Maine Lobster Roll Recipe
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jun 30, 2025 
Best Maine Lobster Roll Recipe – There’s nothing quite like a buttery toasted Lobster Roll Recipe with plump juicy lobster salad piled high. Learn how to make them at home just like in Maine!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Most Maine lobster roll shacks use claw, arm, and knuckle meat, because it’s bright red, already portioned into big chunks, and softer than tail meat. Lobster tails are usually reserved for seafood platters and are grilled, broiled, or stuffed and baked.
Depending on where you live, you might not be able to purchase cooked lobster claw meat. (It usually comes frozen here in the Blue Ridge.) Yet you can buy cooked Maine lobster claw meat online!
You can certainly steam whole fresh Maine lobsters. Then serve the tails one night and save the claw meat for lobster rolls later in the week. Or you can steam fresh Maine lobsters, then chop the tail meat for the lobster rolls as well… It’s just not the traditional method.
Why We Love This Lobster Roll Recipe
One of our favorite family vacations was a road trip we took up the coast of Maine several years ago. We loved the food. My two personal favorites were the lemon blueberry whoopie pies, and the lobster rolls. So we spent two weeks taste-testing lobster rolls in every little harbor town we could find, trying to pinpoint the Best Lobster Rolls in Maine.
All our favorite lobster rolls had the same two iconic elements:
- Plump, tender claw and knuckle meat dressed very lightly so the Maine lobster meat can shine.
- Soft New-England style rolls with a split-top, heavily buttered and toasted on both sides.
Mainers know good lobster rolls should be all about the lobster and butter… All other ingredients are possible distractions. Therefore, the lobster should only be kissed with seasoning, not drenched in it.
Ingredients You Need
To make lobster rolls just like they do in Maine, you will need…
For the Lobster Salad
- Cooked Maine Lobster Claw Meat – This is usually sold in packs of claw, arm, knuckle meat.
- Mayonnaise – Just a little bit of mayo goes a long way!
- Fresh Herbs – Dill and Parsley.
- Garlic Powder – Again, just a little.
- Salt and Pepper – Always
For the Toasted Rolls
- New England Style Frankfurter Buns
- Butter
How To Make Lobster Rolls
Lobster Purists: We are adding an extra pop of flavor from the mayo and herbs tossed with the lobster meat. However, many Maine Lobster shacks simply toast the buns with butter, spread mayonnaise on the inside of the buns, place the cooked lobster on top, and drizzle melted butter over the lobster meat. I suggest trying this recipe with the extra herbs and without, to see what you like best!
Find the full Maine Lobster Roll Recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
How To Steam Lobsters
- Choose a pot large enough to hold all the lobsters.
- Put 2 inches of salted water in the bottom of a large kettle. Then place a steaming basket inside the pot.
- Bring the water to a boil. Add the live lobsters one at a time. Cover the pot, and start timing. Steam for 10 minutes per pound.
- Halfway through steaming, lift the lid and gently move the lobsters around to ensure even cooking.
- Once cooked, remove the meat from the shells and cool before serving.
Tips & Tricks
- Maine-style lobster rolls can be made with additional ingredients, but use light ingredients so as not to overpower the lobster. For a bit of tang, add a squeeze of lemon juice. For an extra herby touch, top it off with some chopped chives!
- If you can’t find New England-style split-top buns, opt for brioche buns shaped for hot dogs. They are rich and flavorful, and will taste amazing once they’re toasted.
- For ease, use already-cooked lobster meat. If you need to steam the lobsters, just make sure you don’t overcook them to ensure super tender meat.
Serving Suggestions
Our Maine lobster roll recipe is delicious on its own, accompanied by simple sides if desired.
Potato chips and pickles are traditional to serve with these easy homemade lobster rolls. Although you can find some restaurants that serve lobster rolls with fries and chowder.
Just about any form of crispy potato would be good here, like crispy roasted potato ribbons or potato wedges!
