Bacon Wrapped Scallops are on a LOT of starter menus. For good reason. They are delicious! I think Kevin would say that they are his favorite appy. He orders them every time we are out for dinner and they are on the menu.
We have a little restaurant close by our house called Lou’s Bar and Grill. They have a few dishes that I love, but the one that stands out the most is their Bacon Wrapped Scallops. They always come with plenty of sauce and a few slices of crusty toasted bread on the side to scoop up the left over sauce. It is so freeking yum! I will even ditch the gluten free diet on occasion and go for a slice of bread. The sauce is that good!
Debbie and I, being us, had to make a copy cat recipe so that we can have this appy when we are eating or entertaining at home. This recipe is pretty damn close and maybe even slightly better because you can make it with fresh and lower fat ingredients. Of course this just means that you can eat more! Right?
Our sauce is made without heavy cream, but if you want this to be even more rich, add some cream at the end a little at a time. We don’t use cream for this, but Im sure Lou’s does 😉
Scallops on their own arent super flavorful, but they are perfect to have with a bold and flavorful sauce. These little bundles are so tender, but have a little crunch from the salty bacon and a little bite from the spicy, creamy sauce. They really are like a one bite explosion of flavor in your mouth. Feel free to toast up some ciabatta for dipping!
These are really easy to make but they look fantastic and sophisticated if you plate them with a little care. We like to serve them in single serving spoons as you can see in these pictures, and that works great if you are having a party where people are just standing around. However, you could also serve them as a first course at a dinner party with a few on a small plate resting on the sauce.
If you dont have little spoons like this, you could always serve them individually skewered and resting on a plate of sauce. Then people can swish them around in the sauce and pop them in their mouths easy.
One thing about Scallops to remember is that they have a little muscle (also called a beard) that you need to remove before you cook them. Otherwise the muscle gets tough when you cook it. To learn how to do this, check out this youtube video.
Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Cajun Cream Sauce
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 12 scallops fresh or frozen
- 12 strips bacon
- 12 toothpicks
- chives for garnish
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 med onion finely chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 2 Tbsp cajun seasoning
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (not grated like the Kraft kind)
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup chicken stock or veggie stock
- 3 – 4 tbsp heavy cream optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
MAKE THE SAUCE
- Heat oil in a small pot. When its hot, throw in the onions and sauté for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and the tomatoes. Cook these for a bit until the tomatoes just melt into a sauce.
- Turn the heat down to low. Add the cajun seasoning and the cream cheese and stir till the cheese melts. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken or veg stock. Then add the parmesan cheese and stir till it melts. It might get stringy, but just keep cooking it. It will melt into the sauce.
- Puree the sauce with a hand held blender or in your blender until its very smooth and put it back into the pot. Add a bit more stock until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Salt and Pepper to taste and keep covered and warm until your scallops are ready.
MAKE THE SCALLOPS
- If your scallops are frozen, thaw them by putting the package in cold water. They will thaw pretty quickly. Make sure to remove the beard or little muscle on each scallop if there is one. Read the post above to learn how.
- In the meantime, heat up a skillet and cook the strips of bacon only part way done. You can do this in the oven too if you like.
- Heat your oven to 450 degrees.
- To assemble, wrap a piece of bacon around each scallop and secure with a toothpick. Place on a parchment lined baking tray.
- Drizzle with olive oil if desired and place in the hot oven for 3 – 4 mins and then flip them and cook for another 3 – 4 mins depending on the size of the scallop.
- Remove from the oven and arrange on a serving platter with the sauce.
Lisa says
Yes!! I’m sooo trying this. Being that we don’t get to frequent Lou’s and I’ve asked them if I can buy their sauce (to which they’ve said ‘no’) this excites me!!!
Deanna says
How amazing! I am from Abbotsford and took my bf down for a visit and went to Lou’s for the first time and we had the scallops and I have been trying to imitate the sauce for a while now! So happy to have stumbled upon this recipe – you ladies rock!
Julie and Debbie says
Hi Deanna! I hear you, we had a number of versions of this recipe before we got the flavor we wanted. If you want it to taste even more like Lous, add some heavy cream in place of some of the chicken broth or drizzle some in at the end. I think it tastes great without, but the cream will give it some added richness if your looking for it 🙂 We would love to hear what you think of the sauce after you give it a try!
Tanya says
This is probably a dumb question by when you put the scallops on the oven is it bacon side down or the exposed scallop side? Thank!
Julie and Debbie says
No dumb questions 🙂 Bacon side down is how we do it.
Troy says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I love in mission and was a frequent flyer at Lou’s as well. We love this sauce with scallops as well as their cajun seafood fettucini. Bravo to you ladies even though this is like 4 years old. Sorry for the late comment. Lol.
Julie & Debbie says
Haha! Not late if you just found the recipe. They do have great food at Lous. I havent been back since it reopened, but I will be there for the truffle lobster mac and cheese soon!
Diane says
Can the sauce be prepared in advance and how long can I keep before use. I’m thinking for an Xmas starter for my family of 12. Need something I can prep in advance.
Julie & Debbie says
Yes! You can make the sauce ahead of time and then just warm it up again. You could keep it easily in the fridge for a couple days.