Lobster Ravioli Sauce Recipe with Creamy Fennel and Brown Butter

This lobster ravioli sauce recipe is the very best to go for a date night that will impress. Let’s just say it worked for me 😉 This rich, delicious, and creamy sauce also happens to be super easy and upgrades your favorite packaged homemade lobster ravioli so you can deliver a high-end restaurant-like meal right at home. Now, who doesn’t want that?

Date nights or special occasions are the perfect opportunities to pull out this recipe. These nights are special and fleeting, and you shouldn’t have to stress out about impressing people. But if you want something comforting and less formal, consider my cheesy hamburger helper.

Rather than being banished to the kitchen, slaving away, this recipe allows you to impress your guests easily and quickly! Of course, it’s beyond delicious. I mean it’s lobster after all. Speaking of lobster, let’s talk about what goes well with it first.

What type of sauce goes well with lobster ravioli?

Fresh lobster meat holds up on its own and is incredibly rich. The all-around favorite way to eat it for ages has been with a spritz of fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of hot delicious brown butter sauce.

At the most basic, that means lobster’s most delicious sauce pairings are ones with a good mix of acid and fat. As such it’s my opinion that serving an al dente store-bought ravioli or one from a homemade pasta dough with this easy recipe for the sauce will make any meal a special occasion! Don’t forget to garnish with parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, or fennel! 

While my vote is for this lobster ravioli sauce recipe, the following options would also be a good fit for lobster ravioli. 

• Lemon butter sauce
• Browned butter sauce
• Vodka sauce
• Garlic butter cream sauce 
• White wine sauce

Where to Buy Lobster Ravioli

Many stores now carry lobster ravioli or a lobster/crab mix. You can usually find a bag of lobster ravioli at the following supermarkets:

• Trader Joe’s
• Whole Foods
• Walmart
• Safeway
• Sam’s Club
• Costco 

The most common brand available is Giovanni Rana but others include Nuovo, Seviroli, and Good & Gather. Honestly, I like them all. But on to the recipe you are here for.

How to Cook Lobster Ravioli

Lobster ravioli is cooked by tossing it into salted boiling water. All packages of lobster ravioli will have instructions on how much water and salt to use.

However, most instructions don’t add enough salt. This is mostly because of health concerns, so if you need to watch your salt intake for health reasons, follow the instructions. 

Pasta becomes much more flavorful though when the water is salted properly. The general rule is that for every liter of water, 2 teaspoons of Morton Coarse Kosher salt should be added. Do this!

3 liters is usually enough water for pasta, so 6 teaspoons Morton Coarse Kosher salt would be the right amount to add. Not sure what Fennel is? Read on, because this is the secrete start of the show.

What is Fennel

Fennel is a bulbous vegetable that has layers similar to an onion, only thicker. However, fennel’s closest relative is actually the carrot.

It has a mild anise or licorice flavor and when sauteed with onions or shallots, it becomes very sweet.

It’s the aroma and flavor bring freshness to recipes and helps brighten this creamy lobster ravioli sauce. 

Fennel can look intimidating and hard to cook, but it’s actually not. Once you learn how to work with it, you’ll want to start looking for ways to use it more often.

How to Dice Fennel

Wash the fennel and cut the base and top off.

Use a vegetable peeler to clean the fennel bulb’s outer layer. If it is really bruised and not fresh looking, simply peel the outer layer off and discard it.

Place the bottom of the fennel on a cutting board and then cut the fennel in half along the long side.

If the core is big, take a paring knife and cut it out.

Cut a fennel half into thin strips and then lay it down. Cut it lengthwise one time. Lay it down and cut it into a dice. Repeat with the other half. 

What is Sherry?

Sherry is a fortified white wine from Andalucia Southern Spain. It has a bad reputation in America for being sickly sweet but in actuality, most sherries are dry. Sherry is considered the whiskey of wines. 

As a fortified wine, meaning it has had distilled alcohol spirits added to it in the winemaking process, it has a higher alcohol content than wine. 

You will find sherry in the wine section of your grocery store. They might be separated into cooking sherries and drinking sherries. If you are on a budget, cooking sherries will be cheaper and will still get the job done.

But if you want to explore flavor and spend some money on quality, look for sherries that have been imported from Spain.

Acceptable substitutes are:

• Dry vermouth
• Dry white wine

What is Lobster Juice?

