Grilled Scallops (with Herby White Wine Sauce)
Published 8/27/2021 • Updated 8/8/2022
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The most delicious grilled scallops are marinated in a lemon garlic sauce, seared quickly on the grill, and served with a light and herby white wine sauce.
Perfectly Grilled Scallops (in 3 steps)
Are you ready to sink your teeth into the most delicious grilled scallops you’ve ever tasted? These big, juicy scallops are marinated in a lemon garlic marinade, seared quickly on the grill, and then topped with an incredible white wine sauce.
In this post, you’ll learn how to cook scallops on the grill in just 3 steps! Enjoy.
- Marinate scallops
- Grill scallops
- Top with white wine sauce
What do these grilled scallops taste like?
These tender 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 Sauv 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.
More on Cupcake LightHearted
- < 1g sugar/5-oz. serving
- 8% alcohol
- 80 calories/5-oz. serving
Scallops Marinade
First things first, let’s create a flavor bath for your scallops. This scallops 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.
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 of 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 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 too cook in ctirus and become chewy and rubbery.
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.
How do you know when scallops are done on the grill?
According to FoodSafety.gov, cook scallops until the flesh is pearly or white, and opaque. Other websites such as Cooks Illustrated have recommended the ideal internal temperature is 125ºF to 130ºF.
Can I 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 White 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
- butter
- onion
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- white wine
- fresh cilantro
- fresh parsley
- fresh chives
- lemon zest
How to Make It
Heat butter in a small saucepan. Then, saute 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.
try it!
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.
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
Grilled Scallops Serving Suggestions
Looking to complete your meal? Serve your perfectly grilled scallops with a few of our favorite grilled sides:
Perfect Grilled Scallops (with white wine sauce)
Ingredients
Marinade
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 Sauv 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Cupcake LightHearted. We were compensated and all opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting Fit Foodie Finds!
Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe. I can hardly wait to try it.