Instant Pot Lobster Tails

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Deliciously seasoned and cooked to perfection, this Instant Pot recipe makes prepping and cooking lobster tails a breeze.

Prep: 20

Cook: 5

Total: 25

Recipe makes approximately 2 lobster tails

Get Recipe Ingredients

Turn lobster tails over so translucent, belly-side of shell faces up. Carefully use your thumbs to crack ribs on underside of lobster tail.
Once ribs have been cracked, turn lobster tails back over so brown side of shell faces up. Carefully, using sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut vertically down middle of shell from open end of lobster tail toward fin end. Cut through shell and top portion of lobster meat underneath shell, but do not cut through fin at end of tail.
If needed, carefully devein lobster tail before continuing. Locate black vein in meat and grasp it from open end of lobster tail. Gently pull vein away from fin end and out of tail until vein is removed entirely. Discard vein.
Carefully slide your finger down cut freshly cut portion of shell (Note: shell will be sharp!) and gently loosen meat from underneath shell on both sides, breaking any membranes if necessary, but do not detach meat from fin. Carefully lift meat up and slightly over top of shell so that meat sits on top of shell. Set tails aside.

In small bowl, mix together salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika, until ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Sprinkle spice mixture on top of exposed lobster meat, making sure to season well.
Pour 1 cup water into Instant Pot and insert trivet. Place lobster tails on trivet inside Instant Pot with exposed lobster meat facing up.
Cover Instant Pot with lid and set vent to Sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure for 1 minute. Instant Pot will come to pressure and then cook time will begin.
As soon as Instant Pot beeps to signal end of cook time, carefully Quick Release pressure. When pressure button drops, immediately and carefully open lid.
Use tongs to carefully remove lobster tails from Instant Pot as soon as lid is removed (see Notes). Transfer cooked lobster tails to serving plates or platter and garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately with drawn butter and lemon wedges.

Prepare the drawn butter and any desired sides before cooking the lobster tails! They cook quickly and should be eaten immediately after removing them from the Instant Pot.
Timing is crucial here. Make sure to quick release the pressure as soon as the Instant Pot beeps, then remove the lid as soon as the pressure button drops, and then remove the lobster tails as soon as you remove the lid. Leaving them in the Instant Pot after any of these steps will continue the cooking process and could result in overcooked lobster meat.
Lobster Tails: This recipe is written for 2 lobster tails, but you can cook up to 4 tails at a time on the trivet. No need to increase the water or cook time, but make sure you double the seasonings.
Water: You want the lobster to steam, not boil. If your Instant Pot is small, 1 cup water may be too much, so adjust as needed to make sure the trivet and the lobster tails don't touch the surface of the liquid.
Drawn Butter: Drawn butter is another term for "melted butter", ideally melted in a saucepan over medium-low heat. There's debate about whether or not the melted butter has to be clarified/filtered to be considered "drawn", so do whichever you prefer. If you'd rather use a garlic-butter sauce, we have a great recipe for one in our grilled crab legs post.
Make it Whole30/Paleo: Serve with ghee instead of butter.