Quick Summary: Buttery sea scallops with a fennel-spiced crust served on a bed of creamy spinach with caramelized onions and dry sherry. Restaurant-quality results in under 30 minutes, and fully slow-carb or keto compliant. Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes | Serves: 4
Jump to: RECIPE | Keys to Perfectly Seared Scallops | Seasoning the Scallops | FAQ
My low-carb recipes have to meet three criteria: intense flavor, adaptable to slow-carb or keto eating, and quick to prepare. These seared scallops on creamed spinach hit all three.
The scallops get a crisp golden crust from high heat and ground fennel seasoning. The spinach is enriched with caramelized onions, garlic, dry sherry, and heavy cream. The whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes and rivals what you’d get in a high end restaurant.
My husband got hooked on creamed spinach dishes during a trip to Spain to visit our daughter, and I’ve been recreating versions ever since.
The ingredient and recipe details are listed in the recipe card below.
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Secrets for Perfectly Seared Scallops
Four tips will go a long way to getting seared scallops that can compete with a five-star restaurant:
- Get the scallops as dry as possible before seasoning or searing. This is particularly important if you are using frozen scallops. I live in Minnesota and buy my scallops from Costco. They are frozen and when thawed they are quite wet. It is important to dry them thoroughly with paper towels and let them air dry for a bit.
- Get the oil smoking hot in the skillet before placing the seasoned scallops in.
- Sear the first side for 1-2 minutes and don’t move them around while they are getting the sear.
- Cook them quickly. 1-2 minutes on the first side; flip and cook 1 more minute on the flip side.
Seasoning Options
I love freshly ground fennel (along with salt and pepper) as my seasoning of choice.
If you don’t care for fennel, paprika is a nice spice. Just know that Hungarian paprika, Spanish paprika, smoked paprika, and hot paprika are all quite different. I like this mildly spiced smoked paprika.
Tip: Whatever spice you use make sure and add some salt if it is not in the spice blend to bring out the subtle flavors of the spice blend and the seafood.
A slight variation on this recipe below is this Spanish Creamed Spinach and Scallops, which seasons the spinach with smoked paprika and uses no wine or sherry. They are both delicious, creamy, and as easy as you can get!
For another uniquely delicious scallop dish, check out this Scallops in Grapefruit Butter recipe.
FAQ
Look for “dry” sea scallops if possible. “Wet” scallops have been treated with a solution that adds moisture and makes them harder to sear properly. Large sea scallops (U-10 or U-15 count) work best for this dish.
Yes, but thaw them completely in the refrigerator and dry them very thoroughly. Frozen scallops release more moisture than fresh.
Dry white wine works well. You can also skip the alcohol and add a splash of chicken broth with a squeeze of lemon.
Yes. Make the creamed spinach up to a day ahead and reheat gently. Sear the scallops just before serving.
Use smoked paprika, lemon pepper, or just salt and pepper. The scallops are mild enough to work with many seasonings.
For 45+ more recipes focused on fish and seafood, check out my fish & seafood category.
Low Carb Seared Scallops with Creamed Spinach
Equipment
- non-stick skillet (You will need 2)
Ingredients
- 16 large sea scallops
- 4 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup dry sherry Or dry white wine
- 12 ounce spinach Frozen in bag
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ Tsp nutmeg
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp ground fennel optional: can use smoked paprika
Instructions
- Drain the scallops, pat them as dry as you can with paper towels and set them aside to dry out further.16 large sea scallops
- Melt 1 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onions to the skillet and saute for about 5 min. Or until light brown and caramelized. Once onions are caramelized, add the minced garlic for about 30 seconds (do not burn).4 teaspoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons butter, 1 large onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add wine to deglaze the skillet and cook over med-high for a minute or two to blend. Add the spinach, cream, salt and pepper and nutmeg to the skillet and cook over med-low heat for about 5 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Fold in the cheese and remove from heat.1/2 cup dry sherry, 12 ounce spinach, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 Tsp nutmeg, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Pat the scallops dry again with paper towels, getting them as dry as you can to take a good sear. Season them with salt and pepper and ground fennel (sometimes I use smoked paprika).1 tsp ground fennel
- In a clean, large skillet,heat 2 Tbsp of oil over high heat until shimmering hot. Place half of the scallops in the skillet, starting with the 6:00 position and moving clockwise around the skillet. Cook them, undisturbed, until browned on the bottom (resist the temptation to pick them up and look or move them, they will come away from the pan easily once they are seared). Flip them (after about 2-3 minutes and continue to cook about 1 minute longer. Repeat with remaining scallops, adding (and heating)more oil to the skillet before searing if needed.
- Serve over the spinach and enjoy.
This was INCREDIBLE! My husband found this recipe and wanted to try these scallops with creamed spinach for his Father’s Day dinner. It was excellent. We can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thanks so much for letting me know Susie!! The nice thing about it was that it was easy also right?
[…] For another great recipe featuring low carb scallops, click here. […]
[…] you’re looking for other fish dishes compliant with low carb diets, try this scallop on a bed of spinach dish, or this uniquely wonderful seared scallop […]
[…] For another great recipe featuring low carb scallops, click here. […]
Your low carb seared scallion on creamed spinach is incredible… it is now a regular meal in our home.
I’m so happy you like it Daun! I just bought some more scallops today as I hadn’t made it in a while. If you ever have a chance or the time, share a photo. Thanks for the comment!
I assume you thaw and drain the spinach first.
@dorothy stainbrook, I made mine with the spinach still frozen, no issues. So Good!!!!
Thank you for letting me know! So glad you liked it.
Yes, thaw it for sure. Draining doesn’t have to be squeezing all water out of it, as much of it will evaporate while cooking. I would allow it to drain in a colander as it thaws.
Loved it! I posted a pic on Instagram and tagged you! Thank you or the great meal! Super easy too.
Thank you Laurel. That is really helpful to me, and also to others that might enjoy it. I appreciate the share!
Can I use something to replace the sherry or wine.
If you want to substitute for the wine, look for something with a bit of acid like a mild vinegar, lemon juice or even apple juice. Chicken stock or vegetable stock will work to add some liquid and a tiny bit of flavor but it doesn’t add the acidity. Here is a link to some other alternatives: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/wine-substitutes
Absolutely delicious and very well written recipe.
For the spinach, I modified because I had only half and half; added 1/4 cream cheese bar. The addition of sherry was new to me but it added more depth.
The details for cooking the scallops were thorough and user friendly and the end product was perfect- best scallops I have prepared and my dinner companion gave the meal 5 stars.
Thanks again; I will check out your site more thoroughly.
Thank you so much for commenting Roberta! It really helps me to know whether I need to make changes to the recipe for folks. So glad you enjoyed it!
I am going to try this recipe, however I will substitute low fat sour cream for the heavy cream. Wish me luck!
Let me know how it turns out. I would think it should work fine.
We were celebrating having a night with no children and I just started low carbing, and dh had gotten scallops, a real splurge. This recipe was just perfect. Delicious, decadent, rich but still on plan for me. Thank you ❤️ you made our evening.
I’m so happy to hear that! Low carb can be delicious actually. Best of luck and progress on your journey.
Delicious! I didn’t use the cheese, but followed everything else to the T. Perfect!
So glad you liked it Becky! Scallops can get spendy, but I love this dish and make it for special occasions a lot