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Creamy Garlic Scallops are just as good as restaurant scallops with minimal ingredients and maximum flavour!
A silky, creamy garlic sauce with a hint of lemon coats crispy, buttery scallops! With only a handful of ingredients, you’re minutes away from having the most incredible Creamy Garlic Scallops on your dinner table! People will think there’s a hidden chef in your kitchen, especially if you serve them alongside something indulgent like lobster tails in a bacon cream sauce.
SCALLOPS
You have all been writing in to tell us how much you have been loving these Seared Garlic Butter Scallops that I HAD to try them in a creamy sauce! You guys are going to LOVE this low carb creamy garlic scallops recipe!
HOW TO COOK SCALLOPS
This scallop recipe is just as easy as the original, with a creamy sauce consisting of 5 ingredients. FIVE!
Butter — unsalted is the best option which allows you to better adjust your seasonings. Garlic — minced or finely diced. Use fresh if you can. White wine — completely optional! You can use broth (or stock) as a substitute or leave it out all together! Lemon juice — I only use 1 tablespoon in this recipe as I find it’s just enough in a creamy sauce like this one. Cream — use heavy cream, thickened cream or evaporated milk.
Understanding how quickly scallops cook means you’ll never be intimidated again! They only take four to five minutes to cook — that’s it! You’ll have no chance of messing them up from now on. Guaranteed.
Heat an oiled skillet or pan until it’s sizzling. Key step right here. You want them to sizzle and crisp to a golden colour on the outside.
The first scallop should sizzle as soon as it hits the oil. If it doesn’t, wait and let the pan continue heating before adding any more.
Use a large pan to avoid over crowding, or cook in batches to make sure they are at least 1-inch apart.
Sear them without moving them for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Done!
Then go straight into making your sauce. Creamy garlic scallops in minutes!
Melt butter in the same pan as the scallops, scraping up any delicious browned bits. This is where the flavour is! Add garlic, minced or crushed. Pour in a good quality dry white wine, like Sauv Blanc or Pinot Grigio and let reduce to half. Add cream. Simmer. Stir in lemon juice off the heat and add the scallops back into the pan to serve.
Serve your creamy garlic scallops with as much sauce as you want! There’s an abundance here.
HOW TO PREPARE SCALLOPS
Try to find scallops without the bright orange or coral coloured crescent-shaped part still attached (or roe). The orange part can be a little bitter, however some people do like this part of the scallop. It’s personal preference.
If you can only find them with the roe attached, you can pull it off and discard it. If you have bought whole scallops, you will need to remove that and the muscle that attaches the scallop to the shell. For this reason, we buy frozen wild caught scallops without the roe.
HOW TO THAW SCALLOPS
Thaw scallops in a bowl of cold water for about 10-20 minutes until thawed completely, or overnight in the refrigerator.
Make sure to thoroughly pat them dry with paper towel to absorb all the liquid before searing.
SIDES TO GO WITH SCALLOPS
Creamy Garlic Scallops are perfect served with carb sides such as:
Creamy Garlic Scallops are just as good as restaurant scallops with minimal ingredients and maximum flavour! A silky, creamy garlic sauce with a hint of lemon, coats crispy, buttery scallops! With only a handful of ingredients, you're minutes away from having the most incredible scallops on your dinner table!
Ingredients
2tablespoonsolive oil
1 1/4poundsscallops
2tablespoonsunsalted butterdivided
4-5clovesgarliclarge, minced, or 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1pinchsaltto taste
1pinchcracked pepperto taste
1/4cupdry white wineor broth – optional
1cupheavy creamlight, full fat or thickened cream. For a lower fat option, use evaporated milk
1tablespoonlemon juice
1/4cupfresh parsleychopped
Instructions
If scallops are frozen, thaw in cold water. Remove the side muscle from the scallops if attached. Thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
Heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot and sizzling. Add the scallops in a single layer without over crowding the pan (work in batches if needed).
Season with salt and pepper to taste and fry for 2-3 minutes on one side (until a golden crust forms underneath), then flip and fry again for 2 minutes until crisp, lightly browned and cooked through (opaque). Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same pan, scraping up any browned bits left over from the scallops. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant (1 minute).
