Name: Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian Inspired
Ingredients: ¾ pound dry spaghetti; 4 slices crisp cooked bacon, chopped; 1 pound medium sized scallops; Salt and pepper to season; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 6 cloves minced garlic; ½ cup white wine; 1 cup low sodium seafood stock, or chicken stock; 1½ cups whipping cream; 2 large tomatoes, center pulp removed and diced small.; ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Jump to recipe if you like, but be sure to read the whole post for instructional photos & other tips.

Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon. Updated to add recipe video! Ready in well under 30 minutes, this in one quick & easy meal that’s sure to impress. It easily adapts to serve just two as well, making it an ideal choice for a romantic dinner for Valentine’s Day or at any time of the year you want to pamper your sweetheart.

Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon.

As we get ready to usher in February, I begin to get messages from folks who are looking for easy ways to cook a special dinner at home for their sweetheart.

My suggestions for those occasions usually fall into 2 categories. Those are slow cooked dishes that are ready to serve from the oven, or quick and easy which can take only a few minutes on the kitchen to prepare.

This recipe definitely comes under the quick and easy category but delivers great flavour in minimum time. The key here of course is preparation, which speeds up the process even more.

Pile of peeled raw scallops isolated on white

Always use the freshest scallops when you can but thawed frozen scallops are often used around here as well.

Prepping the Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon.

A great idea for this recipe is to prepare everything you need in advance. You can then spend as little as 15 minutes to get this delicious dish on the table.

Precook the bacon, chop the garlic and have a pot of salted water on the stove ready to boil for the pasta. Basically, do anything you can think of that can be done in advance.

Bacon slice being cooked in frying pan. Close up.

Crisp cooked bacon compliments the scallops beautifully

One great tip is to prep all the ingredients individually, place them in small dessert dishes or ramekins. Place all of them on a tray which gets completely covered with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge.

When the time comes to do the actual cooking, you won’t be searching around the fridge for ingredients. You’ll just pull out the tray, pull off the plastic and set to work.

Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon.

Think of it like preparing for a cooking show. Most of the time the reason that the cooking looks so easy on these shows and also goes so flawlessly, is because everything the chef needs is at hand.

This is a great habit to get into no matter what you are cooking. However, when time is of the essence, it’s even more important, especially when romance awaits.

Need more seafood inspiration?

If you’re looking for more great ideas like this, check out this collection of 20 of Our Favourite Seafood Dinners.

Updated June 2020

Like this Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti recipe?

It’s easy to keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes. Be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.

Plus you’ll see daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals too.

You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You’ll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly meals and desserts too!

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

Visit my Amazon Store for my favourite kitchen gadgets and appliances, plus recommendations from my personal cookbook collection.

4 Servings

Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon - ready in well under 30 minutes, this in one quick & easy meal that's sure to impress. It easily adapts to serve just two as well, making it an ideal choice for a romantic dinner for Valentine's Day or at any time of the year you want to pamper your sweetheart.

Ingredients

¾ pound dry spaghetti
4 slices crisp cooked bacon, chopped
1 pound medium sized scallops
Salt and pepper to season
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves minced garlic
½ cup white wine
1 cup low sodium seafood stock, or chicken stock
1½ cups whipping cream
2 large tomatoes, center pulp removed and diced small.
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook the dry spaghetti to al dente in salted water and drain.
Crisp cook the bacon in a large sauté pan and roughly chop it. Set aside.
Season the scallops with salt and pepper and pan sear them in the bacon fat for only about 1½ to 2 minutes per side and set aside with the bacon.
Drain the bacon fat from the pan and add the olive oil and garlic; cook for only a minute to slightly soften the garlic.
Add the white wine and seafood stock and simmer quickly for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced by about ⅓. Add the cream and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper if needed, then add the bacon, tomatoes and the scallops to the sauce. Simmer for only a minute or two to warm the scallops through before adding the cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese.
Toss together the pasta and sauce very well before serving.

Notes

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

Creamy Garlic Scallop Spaghetti with Bacon