
This beautiful rendition of a cream sauce on homemade angel hair pasta is absolutely delicious. But adding some perfectly seared scallops to this dish will make your heart of pound! This Seared Scallop Pasta with Vanilla Grapefruit Cream Sauce tastes like a restaurant quality dish, but it is easy to make in the comfort of your own home!
The Jaw-Dropping Cream Sauce
This Vanilla Grapefruit Cream Sauce is much easier to make than the interesting ingredients may suggest. The vanilla bean offers just enough flavor to enhance the sauce without being prominent. And the combination of citrus, vanilla, and scallops works perfectly together.
Can I use vanilla extract in place of the vanilla bean?
Vanilla beans can be quite expensive, so if you don't have one or if you don't want to spend the money on these, no worries at all. Instead use a few drops of pure vanilla extract in the sauce. Imitation vanilla is not recommended.
Can I use a different citrus?
There is good reason why we chose to use grapefruit in this recipe! The subtle sweetness enhances the natural sweetness of scallops. All this while not making the actual dish “sweet!”
We recommend pink grapefruit for this dish, specifically. If you choose to sub a different citrus fruit here, you will change the overall flavor profile. Although it will change the dish, it likely won't ruin it, so feel free to experiment to create a similar citrus cream sauce.
Homemade Pasta vs Store Bought
If you have been around here a while, you know that we recommend making your own pasta at home over store bought for almost every pasta recipe we share here. Homemade pasta is just better. Period. Check out our go-to Multipurpose Pasta Dough recipe for more info on how to make pasta at home for this dish.
That being said, you can surely use store bought dry pasta for this Seared Scallop Pasta with Vanilla Grapefruit Cream Sauce and you won't be disappointed.
We recommend using angel hair or thin spaghetti in this dish.
Perfectly Seared Scallops
For more info on buying scallops and achieving that perfect sear, check out our post on Perfectly Seared Scallops. We always recommend buying fresh scallops from a reliable source over frozen. Or if you can't get fresh scallops, check to make sure the frozen scallops you are buying haven't been treated with phosphates (these are called "wet" scallops), but instead have been frozen immediately after catching and are free of additives (called "dry" scallops). "Dry" scallops will taste better overall.
Enjoy!
We hope you enjoy this recipe for Seared Scallop Pasta with Vanilla Grapefruit Cream Sauce. If you give it a try, leave us a comment below, or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!
Looking for more pasta dishes like this? Check these out:
- Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Pasta
- Fettuccine with Winter Spiced Cream Sauce and Rosemary Sage Meatballs
- Lobster Ravioli with Lemon Cream Sauce
- Chicken Piccata with Caper Lemon Butter Sauce
Do you love our recipes?
We work hard to provide you with delicious FREE recipes here on Cooking With Wine. If you love and value our content and want to support our efforts, you can contribute whatever amount you are comfortable with below.
Buy me a coffeeWe will continue to provide you with recipes no matter what, so there is no obligation to contribute! Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated!
Thank you for being part of our community! You are the reason we do what we do!
Leave a Reply