If you're looking for an easy weeknight dish that's light, fresh, and full of flavor, this dairy free linguine with scallops is exactly what you're looking for. It's ready in under 30 minutes, under 400 calories per serving, and has plenty of fresh vegetables and juicy scallops.
The Linguine and A Low Carb Option
The recipe is delicious as written, but if you need to you can easily substitute traditional pasta for a gluten free option. Some gluten free pastas that I'm really loving these days are by Jovial, Ancient Harvest, and Bionaturae.
For a low carb option, you can skip the pasta and pour the sauce, vegetables, and scallops over some baked spaghetti squash or zoodles. You'll want to store any leftover squash or zoodles separate from the toppings, though, or you'll end up with a soggy mess.
The Scallops
If you aren't familiar with bay scallops, they're up to three times smaller than traditional sea scallops and are best cooked gently via poaching or a quick sauté. They're usually found in shallow waters off of the East Coast of the U.S. and are more delicate and a bit sweeter than sea scallops. If you can't find bay scallops in your area, you can certainly use sea scallops in this dish, but your cooking time will be a few minutes longer depending on their size. Scallops are my favorite weeknight seafood to cook, because there is minimal preparation required and they cook up in just minutes!
The Wine
The wine that you use in this dish should be a dry white wine that you would choose to sip from a glass. If you use one of those cheap cooking wines from the grocery store, your sauce will taste like cheap cooking wine from the grocery store. I prefer a sauvignon blanc, but a chardonnay will also work. In the words of Julia Child: "I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food."
Dairy Free Linguine With Bay Scallops And Spinach
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 cloves of garlic minced
- 12 oz bay scallops
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 9 oz linguine
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small tomato diced
- ½ cup white wine can substitute chicken stock
- ¼ – ½ cup cooking water from linguine
- salt and pepper to taste
- freshly chopping parsley
- red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Cook and drain the linguine according to package instructions, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water.
- While the linguine is cooking, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet.
- Add the spinach, and sauté until wilted. Set the cooked spinach aside.
- Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan, and cook the garlic for no more than 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- Add in the tomatoes and wine, and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cooking water and scallops, and cook just until the scallops are cooked through, about three or four minutes. Add back in the spinach, and season with salt and pepper.
- Toss linguine in the scallops and sauce, and top with freshly chopped parsley and red pepper flakes (if using).
Nutrition
Did you make this Dairy Free Linguine with Scallops?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @milkfreemom on Instagram and hashtag it #milkfreemom. Don’t forget to pin it for later!
Want more seafood?
Try my Coconut Fish Soup
Katie says
My 11-year-old son who said he hated scallops loved this so much that he keeps requesting it. I used gluten-free macaroni, chicken stock in place of the wine, and I thickened the liquid with a tablespoon of arrowroot starch (I thought maybe the cooking liquid with the regular pasta would thicken it a bit otherwise?). Great comfort food and dairy-free--just what I was looking for!
Milk Free Mom says
This is great! I'm so glad you like it and that it made a scallop lover out of your son. Thanks so much for sharing!
Tanya C. says
This was delicious & easy to prepare. This will be a regular around our house!!
Lyndsay Homme says
I'm so glad you liked it!
Married Widow says
This recipe is as delicious as it sounds. Yes, chardonnay added a tasty zing. The only changes I made was I added a heaping teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning instead of red pepper flakes and used quinoa gluten-free macaronni to address my husband's dietary restrictions and my preference for healthty carbs.
He loved this even though he is super picky and prefers simple "meat and potatoes" meals but wants to avoid overdoing bad cholesterol. This healthy meal was as yummy as it looks!
Lyndsay Homme says
I'm so glad you liked it!