Buttery Scallops & Parmesan Spaghetti
with Asparagus & Lemon
- Wheat
- Shellfish
- Milk
- Fish
Get ready to impress your dinner companions with this restaurant-worthy Italian-inspired meal. Scallops are sautéed until they’re gloriously golden and succulent. They’re coated in a luscious creamy sauce, then tossed with spaghetti, loads of Parmesan, roasted asparagus, and bright lemon zest. Finish with a swirl of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice, then all that’s left to do is pour the vino and cue the violins.
Ingredients
6 ounce
Asparagus
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Lemon
6 ounce
Spaghetti
(Contains: Wheat)
8 ounce
Jumbo Sea Scallops
(Contains: Shellfish)
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Seafood Stock Concentrate
(Contains: Shellfish, Fish)
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
4 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Trim and discard woody bottom ends from asparagus; cut stalks crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Mince garlic. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Toss asparagus on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on top rack until tender and lightly browned, 10-12 minutes.
• Once water is boiling, add spaghetti to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4 servings), then drain. • Return spaghetti to pot and set aside.
• Place scallops* in a strainer and rinse under cold water to remove any grit. Gently remove any small side muscles if necessary and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. • Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Once pan is very hot, add scallops; cook, undisturbed, until lightly browned on bottoms, 2-3 minutes. • Flip scallops and stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) until melted. Cook, spooning butter over scallops, until scallops are opaque and cooked through, 1-2 minutes more. • Turn off heat; transfer to a plate and tent with foil. Wipe out pan and let cool slightly.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for scallops over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Whisk in cream sauce base, stock concentrate, and 1⁄3 cup reserved pasta cooking water (¾ cup for 4 servings). Cook, whisking, until slightly thickened, 2-4 minutes. • Reduce heat to medium low and whisk in sour cream until smooth.
• Transfer sauce to pot with drained spaghetti; add roasted asparagus, Parmesan, 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings), a big squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of lemon zest. • Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring, until butter has melted and everything is coated in a creamy sauce. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time.
• Divide pasta between shallow bowls. Top with scallops and a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.
Scallops are fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the creamy, lemony sauce and buttery scallops; some found it a bit bland and suggested adding extra herbs or garlic 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Most found it quick and easy to make, though a few felt it was more time-consuming than expected.
- Suggestions: Consider adding extra garlic, herbs, or chili flakes for more flavor; some enjoyed adding shrimp or chicken for extra protein.
- Portions: Several wished for more scallops, noting 3-4 per serving felt insufficient for a premium meal.
- Scallop quality: Many praised the fresh, sweet scallops, while others found them small, tough, or fishy.
- Veggie options: Some preferred alternatives to asparagus, like peas, spinach, or broccoli; a few received green beans instead.
Reviews from our home cooks
This dish was so yummy and relatively easy to prepare. Just be careful when cooking the scallops - you sear the first side in oil then add butter but watch the temp or you may get bits of charred oil/butter (this happened even with a nonstick pan). Problem is that you need to use the same pan to make the cream sauce so any charred bits need to be removed first. Overall, really delicious and very filling without being too rich (note: there is a lot of pasta). The cream sauce isn't too heavy and the ingredients were all very fresh. Don't hold back on using the lemon as it really makes this dish and brings out the flavor of the scallops and asparagus.
The sauce could have used more garlic, but very tasty. We love the creamy lemon sauce and I got my asparagus (husband picked around them). Scallops were very good and cooked fast/well with buttery flavor...maybe got a little too cool before we could. SUGGESTION: maybe recommend a wine pairing with each meal?
It almost cooked too fast. I think I had the pan turned up too high for the scallops. They almost burned. Then, I forgot about the asparagus in the oven, so it got overcooked. It was still delicious, and my husband said he'd like to have this dish, again.
This is easily in my top 3 meals. Easy to make and the combination of flavors was on point. Phenomenal array of flavors. Lemon zest added a great flavor that I never expected. Scallops were inconsistent in size and shape. A couple appeared smashed. Still tasted great.
Scallops should have been more uniform given the upcharge. Meal was pretty simple to make but very tasty. Good combo of citrus and creamy. Asparagus got a little lost in the mix.
We added red chili flakes to the asparagus, we added a can of spicy habanero tomatoes to the pasta, we changed out the spaghetti to linguine because we are not spaghetti fans, after the alterations the dish was phenomenal would rate Five Stars if we could!!!❤️
It was great to try an upgraded protein thanks to a credit. My family loved the sauce on the pasta & the scallops were nice. Big scallops & nice portions. I love the asparagus & how there are more veggie options now.
Omfg. I was sceptical about scallops from HelloFresh. Why? It was absolutely amazingly delicious! Suggestions: maybe add more asparagus, or a side salad? But it was sensational.
This was so good. But don't wipe out pan after sautéing scallops. Just make the sauce and you can use less butter. Very good, look forward to it again.
This was super delicious. The scallops turned out perfectly and the cream sauce wasn't too heavy. The asparagus was cooked really well.
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