An easy baked sea scallops recipe with a crispy low carb and gluten free topping. Makes a fantastic keto friendly appetizer or main course.
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Although I'm not a big fish eater, I absolutely love shellfish. I'd be happy with a diet full of lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, and scallops.
Unfortunately, these tend to be the more expensive seafood. But, it's nice to splurge every once in a while. And here in New England, there's always an abundance of shellfish in the summer.
I've always wondered why mollusks like scallops are higher in carbs than crustaceans like shrimp. I'm told it's because you eat the entire body, including organs.
However, there's no reason why you can't enjoy delicious baked sea scallops every now and then. These were always one of my favorite items to order at restaurants.
To reduce the carbs in this low carb version, pork rinds and cheese are used for topping rather than a bread crumb mixture. Jalapeño, garlic, and butter add some extra flavor along with the traditional lemon.
It is tough to find scallops sold on the half shell in regular grocery stores. Usually it's just the meat. But, most seafood markets do sell them fresh and you may find some in the freezer section. Or, just order some scallop baking shells.
You can buy either bay or sea scallops. The bay ones are smaller in size and are more tender. I like to use the sea variety because of the larger size.
These restaurant quality baked sea scallops are an easy keto friendly appetizer you can make at home. They can even be used as the main dish.
It would be nearly impossible to find a restaurant selling a similar dish made low carb and gluten free. I wish there were more choices on the menu for those following a keto diet.
Sure, you can always go for meats and salads, but that gets to be a bit boring. And, forget about desserts. There's so few places where you can get a low carb treat.
I've heard that if you live in a big metro area like New York City or Los Angeles, it's not that hard to find restaurants that cater to us low carbers. But, I love living out in the peacefulness of the country.
That's one of the main reasons why I started creating so many low carb recipes. I needed some old time food favorites like these baked sea scallops that I couldn't get at restaurants anymore.
Wouldn't it be great to have restaurants start offering keto dishes? Maybe one day our way of eating will become the norm.
Until that day comes, I'll continue to create my own gourmet low carb foods at home. I'm somewhat of a homebody anyway. But, I do like to take a break from the kitchen and have others prepare meals for me.
Do you have a favorite seafood dish that you'd like to see in a low carb version? Stuffed clams are another old favorite of mine so I may have to work on a de-carbed recipe. I've already make my own clam chowder and linguini with white clam sauce.
Low Carb Gluten Free Baked Sea Scallops Recipe
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Recipe
Baked Sea Scallops
Ingredients
- 10 pieces sea scallops on the half shell 375g each without shell
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup cheddar cheese Freshly Grated
- ¾ cup mozzarella
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup pork rind
- 2 jalapeños thinly sliced
- 2 lemons juice and slices
- salt and black Pepper to taste
- fresh parsley for garnishing
- hot water for soaking shells
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 400°F.
- Remove scallops from shell. Lightly brush and rinse shell with lemon juice combined with water, to eliminate the fishy odor. Soak in hot water for at least 15 minutes. Wipe shells with kitchen towel and return scallops to shell. Sprinkle some salt.
- In a baking tray lined with foil, bake scallops for 5 minutes. Drain scallops broth. Opt to set aside for another use or discard.
- Butter and cheese mixture. In a skillet with low heat, melt butter and sauté garlic until slightly brown.Turn off heat then add cream, cheddar cheese, Jalapeño and black pepper. Stir until cheese melts.
- Pour ½ Tbsp. of butter and cheese mixture to each scallop on shell, sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese, add crushed pork rind and top with 1 slice of Jalapeño for each.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted and golden in color. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
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gjeanieg
Excellent! Husband says to keep this recipe! =) Thank you!
Karen Johnson
Baked Scallop recipe
Hi Lisa
Looks good.
I don’t eat cheese or pork-what can I substitute!’?
Lisa MarcAurele
You could try some almond flour and a little nutritional yeast.
Debra Mouton
What can I use instead of the shell. I have frozen scallops and would like to try this topping but need something I can substitute for the shell. Recipe looks delicious!
Lisa
Maybe small ramekins? Or just bake the scallops together in one big baking dish and sprinkle the topping on.
gjeanieg
That's what I did! Worked perfectly.
Catherine
We love this receipe and use a pie plate for this receipe, thawing frozen scallops overnight in the refridgerator. This make the preparation quicker and eliminates the need for lemons, unless you want them as a garnishment. I double the recipe so there are 18 - 20 scallops in the 9" pie plate that has oil (I use avocado oil) in the plate before adding the scallops to bake. Additionally not everyone likes the heat of jalapenos, so before the mozzarella and pork rinds are sprinkled on top I place a toothpick through the top center of the scallops that will have jalapeno topping, sprinkle on the cheese and crushed pork rinds. Then I slide a jalapeno slice over the toothpick and then remove the toothpick before placing it in the oven for the final 8-10 minutes baking.
Chris
Amazing recipe, we included this on our Keto seafood recipe round up .. https://slickweightloss.com/keto-snacks-recipe-easy-seafood-snacks/
Lisa
Thanks for the include.
Denise
These scallops were absolutely awesome!
Every single bite is to be savored.
I cannot wait to make them again!
Thank you for the recipe.
Lisa
You're welcome! Happy to hear they were a hit. 🙂
Oriana Riddle
This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I add a 1/3 cup of thinly sliced celery and onion for crunchy texture, then serve over cauliflower rice.