Best Maine Lobster Roll Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the Lobster Salad –
- 2 pounds cooked Maine lobster meat claw, arm, and knuckle meat
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Rolls –
- 10 New England style frankfurter rolls
- 5 tablespoons butter softened
Instructions
- For the Lobster Salad: Drain the cooked lobster meat in a colander for 5 minutes. Set out a large mixing bowl. Then chop the fresh herbs.
- If using claw meat, there is no need to chop it, but you can if you want smaller pieces. (If using lobster tails, chop it into bite-size pieces.) Move the lobster meat to the mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, dill, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix well.
- Cover and chill under ready to serve.
- For the Toasted Rolls: Spread both flat sides of the New England rolls with a generous amount of butter.
- Heat a large skillet (or griddle) to medium heat. Place the rolls flat-side-down in the skillet. Toast for 1-3 minutes until golden-brown. Then flip and toast the other side for 1-3 minutes. Remove and repeat as needed.
- Once all of the rolls are perfectly toasted, load them with lobster salad and serve!
Notes
- Choose a pot large enough to hold all the lobsters.
- Put 2 inches of salted water in the bottom of a large kettle. Then place a steaming basket inside the pot.
- Bring the water to a boil. Add the live lobsters one at a time, cover the pot, and start timing. Steam for 10 minutes per pound.
- Halfway through steaming, lift the lid and move the lobsters around so they cook evenly.
- Once cooked, remove and cool before removing the meat from the shells.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Don’t worry, you’ve got options…
1. You can order lobster meat from one of many Maine Lobster Delivery services.
2. You can use cooked lobster tail meat from your local grocery store and chop it.
3. Or you can steam fresh lobsters and use the claw and tail meat in your lobster rolls.
After the lobster meat, the second important element in a Maine Lobster Roll is the buttery toasted New England-style bread rolls. These are basically hot dog buns, with exposed (cut) sides, so they are perfect for buttering and toasting on the griddle.
If you cannot find these rolls, you can buy regular hot dog buns and trim the sides with a serrated knife, so they have a flat surface for buttering. Or you can serve your lobster rolls on buttery griddled Texas toast.
Basically, you just need soft, thick white bread with flat sides, and lots of butter for flavor and crunch.
The fully cooked lobster salad can last in the fridge for 2 to 3 days in a shallow airtight container.
Usually, most lobster rolls hold 3-3.5 ounces of lobster meat, using the standard New England bun. However, you can pile the buns as high as you like.
Yes, you can! You can add hot sauce or sriracha for a spicier lobster roll, or serve them Connecticut style, which is warm lobster meat cooked in melted butter, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Also try this as a lobster BLT sandwich by adding bacon, lettuce, and tomato to the roll. If you are not a fan of lobster or have a hard time finding it, try using cooked shrimp instead.
I live in NH and have had lobster rolls up and down the east coast and agree with another commenter that I’d never had a lobster roll with dill, parsley, and garlic powder. All I can say is don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! :) It was actually VERY GOOD!!! I will say however, that I used two l 1/4 lb lobsters and ate them both by myself! Thankfully hubby doesn’t like lobster.
Just mayo (Dukes? Really good, but not a Maine mayo), salt & pepper, buttered rolls and chopped chives. But, if you like the herbs & spices, go for it. Us Mainers just want you to enjoy the lobstah, afterall.
Dill, Parsley and Garlic Powder? Never!
Pretty good read overall but in 40 years of living here and eating lobster rolls from Kittery to Eastport I’ve never had a roll with those three ingredients. Just so at the mayo and leave the rest to the lobster and the butter. Anything else is gilding the lily.
These bring me back to Maine and the delicious rolls that I had there!
My daughter and I love lobster! Can’t wait to make this! It looks so delicious and out of this world good!
This was so good! Everyone at my house are now requesting for it.
This lobster salad was so delicious!! We used our gluten free rolls.