It’s ready in about 30 minutes, truly easy to make, and it’s just perfect when served over cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower! Scallops are such a delightful way to enjoy seafood! I love them for their amazing flavor, and this particular recipe is especially good. It’s rich, buttery, and very flavorful. I like to make this recipe for guests because it’s foolproof and liked by everyone (a recent guest has declared it “restaurant-level!”). But I also make it often for my family, because it’s truly easy to make.
Ingredients
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make these amazing baked scallops. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Large sea scallops: Small bay scallops won’t work in this recipe. They are too small and will become overcooked.Unsalted butter: I’m partial to European butter, but any butter will be great.Dry white wine: The wine adds a nice layer of flavor, and I like to drink it with the finished dish. But it’s OK to skip it if you’re so inclined.Fresh lemon juice: It’s best to use fresh-squeezed lemon juice and not the juice that comes in a bottle.Grated Parmesan cheese: Use finely grated cheese, not coarsely shredded.Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the dish could turn out too salty.Spices: I use garlic powder, dried parsley, cayenne pepper, and sweet paprika.Chopped fresh parsley: I use it mostly for garnish, but it also adds flavor.
Instructions
Baking scallops is easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps: You start by topping the scallops with a mixture of butter, wine, lemon juice, parmesan, and spices. Next, cover and bake them in a broiler-safe dish until cooked through, about 25 minutes in a 350°F oven. The final step is to sprinkle the dish with more cheese and with paprika and broil it until the tops of the scallops are browned and crispy. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Expert tip
It’s important to use large sea scallops in this recipe - the biggest you can find. Jumbo scallops (12 per pound) are perfect for this recipe. Small ones, and especially tiny bay scallops, will become overcooked.
Frequently asked questions
Variations
A few tasty variations on this recipe include adding hot sauce for an extra kick, topping the dish with crumbled bacon, and adding chopped scallions. Another thing you can do is increase the quantities. As you can see in the video below, I used 3 lb. of jumbo scallops (12 per pound), so I had a total of 36 really big ones, and I cooked them in a 9 X 13 -inch pan. This worked beautifully, and the remaining ingredients remained the same - there was no need to increase their quantity.
Serving suggestions
This dish comes out of the oven quite saucy and the sauce is exquisite, so you should make the most of it. You can obviously serve this dish on a bed of rice or pasta, but I usually serve it on top of cauliflower rice. Mashed cauliflower also works well to soak up the tasty sauce. Another option is to use a bed of raw spinach leaves. The hot buttery sauce wilts the leaves just enough to gently cook them. This is actually one of my favorite way to serve this dish.
Storing leftovers
You can keep the leftovers for up to 3 days in the fridge, in a sealed container. Reheat them very gently, covered, in the microwave on 50% power.
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