Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops is one of our favorite ways to cook scallops! Skip the restaurant and make this seafood dinner right at home!

We love making seafood recipes at home! Check out this Quick Shrimp Stir Fry or this Asian BBQ Salmon, one of our kids favorites)! You can’t stop dipping in this Garlic Shrimp Scampi sauce…make sure to have a lot of bread!

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops is a scallop and spaghetti recipe with a creamy sauce

A Restaurant Quality Dinner At Home

Do you guys make scallops a lot at home? Before we made this Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops recipe, I can definitely say we did not.

I really don’t know why, either. We both love scallops, they’re really easy to make and a healthy dinner on top of it! What’s not to love…

Scallops can be seasoned, seared and served as is with rice or pasta on the side or a salad if you are keeping things low carb. So just a few minutes in a skillet is all you need for a delicious seafood dinner.

Scallops can be a little on the pricey side so watch for them when they go on sale, grab a bunch and freeze what you don’t need. We grab fresh scallops whenever we can but frozen are great too!

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops starts by searing scallops in a skillet for just a few minutes on each side

How To Sear Scallops

Searing scallops the correct way is crucial to making any scallop recipe. There’s a fine line between a perfectly seared scallop and a tough, overcooked scallop so knowing when to quit is key.

What you need to do is dry the scallops off really, really well with paper towels so the surface of the scallops are completely dry. Next get your skillet fairly hot, a cast iron skillet works great here. Drizzle oil in the pan so the scallops don’t stick and place them in.

Don’t move them around once you get them in the skillet. Leave them for a few minutes until a nice crust forms and they’re ready to turn, just like in the picture above. 

If the scallops are still sticking to the pan when you go to turn them they aren’t done. Leave them another minute or two, they’ll release when the crust is formed. Also make sure you’ve gotten enough oil in your pan to keep the scallops from sticking, because they will also stick if there isn’t enough oil coating the bottom of the pan.

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops is a pasta recipe with seared jumbo scallops

How Do I Make Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops?

Start a large pot of water to boil for the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti just a minute or so shy of the package directions, as the pasta will cook a little more in the sauce.

While the pasta is cooking you can sear the scallops, set them aside covered to keep warm and start the pan sauce.

Add butter to the same skillet to melt, then add onions and garlic. Deglaze the pan with white wine, reduce then pour in chicken broth and cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then add a cornstarch mixture to thicken. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add sun dried tomatoes and spinach. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops is a seafood recipe with pasta in a creamy sauce with sun dried tomatoes

Once the sauce is finished, place the scallops back into the sauce and gently simmer for a few minutes. Doing this flavors the sauce with the scallops and also flavors the scallops with the sauce.

Once the scallops have simmered back in the sauce, remove them again to a plate so that you can toss the sauce with the spaghetti. If you do this with the scallops in the sauce they might break apart.

Serve the spaghetti and sauce in big bowls with a few of the scallops on top.

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops is a scallop recipe with pasta in a creamy sauce with spinach

Garnish this scallop recipe with fresh chopped parsley and fresh black pepper. Don’t forget to serve this spaghetti with big pieces of bread for sopping up all that delicious, creamy sauce!

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Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops is a scallop recipe with pasta in a creamy sauce with spinach

Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti with Jumbo Scallops

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

This scallop recipe is a knock out seafood dinner you can make right at home!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds jumbo scallops
  • Kosher salt and fresh black pepper for seasoning the scallops
  • 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 (7 ounce) jar sliced sun dried tomatoes, drained
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • Fresh black pepper and chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat a large pot of water to boil for the spaghetti. Once boiling, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions and drain.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter together with the olive oil in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat.
  3. Season the scallops with salt and pepper generously on both sides, then add them to the skillet.
  4. Cook the scallops on one side for 3-4 minutes until they form a brown crust. If the scallops are sticking to the pan they aren’t ready to turn yet, just give them another minute or two. Then turn the scallops over and let cook for another 3-4 minutes on the other side until browned. Remove the scallops to a plate and cover with foil.
  5. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, stir and cook for a minute longer and pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan.
  6. Let the wine cook down until it is reduced by half (about 2 minutes) then pour in the chicken broth and cream and bring to a simmer.
  7. Mix the cornstarch and water together and pour into the simmering sauce. Whisk the sauce and bring it back to a simmer, cooking for 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced and thickened.
  8. Add the spinach and the sun dried tomatoes to the sauce, stirring the spinach into the sauce to wilt. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste if needed.
  9. Place the scallops back into the sauce, turning to coat. Cover the skillet and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, then remove the scallops from the sauce and place back on the plate, covered.
  10. Toss the sauce with the spaghetti and add to a serving bowl. Place the scallops on top or add to individual bowls when serving.
  11. Garnish with fresh black pepper and chopped parsley if desired.

