Baking these beautiful lobster tails in white wine brings out the succulent sweet flavors perfectly and yields melt-in-your-mouth tender meat every time. The easiest way to cook lobster tail!

Oh my gosh, you guys!! LOBSTER TAILS!!!!
Raise your hand if you love some lobster meat!! Despite my origins (2nd largest landlocked country- Mongolia), I have such a big love for seafood! And big ol’ lobster tails are a huge treat!
Whether you’re planning a killer Christmas dinner menu, or New Year’s Eve dinner party, or a quiet romantic dinner with your sweetheart, I have an impressive, yet quite an effortless dinner for you.
When in doubt, go with lobster tails.

Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
Smeared with butter and sprinkled with pinch of salt and paprika, these beautiful lobster tails are baked in white wine till melt-in-your-mouth tender perfection.
And don’t let the impressive presentation fool you. It’s super easy to prepare the lobster tails and I’ll show you in a quick video so you can do it along with me.
Out of many ways to cook lobster, my favorite is baking them. When working with live lobster, I prefer boiling it. But when we have lobster tails, baking is the way to go.
Why baking lobster tails is the best method?
- The easiest method to cook frozen lobster tail. But you need to fully thaw it before cooking.
- You can prepare everything in advance, and pop it in the oven right before serving.
- When you bake a lobster, the flavor is not diluted in water. Quite the opposite actually, the excess moisture evaporates during baking, and flavors are concentrated. That’s how you get that succulent sweet flavor that is so irresistible!

How to thaw frozen lobster tails?
- Place the frozen lobster tails in a large bowl of cold tap water for about 30 minutes, changing the water once halfway. If the tails are large, you may need to change the water and thaw for another 30 minutes.
- Or if you’ve got time, you can place the frozen lobster on a baking sheet and refrigerate overnight to thaw them nice and slow.
And when you’re done devouring your perfect lobster dinner, don’t rush to throw away those shells. Because you can re-use them to make an amazing lobster broth to make a restaurant quality lobster bisque!!!
Can’t you tell I’m a huge lobster fan? 😉

And as promised here’s a quick video tutorial how to prepare and bake lobster tails.

Baked Lobster Tails
Ingredients
- 3 lobster tails Note 1
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup (120ml) dry white wine Note 2
For serving:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Using kitchen shears, cut the top of lobster tails lengthwise. During this process, you’ll cut the top of the meat, which is totally fine.
- Wrap the tail in a paper towel to protect your hands, squeeze the tail gently to crack the bottom of the shell. Be careful not to smash the shell.
- Run a finger between the shell and the meat to detach the meat from the shell, leaving the base of the meat attached to the shell. And then pull the meat out and place it over the shell.
- Discard the dark veins from the middle of the meat.
- Place the prepared lobster tails in a baking dish.
- Brush on melted butter on each lobster tail.
- Evenly sprinkle salt and paprika.
- Pour white wine carefully over the lobster tails and into the pan.
- Bake for 1-1 ½ minutes per ounce. We have 24oz of lobster tails here, so we’re baking for at least 24 minutes. The lobster tails are cooked when they’re opaque and white, without translucency. But be careful, not to overcook the lobster tails, or they become tough and rubbery.
- In a small dish, combine melted butter and fresh parsley.
- Â Serve the lobster tails immediately with melted butter with parsley and lemon wedges.
Kathy says
I have been making baked lobster tails for decades now. Yes, I’m an old lady…lol!
I usually will brine the tails first, just salted water, for an hour or so.
I split the tails as described in this recipe. I do not pull my lobster meat out of the shell. I think the shell helps with flavor. I baste exposed tail with butter/veg oil. Sprinkle tails, e c envy, with granulated (powdered) garlic, granulated onion (powdered) and sweet paprika. I pour about 1/4″ of white wine around the tails for moisture.. I then bake in 425° oven 1 minute per ounce of lobster tail.
They come out, sweet, succulent and very tasty EVERY time. Try baking your own tails….. MUCH cheaper than a restaurant!
Shinee says
Hi, Kathy!! Thank you SO much for sharing your method. It sounds fabulous! I’ll definitely be trying it next time we make lobster tails.
Rebecca White says
Tried this recipe; lobster was perfect! Sweet moist and cooked just right. I have found my recipe forever. Thank you.
Shinee says
Yay, so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Rebecca!
Sharon Smith says
This looks amazing! If I am baking six tails, about 8 ounces each, how long do I bake? 48 minutes sounds like a long time at 425 degrees.
Shinee says
Hi, Sharon. I’d suggest baking them for 30 minutes and check for doneness. And bake more if needed, checking after each 5 minutes. Hope you’ll enjoy. Let us know how they turn out.
Angie says
I made this last New Years Eve for friends and it was so good it’s requested again this year! I’ll be making 4-16oz tails. I don’t recall how long I baked them! Please help!
Shinee says
Hi, Angie. Thank you for your feedback. I’d start checking after 30 minutes.
Donna Brennan says
I have to make this!!! Love lobster tails and you actually make it look easy
Shinee says
Hope you give this a try, Donna. They’re definitely worth it!
Ann says
Hi, I plan to make these Christmas Eve. I’m so excited. I’m making about 10  8oz tails. What is the approximate cooking time.  It can’t be cumulative… 80 minutes.  What do u think?  Thanks.Â
Paul Anthony says
Wow…I too am a huge lobster fan and have cooked lobster tails for years…always on the grill…results are good, but sometimes meat taste a bit “dry” … I am thinking oven baked may keep them more sweet and succulent…looking forward to trying your method…looks amazing! PS, can you use cooking Sherry in place of white wine?
Shinee says
Hi, Paul. Yes, if you bake them for just right amount of time, the meat turns out so soft and delicious! I hope you’ll love this method. I’ve never used Sherry for this recipe, so I’m not sure. But water works fine too. 🙂 Let me know how yours turn out.
Paul Anthony says
Hey Shinee….made this last night for V Day…(2) 8 oz tails for 20 min..turned out amazing….sweet and succulent!…used cooking sherry which I think is probably better vs water for added flavor and depth….really good! Thanks again for vid…yours is one of the best out there! Also, note, I didn’t find any veins in either tail which I thought was odd…almost split meat in 2 looking for it…proceed with caution during this step! 🙂
Shinee says
Yay, so happy you loved it, Paul!! I’m so trying it with Sherry next time. And thank you for your feedback! And that’s so weird that your lobster tails didn’t have veins! Not even clear ones, huh?
PAG says
I looked and didn’t see any veins…maybe if they were clear I didn’t notice…will put on my glasses next time!
Liese says
Absolutely delicious recipe, we made two lobster tails tonight and will use the recipe again. My tails were smaller so I vooked for less time and they ewere perfect. The house smelled great, too, with the butter and wine aromas.
Liese says
Ah, spelling errors. I meant to say that my lobster tails were smaller and I cooked them for less time.
Shinee says
Hi, Liese!! I’m so happy you enjoyed the lobster tails!! Thank you so much for your feedback.
Aria says
This recipe sounds yummy! photos look so gorgeous!!Thanks for sharing!!
Mary Ann Kail says
There was NO video! Many color photos and well explained recipe, BUT NO video tutorial!
Shinee says
Hi, Mary Ann. Sorry you didn’t find the video. It’s right above the recipe card. But here’s the link to the video on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/SweetandSavorybyShinee/videos/1769383743094187/
Sarah says
I don’t cook with alcohol, do I need to sub anything for the white wine?
Shinee says
Hi, Sarah. You can just use water instead. Hope you’ll enjoy!