Print Options

Baked Scallops

Baked Scallops

My father had never eaten scallops before this year, but he was so inspired by this scallop dish prepared by his friends Fred and Patricia, he has spent much of the last month experimenting with them. What I love about this recipe is it's so easy to make and it cooks up so quickly. We used the larger sea scallops for this version, but dad remembers Patricia using bay scallops when she made them for him. The scallops are essentially baked in a white sauce of butter, white wine, and flour, with a bread crumb topping.

Print Options

Baked Scallops Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs scallops (about 4 cups)
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • Salt
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, separated 3 Tbsp and 3 Tbsp
  • 1 medium onion, chopped fine
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Place scallops in a medium sauté pan. Add the wine and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 4 minutes. No longer. Remove the scallops to a 1.5 quart casserole baking dish. Pour off the cooking liquid to a separate container and reserve.

2 Heat 3 Tbsp butter in the sauté pan on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until wilted, a couple minutes.

3 Slowly sprinkle the flour and add the cooking liquid over the butter onion mixture, whisking vigorously while you do so. As soon as the sauce is thickened, add it to the scallops in the casserole baking dish. Stir to fully incorporate the scallops into the sauce.

4 Sprinkle bread crumbs over the scallops and dot with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter. Bake in the oven at 400°F until bubbly and brown, approximately 15 minutes.

Serves 6. Serve with lemon slices.

You might also like...

26 Comments

Thanks for the link, Elise. These scallops look good, too, in their lovely wine sauce

Joanna

Posted by: Joanna on February 29, 2008 2:50 AM

Scallops are a staple here in New England. When I first moved to Boston from New York, we went to the famous Union Oyster House for lunch one day. My husband ordered scallops, pronounced in the usual way, with a very flat "A" -- SCALL ups. The waiter corrected him: SKOLL ups is how it's pronounced here. Now we know!

Posted by: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on February 29, 2008 4:26 AM

Lydia's so right. When you live in New England, scallops are everywhere, along with fish and chips and clam chowdah. In fact, my brother from RI is coming to visit this weekend, and I just bought scallops for him. They have always been his favorite. I'm going to pan sear them and serve them atop of a warm frisee salad. (New Englanders also love their bitter salad greens.) I'm so glad your Dad discovered the sensational scallop!

Posted by: Susan from Food Blogga on February 29, 2008 4:59 AM

Scallops, how I love you. New England, how I miss living in you, with your wealth of scallops and your indian pudding.

I usually pan-sear mine. Baking never occurred to me, since they cook so quickly. But I'm a sucker for anything with butter and wine!

Posted by: michelle @ Us vs. Food on February 29, 2008 5:31 AM

Oooooooooh, I love scallops too any which way they're cooked. Elise, have your dad try wrapping the larger ones in half slices of bacon, brush with a teriyaki-type glaze and broil them. Served with rice and fresh steamed veggies, they are oh so good!

Yep, I was dreaming of bacon-wrapped scallops just last night. Yum... ~Elise

Posted by: Irene on February 29, 2008 9:25 AM

Sounds like Coquilles St. Jacques, without the parsley, cream and cheese~

Posted by: A. G. on February 29, 2008 12:01 PM

Elise, I much prefer bay scallops and the cooking time seems too long for bays - any thoughts on how long to cook these if using bay scallops?

TIA...

Posted by: LDubs on February 29, 2008 12:35 PM

In Peru we absolutely love baked scallops, but instead of bread crumbs we use parmesan cheese, and we bake them in the half shell.. delicious and beatiful!

Ps. Enjoy with some lime drops :)

Posted by: Jenny on February 29, 2008 2:01 PM

I honestly have no intention of trying this recipe, but I wanted to compliment the wisp of steam captured in the picture. Cooool.

Posted by: Frank on February 29, 2008 2:55 PM

Yum! This recipe looks perfect for a cold day.

Posted by: natalie from The SoHo on February 29, 2008 3:11 PM

YUM! I love scallops, but the only way I ever make them is sauteeing them in olive oil -- this looks great!

A.G. -- I was thinking it sounded like coquilles st jacques too! something about the photo looks so creamy and delicious!

