Easy Boiled Lobster Tails

lobster meat sitting outside of the shell.

5 from 23 votes

Easy Boiled Lobster Tails

These boiled lobster tails are so easy and take less than 10 minutes. Serve the lobster tails as a side dish, main dish, or ingredient for lobster mac and cheese, lobster rolls, or lobster bisque.

Servings:

Ingredients

4 lobster tails sizes vary** see note 1

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Thaw the lobster tails in water. Cut the top of the lobster shell with kitchen shears (so the meat is easy to remove once cooked).
In a large pot on high heat, bring heavily salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Place lobster tails in the gently boiling water and cover with a lid.
Boil the lobster tails for the time indicated in the notes section (see note 1). The cooking time depends on the weight of the tail. Remove the lobster tails to a paper towel lined plate.

Video

Notes

This recipe uses lobster tails weighing 3 ounces to 6 ounces in size. But any size of lobster tail can be used ranging from 3 ounces to 28 ounces. The cook time differs based on weight. Here's the chart to use:

Lobster Tail Size	Boil Time
3 oz to 6 oz (85 gr to 170 gr)	3 mins to 5 mins
6 oz to 7 oz (170 gr to 200 gr)	5 mins to 6 mins
7 oz to 10 oz (200 gr to 280 gr)	6 mins to 8 mins
10 oz to 20 oz (280 gr to 560 gr)	8 mins to 10 mins
20 oz to 28 oz (560 gr to 800 gr)	10 mins to 13 mins

2. Store cooked lobster meat in the fridge for up to 3 days. Prepare thawed uncooked lobster tails on the same day.

3. Variations:

Boil a whole lobster rather than just the lobster tails.
Butterfly the lobster tails with a knife. If you don't have kitchen shears on hand, cut the lobster tail in half long ways using a sharp knife. Butterflied lobster tails are great for steaming.
Use larger lobster tails (than what's shown in the recipe photos). Adjust the cooking time as per the chart in the recipe card.

Nutrition