win the best lobster roll competition, yet I’m simply content with my homemade version. I can’t wait to go back to the northeast one day and try all the different versions. If you are a fan of lobster rolls, where did you get the best lobster roll?
Watch How To Make Lobster Rolls
Sweet, succulent lobster meat coated with spicy mayo is piled into a buttery toasted bun, simply irresistible!
Luke’s Lobster Rolls
During our visit to the Boston area, we tried many New England lobster rolls from various restaurants and our favorite one was Luke’s Lobster.
They have stores all over the US but if you want the convenience of eating their lobster roll at home, you can order them online at Luke’s Lobster.
You Love Seafood? Here Are Other Seafood Dishes You May Enjoy
- Poke Bowl
- Coconut Shrimp
- Grilled Oyster with Ponzu Sauce
- Clam Pasta
- Shrimp Cutlet Burger (Ebi Katsu Burger)
- Seafood Doria
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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- 10 oz lobster tails with shell (283 g; When you estimate how much lobster tails to purchase, calculate 5 oz of lobster tail (with shell) per roll)
- 4 inch celery (10 cm)
- chives (for garnish)
- WAFU Spicy Mayonaizu (See Notes for the homemade Spicy Mayo recipe, click here.)
- kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 New England style split-top hot dog buns (See Notes)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 lemon (optional)
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Gather all the ingredients.
- Place the lobster tails in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours (or place them in a bowl of cold water for a quick defrost).
- Fill a large pot with water and add 1 tsp. of salt for each quart of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the lobster tails into the pot.
- Boil the tails for about 8 to 12 minutes until the shell is bright red color. Do not cover. Stir the lobsters half way through cooking. Remove the lobster tails from pot when done.
- Let the lobster rest for 5 minutes or so after cooking to allow the meat to absorb the moisture inside the shell.
- Cut celery into thin strips lengthwise and chop into small pieces. Finely cut the chives.
- Cut the lobster shell in half lengthwise and remove the meat from the lobster tails. Cut the lobster meat into ½ inch pieces.
- In a large bowl, mix the lobster meat, celery, and chives with spicy mayo and season with salt and pepper. If you have time, place the lobster salad in refrigerator for 5-10 minutes which allows the salad to absorb the flavorings.
- If your buns are not split yet, make a slit on the top of buns with knife.
- Heat the griddle or a large skillet and melt the butter over medium-low heat. Place flat sides of buns on melted butter and gently move around to let them absorb the butter.
- Brush the top side with butter. Toast the buns until golden brown on both sides.
- Divide the lobster salad evenly and fill the buns. Drizzle with lemon to enhance the flavor.
* I bought the lobster tails at New England Lobster Market & Eatery.
* I bought my top-slit buns at Old Port Lobster Shack.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Your lobster roll has me missing Boston! And just the buttery roll is enough to make me hungry. =) Thanks for sharing a recipe that makes it easy to throw together an easy lobster roll. Wishing you and your family safe and fun travels!!
Thanks so much Kimmi! ❤️
All your recipes are amazing! I really wish sometime you may introduce some of your tools, pans, and knives here. They look very nice, and I think others are like me who need guidances and confidence to make investment on good stuff. Thank you!
Hi Sofie! Thank you for reading my blog and I’m happy to hear you like my recipes! I have been thinking of sharing links of the gadgets I use and love but haven’t really had the time to put together… It’s on my list of things to do for my blog. Thank you for your suggestion! A lot of people have requested the same and I’ll work on it!
On fixed income with disability and wasn’t going to have son over for Easter, but this recipe looks delicious, easy to make, something he won’t expect, and not too bad as a one time splurge. Thank you.
Hi Lawrence! It’s much cheaper than eating this in a restaurant, and it is a nice splurge once in a while. I hope you enjoy this dish! 🙂
I grew up in New Brunswick, Canada and on every kind of lobster menu item. Your recipe is so close to ours.
Hi Debbie! Thanks so much for your feedback! I’m so happy to hear our recipes are similar!
Quick, clear, easy, and delicious!
Thank you Pamela! xoxo
omg, never had a lobster roll and didnt know what it was. Saw lobster tail at the deli yesterday, bought a couple, gave this a try and its heavenly!!! thanks Nami. best site ever.
Hi Nicole! I had never had lobster roll before coming to the US too. I’m so happy you gave this recipe a try. It’s quite expensive to order in a restaurant, so it’s very economical (still expensive ingredient though) to enjoy it at home! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and for your kind words!