Creamy Tuscan Scallops are oh so rich and creamy. Crispy, seared, melt-in-your-mouth juicy scallops in a buttery cream sauce filled with garlic, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese!
The entire family loves this easy to make Scallops recipe. Cheaper than going out to a restaurant and just as good as chef made scallops, you will love our Creamy Tuscan Scallops! Serve with pasta or buttery mashed cauliflower for a KETO meal.
Nothing melts in your mouth quite like tender-crisp and buttery scallops. The creamy sauce is to die for!
SCALLOPS
What a recipe! You have all been writing in telling us how much you love our Creamy Garlic Butter Tuscan Shrimp and our Creamy Garlic Butter Tuscan Salmon. Well, this recipe is just one of the many ways we love our scallops!
Most people are extremely intimidated to cook scallops, especially because of their high price tag. Something you don’t want to spend so much money on only to have it go completely wrong. But that’s also the beautiful thing about scallops. They are a luxury and a feeling of fine dining washes over you when you have a bowl full of Creamy Tuscan Scallops with a glass of your favourite wine in hand.
Plus, I had to share this one with you in time for Christmas and New Years Eve menu plans!
WHAT SCALLOPS TO USE
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.
THAW SCALLOPS
- Thaw scallops in a bowl of cold water for about 10-20 minutes until thawed completely.
- Alternatively, thaw them in a bowl overnight in the refrigerator.
- If your scallops are still frozen in the centres, arrange them on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and let them thaw out on your kitchen bench 15 minutes before cooking.
- Make sure to thoroughly pat them dry with a couple more sheets of paper towel to absorb all the liquid before searing. If too much liquid is left in scallops, they will release too much water while cooking and simmer in your pan instead of sear.
HOW TO COOK CREAMY TUSCAN SCALLOPS
Once they’re thawed, dried and ready to go, you’re going to sear them first in a hot pan.
- 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.
Both sides of a scallop should be seared to a perfect golden-brown ‘crust’ with the sides opaque all the way through. They should be firm to the touch, but still slightly soft with a little bounce to them.
TUSCAN CREAM SAUCE FOR SCALLOPS
THIS is the pièce de résistance! Onion gets sautéed in butter until soft; garlic follows close behind, then a splash of white wine is poured in and reduced. If you don’t want to use white wine, you can replace it with chicken broth or stock.
Make sure you start scraping any browned bits off of the bottom of the pan left over from your scallops. THIS is where all of your flavour lies.
Sun dried tomatoes release so much flavour into the sauce, while cream, wilted spinach leaves and herbs add to the mix. Add parmesan cheese to melt through the sauce to finish it off and you have a winning scallops recipe right here!
BEST SIDES
Serve our Creamy Tuscan Scallops over low carb favourites, like zoodles, cauliflower rice, spaghetti squash, or any of your favourite veggies.
For a carb loaded meal, think mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, garlic bread to soak up that cream!
WHAT WINE GOES WELL WITH THIS RECIPE?
A light Chardonnay or Pinot Gris. For a sweeter wine, Riesling or a Sparkling Moscato.
Scallop Recipes
If you love this recipe, you may love our Creamy Garlic Scallops and our Lemon Butter Scallops!
Creamy Garlic Butter Tuscan Scallops
Ingredients
- 28 oz (800 g) scallops
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup white wine (OPTIONAL)
- 5 oz (150 g) jarred sun dried tomato strips in oil, drained (reserve 1 teaspoon of the jarred oil for cooking)
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream (or half and half) SEE NOTES
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
- 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Thoroughly pat scallops 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 butter in the pan. Sauté onion until soft (about 4 minutes). Add in the garlic and sauté until frangrant (30 seconds). Pour in the white wine (if using), and allow to reduce to half, while scraping any bits off of the bottom of the pan. Add the sun dried tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes to release their flavours.
- Reduce heat to low-medium heat, add the heavy cream (or half and half) and bring to a gentle simmer, while stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
- Add in the spinach leaves and allow to wilt in the sauce, then add in the parmesan cheese. Allow sauce to simmer for a further minute until cheese melts through the sauce.