Posted by: katy on February 29, 2008 5:14 PM

I just made scallops last week (pan-seared with a lemon-wine-butter sauce), but this recipe looks yummy too! :) And I especially love the large sea scallops. I think I will make this recipe soon! Thanks!

Posted by: Lisa on February 29, 2008 8:12 PM

Those look delicious and easy to do, I haven't had scallops in a while and this looks like a great recipe to get reacquainted with!

Posted by: brilynn on March 1, 2008 7:34 AM

Can never eat enough scallops and this looks yummy ... the essence of the delicate scallop still retained!

Posted by: joey on March 1, 2008 4:25 PM

I love scallops but rarely cook them. This is getting printed out to try soon!

Posted by: Mrs. L on March 1, 2008 11:04 PM

Lucky girl that I am, I have a neighbour who dives off the west coast of Scotland on the weekends. He often brings home lots of hand picked scallops and guess who he shares them with? :)
Bookmarking this now.

Posted by: Wendy on March 2, 2008 11:08 AM

Not to sound stupid, but what's the difference between sea and bay scallops? And what bay? Some bays I've seen I'm not sure I'd like to eat anything out of.

I've seen them both on a menus, and it seems like their bayness or seaness is used as a selling point. But they both can't be better.

So what's the deal?

(and I'll second the complement on the photo. It looks professional. Mine look like crap, and it's a real chore to get them up to that standard.)

Posted by: Cooking Dummy on March 2, 2008 7:59 PM

Wow these look fabulous! I've never had baked scallops before but this is a recipe that I will have to try.

Posted by: Amy on March 3, 2008 12:21 PM

I made these tonight, and they were incredible! So very, very tasty. Key: use a good wine, people -- it will be so worth it (and there will be plenty left to drink...)!

Posted by: Genie on March 6, 2008 7:47 PM

I have made scallops many times and they are always much better when breadcrumbs are used. Adds more complex texture.

Posted by: Amy on March 8, 2008 10:48 AM

I made this recipe last week when I had a few guests for a casual weeknight dinner. The scallops were tender and the sauce - to die for! I received rave reviews and thoroughly enjoyed it myself! It was quick and easy to prepare, yet tasted fancy and decadent!

Posted by: Adriene on March 13, 2008 10:02 AM

Thanks so much for the recipe. I will be using it for sure. Funny thing, I don't like fish BUT I do like scallops. Weird eh? Anyway, I look forward to these tasty little nuggets.

Posted by: Lois on March 14, 2008 8:37 AM

Just so everyone knows, in French, a "coquille St. Jacques" IS a scallop.

I actually didn't know there was a dish called "coquille St. Jacques." The things you learn on the internet :)

I've always been kind of afraid to cook scallops (despite loving them), but your recipe may just be something that I can't let pass by...

Anyway, I'd also like to comment on your photo -- it's lovely! That wisp of steam just makes it seem so much more real.

Posted by: George on March 23, 2008 6:40 AM

Hi Elise, I made this to go with the spaghetti with pesto sauce! That was a good meal! Thank you for the recipes.

Just a question: the scallops shrunk to half their sizes after the simmering in wine, although I followed the timing exactly. I cut down the recipe as only using a quarter of the scallops, is that why?

Posted by: taz on June 14, 2008 6:58 AM

It's an adequate recipe but I would not cook again. It does not burst with flavor.

Posted by: w on March 21, 2009 2:28 PM

I've never taken the time to go back and review a recipe that I've made, but as I'm sitting here devouring the leftovers from this baked scallops recipe, I have to say that this is one of the tastiest things I have ever cooked (and I cook a lot...although this is the first time I've made scallops)!!! The only change I made is that, instead of bread crumbs, I used ritz cracker crumbs and I mixed them with the melted butter and spread on top, rather than spreading the crumbs dry and dotting with butter. YUMMY! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Posted by: Jodi on April 11, 2009 11:44 AM

Post a comment

(Your comment may need to be approved before it will appear on the site. Thanks for waiting. First time commenting? Please review the Comment Policy.)

Link to this recipe

Bookmark this page using the following link: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_scallops/

Do you have a website? You can place a link to this page by copying and pasting the code below.

<a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_scallops/">Baked Scallops</a>