Creamy Garlic Scallops with Pasta - My Gorgeous Recipes (2024)

Published: Mar 8, 2020 · Modified: Sep 12, 2022 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments

Creamy Garlic Scallops with Pasta, a delicious dinner that looks as good as an expensive meal at a posh restaurant. Seared scallops in a rich cream sauce that is bursting with the most amazing flavours, and your favourite pasta, quick, simple, but so yummy!

When you think you don't know how else to cook pasta, there is always a new recipe that will make you fall in love with it all over again. This time, we have the best pan-seared scallops in rich garlic sauce to top our favourite spaghetti. And all that, in less than 20 minutes. Too good to be true? Not at all!

If you love seafood, this is a dish for you! Seafood in general can be quite expensive, but it is still cheaper to buy and cook it yourself, than a meal at a restaurant, which will only give you one pricey portion. And then you know you have the perfect dinner date too.

Scallops are absolutely delicious, and they cook so quickly. They have a subtle fishy taste, but it's so delicate, that even fish haters will love it. And scallops love garlic, lots of it.

If you happen to have wild garlic, do add a few leaves too, that can only make the sauce even better. Not that they are bland without, but the garlic brings out the best flavour, and makes the dish a real treat. Let's see how to cook it!

Ingredients needed

• raw scallops
• olive oil
• butter - salted or unsalted
• chopped fresh parsley
• garlic - minced or paste
• wild garlic-optional
• salt andground black pepper
• double cream - heavy cream
• spaghetti

Variations

Queenies or queen scallops are one of the smaller scallop species. They are the national dish of the Isle of Man, and it's safe to say that they are very popular over here. They can be used instead of the large scallops in this dish too.

If you don't have spaghetti, you can use any other pasta shape, that's absolutely up to you.

Step-by-step photos and instructions

Make sure you sear the scallops on a medium heat, so they can cook through without browning too quickly on the outside, leaving the inside still raw. Best if you rinse them under cold water, and pat dry the scallops on kitchen towel before adding them to the pan.

• heat up the olive oil, then arrange the scallops in the frying pan, and leave to fry undisturbed on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until lightly brown
• remove the scallops from the pan, wipe the pan clean if there are too many brown bits, add more olive oil and butter, then throw in the minced garlic and parsley. Plus the wild garlic if you have.

Note! You can add white wine at this stage if you chose to use it, about 1 quarter of a cup should do. Just leave it to evaporate, before adding the cream and scallops.

• leave to cook for 30 seconds until the garlic releases its fragrance, then add the cream and the scallops
• cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the cream thickens slightly
• season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a bit of lemon juice, for extra freshness
• serve with your favourite pasta

What to serve with scallops

I chose to serve the seared scallops with spaghetti, for a light, but hearty meal. The scallop sauce goes very well with any kind of pasta, or even mashed potatoes.

But, if you'd rather serve the scallops as an appetizer, nothing simpler! Once the sauce has thickened, the scallops are ready to be served. If you happen to have the shells left, that would make the best serving plates. Otherwise, just a normal plate. Perhaps add a fresh green salad on the side too? It's up to you.

Other seafood recipes

Pan-Fried Scallops

Mixed Seafood Spaghetti

Seafood Stew

Prawn Alfredo Pasta

If you’ve tried myCREAMY GARLIC SCALLOPS WITH PASTA or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can alsoFOLLOW MEonFACEBOOK,INSTAGRAMandPINTERESTto see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.