By Fit Foodie Finds
The most delicious grilled scallops are marinated in a lemon garlic sauce, seared quickly on the grill, and served with a Cupcake LightHearted white wine sauce. Enjoy!
The Best Grilled Scallops (in 3 steps)
And they truly do come together in just 3 steps. You’ll need to:
- Marinate the scallops
- Grill the scallops
- Top with Cupcake LightHearted white wine sauce
What do these grilled scallops taste like?
These delicious scallops are lemony, garlicky, and savory at the same time. They’re light, fresh, and served with an incredible herby white wine sauce.
Cupcake LightHearted
We might be biased, but what really makes these grilled scallops extra special is the herby white wine sauce made with Cupcake LightHearted Sauvignon Blanc.
This Sauvignon Blanc boasts flavors of citrus, lime, and apricot, making it the perfect pairing for grilled scallops. It’s light, crisp, and also goes well paired well with this meal.
What else makes this wine great?
-
80
Calories*PER 5 OZ. SERVING
-
8%
ALC/VOL*PER 5 OZ. SERVING
-
<1G
SUGAR*PER 5 OZ. SERVING
Time to Marinate the Scallops
First thing’s first, let’s create a flavor bath for your scallops. This scallop marinade is simple, yet elegant. It’s made with the base of garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil and has a secret ingredient of grated onion. Yes, you read that correctly — grated onion.
Why grate onion? If you’ve never grated onion, you’re in for a treat. By grating your onion, tons of flavors of juices are released, intensifying this marinade.
So, combine all the ingredients together and transfer them into a baking dish or gallon-size bag. Then, add in the scallops and squish things around to make sure the scallops are nice and covered. Marinate for around 30 minutes.
Why marinate the scallops?
By marinating scallops in a delicious marinade, you’re infusing them with flavor. It also helps the end result be juicy and fragrant.
How long should I marinate scallops? We recommend marinating scallops for 15-30 minutes, but no longer. Like shrimp, scallops can actually start to cook in citrus and become chewy and rubbery, which you don’t want.
How to Grill Scallops (the rundown)
When it comes to grilling scallops, they don’t need a ton of time to be safely consumed. In fact, you’ll only grill your scallops for around 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
- Preheat your grill to medium/high heat (375ºF – 400ºF).
- Place 3 marinated scallops onto each skewer.
- Grill over direct heat for 2-3 minutes per side or until they are opaque.
Can I pan sear these instead?
Feel free to use either a grill pan or cast-iron pan instead. We suggest heating olive oil or butter over medium/high heat and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Mouthwatering LightHearted Wine Sauce
Every grilled scallop recipe deserves an equally delicious sauce to go with it. You folks are going to adore this white wine sauce.
It’s made with Cupcake LightHearted Sauvignon Blanc, which is a dry, crisp white wine. It also has fresh herbs, butter, and fresh garlic in it, making it absolutely scrumptious.
What You Need
- white wine
- butter
- onion
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- fresh cilantro
- fresh parsley
- fresh chives
- lemon zest
How to Make It
Heat butter in a small saucepan. Then, sauté onions, garlic, and salt until translucent. Add white wine and reduce the heat to medium/low. Let simmer for 20 minutes to allow the wine to reduce by half.
Remove the white wine sauce from the heat and add fresh cilantro, parsley, chives, and lemon zest.
Can you use a different variety of wine?
More of a Pinot Grigio fan? Cupcake LightHeated Pinot Grigio is also a great choice when it comes to this white wine sauce. It is bright and crisp with hints of lemon and honey crisp apple.
Recipe
Marinated Grilled Scallops
Learn how to make the most flavorful grilled scallops made with a lemon garlic marinade and topped with a yummy white wine sauce.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 8 large scallops
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely grated onion
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
White wine sauce
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- ¼ cup diced white onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 cup Cupcake LightHearted Sauvignon Blanc
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Begin by patting each of the scallops dry with a paper towel and then place them in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the scallop marinade. Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, honey, salt, and olive oil to a mason jar. Cover the jar and shake the ingredients until combined and until the honey is dissolved.
- Pour the marinade over the scallops and flip the scallops a couple of times to be sure the scallops are covered in the marinade.
- Cover the bowl and place the scallops in the fridge for 30 minutes, but no longer or the scallops will start to cook in the lemon juice.
- While the scallops are marinating, prepare the white wine sauce. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add butter.
- When the butter is melted add the onion to the saucepan along with a pinch of salt. Let the onions sauté for 4-5 minutes and then add the garlic.
- Sauté the garlic and onions for an additional 2-3 minutes and then add the white wine and the rest of the salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together.
- Reduce the heat to medium/low and allow the wine to reduce by half (about 20 minutes).
- Remove the wine sauce from the heat and then add the cilantro, parsley, chives, and lemon zest to the mixture and stir. Cover to keep warm.
- Preheat the grill to medium/high heat (about 375ºF to 400ºF). Be sure the grill is clean and free of debris.
- Remove the scallops from the refrigerator and place 4 scallops on each skewer.
- When the grill is ready, place the scallops on the grill over direct heat and let the scallops cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, cooking until the internal temperature reaches 120ºF. Be sure not to overcook the scallops.
- Remove the scallops from the grill and place them on a plate to rest for 5 minutes. As they sit, their internal temperature will rise 5-10ºF.
- Sprinkle scallops with a pinch of cayenne pepper and drizzle them with the white wine sauce.