- Stir in herbs through; take pan off the heat and add the scallops with their juices into the pan. Mix through slightly before serving.
- Serve over pasta, rice, zoodles, caulfilower mash, cauliflower rice or steamed veg.Enjoy!
Lisa says
AMAZING!!! So wonderful. I used canned diced tomatoes (the whole can) and served over whole wheat pasta. Would love to just drink the sauce!! Lol
Mamajoy says
Can kale be used instead of spinach? I just got home from the grocery store and realized that I forgot to buy spinach.
Karina says
Yes absolutely
Raymond Fontenova says
Absolutely Outstanding!!!!!
Made this the other night for a dinner party and it was amazing…..
The combination of the spinach, and the Sun-dried tomatoes made it all the more amazing.
Had to share the link with everyone so expect more positive feedback.
BTW – love the option for changing the number of servings.. I’m not one for exact measurements in spices but it is very handy for the key ingredients; i.e. – scallops…
Thanks again…
Victoria says
My entire family LOVES this recipe. I came across this dish on Pinterest and started at looking at the entire website. My family has been trying to eat healthy so we mostly do keto meals and this was perfect for that. We are not fans of scallops so we’ve tried this dish with chicken and salmon, and both are great sub options! My father is in love with this meal, so its become a quick family favorite.
Brandy Vassar says
Made this last night and it was a huge hit! It will be in my rotation for sure. It was easy and full of flavor! I followed the recipe with white wine and all and it was wonderful! I normally do not comment on these but this is a keeper!
Kristina says
This was absolutely delicious! I haven’t cooked much and this was my first big undertaking after deciding to go keto. Amazing and easy to execute!
I did have one question though. It says in the nutrient breakdown that this has 36g of carbs. Am I to understand that this is the number for the entire dish or per serving?
Vanessa says
Where are all the carbs coming from in this recipe?? Wanting to make it keto. Thanks!
dave says
Onion, wine and sun dried tomatoes.
Sarah Arthur says
This was out of this world! I had to use milk instead of heavy cream, and tomato paste instead of sun dried tomatoes and it was still incredible! Will be adding this to my rotation!
Cheers!
Liz Lord says
LOVED THIS! My family are huge fans of scallops and this just became our favorite scallop dish. I served it over roasted spaghetti squash… ohhhhhhh yum!
Holli says
So good! I’ve done scallops twice now. Starting to feel like a bit of a pro. Scallops were perfectly paired with this delicious white wine sauce! No leftovers here! We cleaned the pan. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Ketki says
I made this and it was delicious! Do you think it would help to “toast” the herbs together with the onions and garlic at the beginning?
Lana says
Just made this tonight with shrimp instead of scallops (could not find them at the store). I also made my own rosemary infused sun dried tomatoes in the oven for this recipe. All served over zoodles. Definitely a keeper!!
Ange says
Do you have any ideas for substitutes to make this nondairy? Like perhaps using coconut milk in place of the cream and omitting the cheese? I would love to try this, but can’t have dairy. It sounds great though!
Karina says
Hi Ange, you can use coconut milk for sure!
LJ Hammer says
While I have yet to make this dish (although I am very much looking forward to it), I have made similar Tuscan salmon and chicken dishes, subbing coconut milk, and it’s worked just fine. Great, even. Of course, it has a little bit of that coconutty taste, which you have to be ok with. Also, I don’t know what your dietary restrictions are. For me, the issue is cow products, so I sub Trader Joe’s pecorino/romano (sheep) for the parmesan.
Christina La Pierre says
Way out my scope of things that I usually make being of half Spanish half West Indies nationality . However , my family LOVED this recipe we used scallops! Added angel hair pasta ??
Ashley says
This made me really wish I could eat scallops. Looks amazing!
Liz Lord says
You could easily put this with grilled chicken and it would be equally delicious.
Gina DeMarco says
Can this be made WITHOUT the parmesean cheese? Will it make a difference? I don’t like cheese.
Karina says
Yes you can omit the Parmesan cheese