Lobster juice is made from lobster bouillon and sea salt. Lobster bouillon is a broth made by stewing lobster shells and meat in water. With lobster juice you get the taste of lobster and sea in one. 

Instead of buying lobster tails to cook with the sauce, using lobster juice is a fast, easy, and cheaper way to add that extra bit of rich lobster flavor to the sauce.

Substitutes for lobster juice include:

• Clam juice
• Crab juice
• Shellfish stock
• Seafood stock. 

Lobster Ravioli Sauce Simple Ingredients

12 ounce package lobster ravioli

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 shallots, minced

1 fennel bulb, diced

½ teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon tarragon 

⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup dry sherry (can substitute with dry vermouth or a dry white wine)

½ cup heavy cream

1 cup lobster juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Lemon zest from one lemon

Fresh tarragon leaves (for garnish)

Fresh cracked black pepper (for garnish)

Large flakes parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off slices of cheese (for garnish)

How to Make a Lobster Ravioli Sauce Recipe

Bring 3 to 4 liters of water to a boil in a large pot.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan, coating the surface of the skillet. 

Once the butter is melted and the oil is shimmering, add the garlic, shallots, fennel, thyme, tarragon, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the shallots are translucent and the fennel is tender. 

Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Cook until the tomato paste starts to smell fragrant and begins to brown the bottom of the pan, about 1-2 minutes. 

Add the sherry and stir to combine, deglazing the pan by scraping the brown bits (frond) from the pan.

Add the heavy cream and lobster juice and stir to combine. Turn heat up to medium-high and cook for 10-15 minutes, reducing the sauce by half. 

While the sauce is simmering, toss the salt into the boiling water. Once the salt is dissolved, add the ravioli and cook according to the package instructions.

While the ravioli cooks, add the lemon juice and zest to the sauce.

Drain the ravioli, reserving the pasta water.

Add a ½ cup to 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to the sauce and stir. 

Remove the bay leaf and cook for 2-5 minutes until the sauce has reached your desired consistency. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the ravioli and gently stir to coat. Add more reserved pasta water if needed for consistency. 

Serve immediately and top with fresh tarragon leaves, a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper, parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano shavings, and a spritz of fresh lemon juice.

What to serve with lobster ravioli

Light sides would complement the richness of this dish, so salads, vegetables, or fruits are a good match, but really this lobster ravioli sauce recipe goes well with almost anything – seriously.

• Shaved fennel salad
• Shaved brussel sprout salad
• Par-boiled, lightly sauteed, grilled, or roasted asparagus, brussel sprouts, or green beans
• A citrus salad with fresh herbs

What wine goes with lobster ravioli?

White wines high in acidity are great options for pairing with lobster ravioli.

• Pinot Grigio
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Riesling
• Viognier
• Unoaked Chardonnays
• Sparkling wines like Prosecco 

Don’t feel restricted to only wine! Lots of cocktails would go with this dish as well. If you’re going to have a fancy date night, you might as well go all out, right?!

• French 75 – the acidity from the lemon and the sweetness and bubbles from the Champagne or Prosecco make this drink a perfect fit.
• Sazerac – a Sazerac has an absinthe rinse. Absinthe has a delightful licorice and anise type flavor similar to that of fennel, so this drink would highlight both the fennel and tarragon in the sauce.
• Bamboo – This lobster sauce recipe uses dry sherry, which you can use to make this simple drink that also includes dry vermouth and a lemon twist. The dryness of the sherry and vermouth and the acidity of the lemon twist are a perfect pairing to lobster’s richness. 

Storing Lobster Ravioli Leftovers

Lobster ravioli tastes much better the day of. However, if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.

How to Reheat Lobster Ravioli

To reheat lobster ravioli, spread the ravioli and sauce evenly on a microwave-safe dish. Add a dash of milk, cream, broth, or water. 

Microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between and adding more liquid if needed. Continue until the ravioli is heated through to your liking. 

What do you think? Will you try this recipe? It’s too good not to. I also love this fantastic miso ramen broth, Brussels sprout, pancetta pasta recipe, and summer salad. Consider pairing this dish with the salad, or if you aren’t in the mood for seafood, I promise this pancetta pasta will deliver. Let me know. I’d appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on the dish below. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta get back to the garden! I love you guys – like, for real. xoxox