Pour in wine (or broth) and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes or until wine reduces by about half. Add cream and allow to simmer until slightly thickened.
Remove pan (skillet) from the heat; stir in lemon juice and add the scallops back into the pan to warm through slightly and garnish with parsley.
Serve over rice, pasta, garlic bread or steamed vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini noodles).
Notes
Tip: Make sure your scallops are completely dry before searing to ensure they brown nicely.
Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!
I used chicken broth instead of the wine, i think wine would bring out more flavor, but the family still LOVED this! I also used avocado oil instead of olive oil. Made the whole kitchen smell amazing and I will definitely be making this again!
WOW! Just made this tonight and it is a keeper. I didn’t have an appropriate white wine so I sub’ed with broth. I also included a few shrimp along side the scallops and severed over rice. Yummy!
Came out very delicious!Definitely will use recipe again in my future cooking.
Could be very good entry for romantic dinner.
I added some mashrooms and it tastes really good
This recipe is very good. I’m currently on a Keto diet and this is what I was looking for. No liquor while on Keto, so I used Bone Broth. I made it exactly as instructed with the addition of half cup of grated parmesan cheese to the sauce. Served over cauliflower rice and asparagus. This is a keeper.
This was my first time making scallops. The whole family LOVED them! Instead of wine, I used 2 TB champagne vinegar and a few drops of Stevia. It was SO delicious! I will definitely try this recipe with shrimp as well. Thank you for sharing!
Fabulous recipe. We love baked scallops, but it is time consuming and messy to go through all the steps with flour, milk bath, egg and Ritz crumbs, so we don’t have them as often as we would like. Also, since my husband has type 2 diabetes, we would rather cut down on carbs. Living on Cape Cod, fresh sea scallops are always available, so finding this awesome recipe was amazing. The sauce is delicious. Will be trying this with fish and of course as a rare treat, lobster. Tonight’s dinner was incredible thanks to this exceptional recipe. Many thanks!
Since u found this recipe, it is the only way I cook scallops now. When I do have leftovers they are even better the next day. Tonight I am making this with shrimp and scallops adding parmesan cheese. This is an incredible recipe
I’ve just made this and it’s quite delicious. I added bacon and spinach.
I used chicken broth instead of the wine, i think wine would bring out more flavor, but the family still LOVED this! I also used avocado oil instead of olive oil. Made the whole kitchen smell amazing and I will definitely be making this again!
this is very helpful as I have an intolerance to alcohol. Thank you for sharing a wine substitute!
WOW! Just made this tonight and it is a keeper. I didn’t have an appropriate white wine so I sub’ed with broth. I also included a few shrimp along side the scallops and severed over rice. Yummy!
Came out very delicious!Definitely will use recipe again in my future cooking.
Could be very good entry for romantic dinner.
I added some mashrooms and it tastes really good
This recipe is very good. I’m currently on a Keto diet and this is what I was looking for. No liquor while on Keto, so I used Bone Broth. I made it exactly as instructed with the addition of half cup of grated parmesan cheese to the sauce. Served over cauliflower rice and asparagus. This is a keeper.
This was my first time making scallops. The whole family LOVED them! Instead of wine, I used 2 TB champagne vinegar and a few drops of Stevia. It was SO delicious! I will definitely try this recipe with shrimp as well. Thank you for sharing!
Perfect and easy. Amazing.
Delicious!! It is so easy to prepare and ohh sooo good!!
Always a bit hit!
Fabulous recipe. We love baked scallops, but it is time consuming and messy to go through all the steps with flour, milk bath, egg and Ritz crumbs, so we don’t have them as often as we would like. Also, since my husband has type 2 diabetes, we would rather cut down on carbs. Living on Cape Cod, fresh sea scallops are always available, so finding this awesome recipe was amazing. The sauce is delicious. Will be trying this with fish and of course as a rare treat, lobster. Tonight’s dinner was incredible thanks to this exceptional recipe. Many thanks!
Since u found this recipe, it is the only way I cook scallops now. When I do have leftovers they are even better the next day. Tonight I am making this with shrimp and scallops adding parmesan cheese. This is an incredible recipe