As former Disneyland annual passholders for over 20 years, we definitely managed to eat our way around the theme park. And one of our favorite go-to lunches was at Lamplight Lounge in California Adventure, where we always ordered their famous Disneyland Lobster Nachos.
Since I’ve been cooking a lot with lobster here at the house, so I thought it would be fun to recreate the recipe at home. This official recipe for Disneyland’s Lobster Nachos has been simplified for the home cook. It still has all the flavor, but without all the extra work involved. After all, who wants to make homemade lobster stock just for a plate of nachos?
In order to make this recipe actually doable for the home cook, I’ve also used store-bought pico del Gallo, store bought tortilla chips (we swear by Calidad Tortilla Chips), and Bush’s seasoned black beans. This will leave you time for the most important ingredients, which I think is the chipotle cream sauce, and of course, the home cooked butter-basted lobster meat.
To simplify the Lamplight Lounge Lobster Nachos recipe even more, you can omit the chipotle cheese sauce and just use a store-bought Mexican cheese sauce. I think you could leave out the chipotle cheese sauce all together and it would still be delicious. In fact, I think there have been a few times that they forgot to put it on our dish during our visits. Hope you enjoy this decadent version of the humble Mexican nachos! I think it would be a great presentation for a Super Bowl party, washed down with a few Cadillac margaritas on the rocks.
Disneyland’s Lobster Nachos Recipe
Recipe by Jason Hill – CookingSessions.comIngredients
- 1-2 bags good-quality Mexican tortilla chips
- 2 cups Pico De Gallo or your favorite salsa
- 1/2 pound shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 pound shredded Monterey jack cheese
- Sliced Serrano or jalapeño peppers
- 15 ounces seasoned black beans Mexican style
Chipotle Cream Sauce (substitute sour cream in a hurry)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce
- 2 roasted garlic cloves peeled
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 1 pinch ground cumin
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Poblano Cheese Sauce (or your favorite jarred Mexican cheese sauce)
- 3 poblano chiles roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon canola oil divided
- 3 large garlic cloves roasted
- 1 shallot roughly chopped
- 1/4 stick butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 cup lobster, chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 ounces Oaxaca cheese grated
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
For the Lobster
- Cooked meat from 5 lobster tails cut into large bite-size pieces
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the Chipotle Cream: Purée chipotle and roasted garlic in food processor. Place in mixing bowl and add the sour cream, cumin and salt and pepper. Mix well. Place the cream in squeeze bottle and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prepare the Cheese Sauce: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat the poblano peppers in 1/2 teaspoon of oil and roast on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Lightly coat shallots and garlic with remaining 1/2 teaspoon canola oil. Add to poblanos on baking sheet, and roast an additional 25 minutes until caramelized. Purée caramelized garlic, shallots, and poblanos in food processor until smooth. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add flour to make a roux, stirring constantly about 5 minutes, or until smooth and light golden brown. Add sour cream and cook another 10 minutes. Add broth and poblano purée; bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Slowly add Oaxaca and cheddar cheeses. Stir constantly until all cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Set aside; hold warm.
- For the Lobster: In a pan, saute the lobster pieces in the butter, lime juice and salt/pepper. Keep warm.
- Assembly: Preheat broiler to 500°F. Spread chips on a large baking sheet. Layer with seasoned black beans, cheese sauce, and mixed cheddar/jack cheese, covering all the chips. Broil until cheese is melted, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven. Top with pico de gallo, chopped cilantro, warmed lobster pieces, chipotle cream and sliced Serrano or jalapeño peppers. Serve immediately.
