Creamy seafood risotto recipe dedicatedly simmered in lobster stock and heavy cream with clams, mussels, bay scallops, lobster tails, and spinach. It’s a perfect date-night-in dinner or for any special occasions.

Creamy seafood risotto recipe dedicatedly simmered in lobster stock and heavy cream with clams, mussels, bay scallops, lobster tails, and spinach. It's a perfect date-night-in dinner or for any special occasions.

When my husband Han and I were in Kauai, HI for our 4-year-late honeymoon, we went to a Hawaiian restaurant called Keoki’s Paradise. I don’t remember what I ordered that night but I certainly didn’t forget their seafood risotto, which was Han’s choice. That dish was absolutely phenomenal.

I couldn’t figure out what broth they used to create such an amazing flavor. It was certainly not chicken broth like we normally use to cook risotto.

So I asked.

The waitress told me that the risotto was cooked in lobster water and heavy cream. That was my A-ha moment!

I bet you guessed what happened next. I reverse engineered the recipe and recreated this creamy seafood risotto at home. In this post, I am going to show you exactly how it’s made so you can taste it at home.

Creamy seafood risotto recipe dedicatedly simmered in lobster stock and heavy cream with clams, mussels, bay scallops, lobster tails, and spinach. It's a perfect date-night-in dinner or for any special occasions.

Table of Contents hide

Choose Your Seafood

First and foremost, choose your seafood. My choices for this recipe are clams, mussels, bay scallops, and most importantly, lobster tails because that’s the source of our cooking liquid for the risotto. Since we have lobster in this recipe, I decided to skip on shrimp.

If you choose sea scallops, cut them into two or three slices horizontally before cooking.

Make a Seafood Stock

Now that we’ve got our ingredients prepared, let’s make the cooking liquid for our risotto. Unlike normal seafood risotto which calls for bottled clam juice, we are going to boil the lobster tails in salted water and preserve that water as the stock. Mix in some heavy cream and put it on the back burner of your stove over low heat to keep it warm. Now, we are ready to cook the risotto.

Creamy Seafood Risotto

Cook the Seafood Risotto

The cooking part is no different than cooking a normal risotto. The step-by-step instructions can be found in the recipe below. In a nutshell, we want to toast the Arborio rice first, add white wine and let it evaporate, then start adding the cooking liquid to cook the rice and other ingredients.

With the help of the heavy cream throughout the cooking process, plus grated Parmesan cheese at the end of cooking, you don’t need extra-virgin olive oil or additional butter to make the risotto creamy. The final dish is rich, creamy, comforting, and just simply delicious.

Make this seafood risotto for your significant other on Valentine’s Day or for a dinner party. Whatever the occasion is, I promise that it’s mind-blowingly good! Enjoy.

Creamy seafood risotto recipe dedicatedly simmered in lobster stock and heavy cream with clams, mussels, bay scallops, lobster tails, and spinach. It's a perfect date-night-in dinner or for any special occasions.

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Creamy Seafood Risotto

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Sharon Chen
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Gluten Free, Main
  • Method: Stove
  • Cuisine: Italian
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Description

Creamy seafood risotto recipe dedicatedly simmered in lobster stock and heavy cream with clams, mussels, bay scallops, lobster tails, and spinach. It’s a perfect date-night-in dinner or for any special occasions.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 lobster tails
  • Sea salt
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  •  1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/3 cups Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 8 clams
  • 8 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • 4 ounces bay scallops
  • 6 ounces spinach
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, add enough water that can cover the lobster tails. Add 1-2 teaspoons sea salt and bring to a boil. Place the lobster tails into the boiling water. Cover and cook the lobster for 8 minutes (per pound). Transfer the lobster to set aside. Leave the lobster water in the saucepan, add heavy cream and set the saucepan on a back burner over low heat to keep warm.
  2. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter and warm olive oil. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
  3. Stir in Arborio rice and turn the heat up to high. Toast the rice in the pan for 1 minute, stirring often. This will release the starch from the rice.
  4. Once the rice is lightly toasted, add white wine and keep stirring. Cook until the alcohol evaporates, leaving the rice a tasty flavor.
  5. Add 2 cups of the lobster water mixture and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to let it simmer. Cook the risotto until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
  6. Place clams, mussels, scallops in the pan, cover, and continue cooking over medium heat until all seafood has cooked through, about 6 minutes.
  7. Uncover, add 1 more cup of the liquid and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the rice is perfectly tender. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese, taste and add more salt if desired.
  8. Cut the lobster in half vertically. Dish the seafood risotto evenly into 4 portions. Place half of a lobster on top of each portion. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 636
  • Sugar: 1.6g
  • Sodium: 1173.8mg
  • Fat: 29.4g
  • Saturated Fat: 11g
  • Trans Fat: 0.1g
  • Carbohydrates: 58.9g
  • Fiber: 2.1g
  • Protein: 28.9g
  • Cholesterol: 167.6mg
Creamy seafood risotto recipe dedicatedly simmered in lobster stock and heavy cream with clams, mussels, bay scallops, lobster tails, and spinach. It's a perfect date-night-in dinner or for any special occasions.

About the Author

Sharon Chen, StreetSmart Kitchen
Sharon Chen

Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and author of the Complete Sous Vide Cookbook. She believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she aims to make meal prep easier than ever and help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.