Recipe Notes

If your skillet is on the smaller side, you can put the cooked spaghetti in a large bowl and then pour the sauce and scallops over the top and toss.

  • Category: pasta
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American

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37 Responses
  1. Bianca

    Thanks for this pasta recipe, looks so yummy! I have just made the recipe but I have added prawns. I love seafood so a combination of scallops and prawns works perfectly for me. It tastes absolutely delicious.






  2. Lasandra

    Just made this instead I used coconut cream as I am lactose intolerant I also added mushroom did not used enough scallops but I really enjoyed it will definitely make again






  3. Angela

    I couldnt find sun dried tomatoes at the store and instead used sun dried tomato pesto It is sooooooooo good. Worth every calorie. :)






  4. Amanda

    This recipe is the sh*t! Seriously, it was unbelievably tasty and rich with flavor! And I have plenty of leftovers! Highly recommend to anyone who is reading this over and thinking about dinner tonight!






    1. Dan

      SO glad you liked it, We love this one too, it’s how we got our boys to try scallops for the first time! Thanks Amanda:)

  5. Cheryl Monks

    We made this several weeks ago, LOVED IT. He had scallops, I had chicken (not a scallop fan). I had literally just pulled out the printed recipe to make tonight with swordfish and the recipe popped up in my feed….






  6. Andrea

    OMG so so good! I made it with Palmini noodles to keep the carbs down and I added some fancy mushrooms I needed to use up. My 3 year old ate half my plate without realizing he was eating vegetables! This is a keeper!!






    1. Dan

      I’ve never heard of those noodles! Great way to switch things up for what your diet needs, I love hearing that. Also love that your 3 year old loved it so much! Thanks Andrea!

  7. Taylor

    Would a squeeze of lemon complement this recipe or clash with the ingredients? I’m between this recipe and one that uses lemon and other fresh herbs, vs a cream based sauce. This sounds great but I’m partial to lemon with scallops.

  8. Jackie

    I used only half the pasta and was perfect. Any more would have made the recipe too dry. Will definitely make this again.






  9. Beverly Godfrey

    This recipe is a bomb!! I could have licked the plate. I used sun dried tomato pesto and added some Ole Bay seasoning because we love it. This is a winner and we will make over and over. Thanks so much!!!






    1. Cathy

      I made this recipe for my husband & it was delicious. The white wine and other ingredients made the sauce SO good. I wish I had used an iron skillet to sear your the scallops because mine didn’t have that nice brown crust —next time I will use the iron skillet.






  10. Nancy

    This is a very tasty dish. My seafood medley included a small bit (3 oz) of smoked salmon, spot prawns, and jumbo scallops. The salmon added a beautiful light smoke complexity to the dish. The fresh linguini also stepped up the texture. Raves all round!






  11. Michelle C.

    Thanks for this recipe this is the best seafood pasta recipe I ever made, so delicious. I don’t have sun dried tomato so I used fresh tomatoes for the pasta I used fresh fettuccine and top with sliced bacon, I also cooked half the recipe called because I only had 1 pound of jumbo scallops but turned out absolutely delicious.






  12. Ralph

    I’ve made this 5-6 times and there were no leftovers. This is a classic dish. Only change I made was I left out the sun dried tomatoes and added some grated Parmesan. No Kraft parmesan, Reggiano 18-24 month. Tonight I will be adding some shrimp for a change.






  13. Ruth Gore

    With all the recipes I’ve tried and really liked this is the first time I’ve ever rated one. THIS recipe is sooooooooo good I had to rate it 5+ stars, unbelivable good. Made it exactly as posted. I’ve also used shrimp with scallops both are excellent. Worried about today, going to use up some of my cherry tomatoes. Oh I hope I don’t a fantastic dish. Wish me luck!






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