Best Homemade Lobster Ravioli Cream Sauce

Creating easy and impressive pescatarian meals for your special occasion dinners is as easy as cruising by the refrigerated section of your local grocery store, grabbing some quality lobster ravioli, whipping up the best lobster ravioli pink sauce in 10 minutes, and having dinner on the table with time to spare.

So many grocery stores carry flavorful, fresh ravioli options these days. Famously, Trader Joe's introduced their lobster ravioli over a decade ago and their loyal fans still haven't recovered from the bliss of it. But Whole Foods and even Target also carry good options. In Portugal, several grocers carry their own store-brand vegetable and seafood ravioli options in the fresh pasta section, including lobster, shrimp, spinach and of course, good old cheese ravioli.

Try this super simple recipe next: Quick and Easy Sweet & Spicy Mexican Shrimp

We are pairing our ravioli with an easy sauce that feels restaurant-worthy. This creamy garlic lobster ravioli sauce is finished with a cup of cooked seafood of your choice. Chopped lobster tails or claw meat are a great option, as are scallops, crawfish, crab or shrimp. I love the combination of lobster and shrimp, so I used a cup of seared shrimp for our recipe today.

One of my favorite date night meal options is a couple of lobster tails or a bag of shrimp tossed in this lobster ravioli sauce recipe with a side of sautéed spinach. This sauce is unique and delicious because the tomato paste brings balance and a real depth of flavor to a garlic cream sauce that might otherwise be too rich and simple to complement the lobster ravioli.

Ingredients for this Lobster Ravioli Cream Sauce

• garlic cloves
• shallots
• butter
• coarse sea salt
• tomato paste
• dry white wine
• all purpose flour
• seafood stock
• seafood (such as shrimp, crab, crawfish, lobster meat or combination)
• heavy cream
• lemon zest
• fresh basil
• parmesan cheese
• lobster ravioli

This is the good stuff, friends. Here's how it's done!

Begin by cooking the lobster ravioli in a large pot of salted water for about 1 minute less than the package instructions to ensure it is al dente when serving.

Remove the ravioli from the boiling water with a slotted spoon. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss gently with a wooden spoon (so as not to tear the pasta) to ensure the pasta doesn't stick. Set the cooked ravioli aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 2 finely diced shallots and 3 garlic cloves, grated or put through a garlic press. Season with ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt. Gently sauté, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and ¼ cup white wine. Whisk to combine.

Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 ½ tablespoons of all purpose flour. Whisk to combine. Let the paste cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of seafood stock. Return to a simmer for 1 minute.

Add ⅓ cup cream,1 cup of cooked seafood, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 3 tablespoons fresh basil. Stir to combine and let seafood heat through. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add 1 pound of cooked lobster ravioli to the sauce. Toss gently to coat. Serve with lemon wedge, extra basil and Parmesan.

Tips and FAQs:

What is this creamy sauce?

Generally, it is a mixture of white alfredo sauce and red marinara sauce. The amazing sauce born of this happy sauce marriage is a rosy pink color, sometimes called rosatella sauce. Our perfect sauce for lobster ravioli is made from a quick homemade alfredo sauce combined with the concentrated umami of tomato paste balanced by white wine, shallots and fresh herbs. Yes, please!

Can I use something besides fresh basil in this sauce?

Fresh thyme, fresh parsley or snipped chives would be good substitutions. If you have dried basil, 1 tablespoon of dried basil would be roughly equivalent to 3 tablespoons of fresh basil.

Can I use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste in the lobster ravioli cream sauce?

Tomato sauce is a very different product and I haven't tested tomato sauce in this homemade sauce recipe. However, a good rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of tomato paste is equal to 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce.

If you go in this direction. I recommend you add the tomato sauce at the same time as you add the seafood stock, and cook for 3-4 additional minutes to concentrate the tomato sauce a bit more. Once you've added the rest of the ingredients, taste to determine if more cream is needed or more seasoning.

I don't have tomato paste, can I omit it from the recipe?

Absolutely. Instead of creamy pink sauce you'll have a delicious white sauce ready in even less time!

What can I substitute for seafood stock?

There are several good options here, including vegetable stock or pasta water. If using either, I recommend adding a small pinch of old bay seasoning to the mix (just a pinch!) to heighten the fish-adjacent savory notes. If you are cooking for non-pescatarians, chicken broth or chicken stock are good options.

What are the best side dishes to serve with Lobster Ravioli with Cream Sauce?

I love this quick ravioli with delicious sauce served next to a simple sautéed spinach with garlic and lemon to balance the richness of the dish.

A tossed salad with vinaigrette would also do the trick. I don't usually recommend serving carbs on carbs, but it would be sad to have sauce left on your plate and no baguette to mop it up...so please prepare accordingly.

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