This scallop shrimp pasta with burst cherry tomatoes is perfect for not only quick and simple weeknight meals but also fancy date night dinners. It is so flavorful with sweetness from fresh seafood and umami from burst tomatoes.
A trip to Rome a few years ago totally changed the way I think of pasta. The noodles itself should be al dente with a slight chew. The sauce should be just enough to smoothly coat the pasta.
Since that trip, it has been impossible for me to have an appetite for saucy pasta. This scallop shrimp pasta with burst cherry tomatoes is by no means authentic, but I make it with all the essences of the delicious pasta dishes I tried in Rome in mind.
Making Scallop Shrimp Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
The ingredients for this pasta dish are simple and easy to find in all grocery stores. Whenever I cook seafood pasta, I love to use linguine. The shape and thickness of it fit this dish so well.
You are welcome to experiment with other types of pasta you like, however the result may be affected. I don’t recommend using short pasta in a seafood pasta dish. If you have short pasta on hand, I recommend this easy pasta with beef recipe.
Other main ingredients include shrimps, scallops, cherry tomatoes, butter, white wine and a lot of garlic and parsley. Shrimps and scallops are delicate, sweet, flavorful and very quick to cook.
Cherry tomatoes, after you “burst” them, provide sweetness, juiciness, umami and a little bit of acidity. Butter adds richness and smoothness while white wine, garlic, and parsley all add more depths and flavors to the dish.
As with any simple yet delicious dishes, the fresher and higher quality the ingredients, the tastier the result.
How to Cook Scallop Shrimp Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Making this dish involves several steps and if you time them right, you can finish it within 20-30 minutes. I love how quick and easy it is to cook this pasta (and this mushroom corn pasta too).
After gathering and prepping all ingredients, I would start with cooking the linguine if you use boxed dried pasta which takes longer to cook than fresh pasta. Cook the pasta to near al dente according to package instructions. It can take 10-12 minutes. And don’t forget to generously salt the water you cook the pasta in.
While the linguine is being cooked, you can broil the cherry tomatoes until burst, around 3-4 minutes. You can also sear scallops and shrimps, and then when the noodles are ready, throwing everything together takes only a few more minutes.
Searing scallops
To get a nice sear on scallops, make sure that you pat dry the scallops, the pan is hot and use a heavy-bottomed pan such as a cast iron. My Staub Universal Cast Iron Pan
is perfect for this task. Step-by-step instructions and photos are in the recipe card below.
Other quick and easy recipes with shrimps you may like:
I’d love to hear what you think about this dish, so please feel free to leave a comment. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.
Scallop Shrimp Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 6-8 oz linguine (or other pasta of your choice)
- 8-10 oz scallops
- 8 oz shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 6 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- parsley, finely chopped (about 1-2 tablespoons)
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients and set the oven broiler to high.
- In a large pot with boiling water, season the water generously with salt. Add pasta and cook until near al dente (just a touch under) according to package instructions. Reserve some pasta cooking water.
- Spread cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil. Broil for 3-4 minutes until burst, remove from oven and set aside.
- Pat scallops and shrimps dry with paper towel, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. In a pan over medium high heat, add oil and when it’s sizzling hot, add scallops. Leave them untouched and sear for 2-4 minutes until the bottom is brown (amount of time depends on size). Flip and sear the other side for 1-2 minutes until brown. Transfer to a plate.
- Add some more oil to the pan if needed. Add shrimps and sear for 1-1 1/2 minutes until the outside is no longer pink and shrimps are almost cooked through. Transfer to the same plate with scallops.
- Reduce heat to medium, add some more oil to the pan and then add garlic. Sauté for a few seconds until fragrant and then add white wine. Deglaze the pan and let it cook for about 20 seconds. Add cherry tomatoes, pasta, butter, shrimps and scallops along with any juice on the plate. Mix thoroughly until butter is melted and flavors are combined. If the pasta is too dry, adjust with some reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer to serving plates. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve immediately.
My husband loved this! Very nice combo with the shrimp and scallops and plenty of garlic!. Needs constant attention, so they aren’t kidding when they say to get everything ready first! We used Ronzoni Veggie pasta and it was very flavorful and healthy!
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment! I’m glad you and your husband loved it. Thanks for sharing that it turned out great with veggie pasta.
I did feel the need to add some fresh lemon juice and red pepper flakes at the end. I also used 5 cloves of garlic. I think my taste buds just need a little more. But overall a good recipe that I will certainly make again- with my changes of course.
Hi Lenora,
I’m glad that it turned out good for you. I’m sure the addition of lemon juice brightened the dish and red pepper flakes gave it an extra kick. Sounds really tasty!
Fantastic!! My husband thinks I am a kitchen goddess!! Thank you!!
Hi Annette,
Thank you so much for the comment! I’m so thrilled to know that you and your husband enjoyed it.
Now making it for the 4th time in 3 weeks!
Wow, I’m very happy you like it so much :). It’s great to have such a delicious dish that is so quick and easy to cook. I would also love to hear if you serve it with any appetizer, salad or side dish?
Hi there, I am making this again tonight. Saturday treat! I usually make it with some garlic bread (more garlic!!!) which we use to basically clean the plate. Tonight I am also serving runner beans as a side. My friend grows them and we have a fridge full of them. X
Hello Annette,
Glad to see you’re back to make this pasta again. It sounds like a lovely summer meal with runner beans as a side. And of course garlic bread, well… who can resist garlic bread :D?
What kind of white wine or stock do we use to deglaze the pan?
Hi Nancy,
You can use any white wine you drink at home that isn’t expensive, or use light-flavored stock to deglaze the pan.
What temperature should i burst the cherry tomatoes at?
Hi Chay Huey,
My oven has only two settings for the broiler, low and high so I just need to select high. If you need to set a temperature, you can select 400F (or 205C) and keep an eye on the tomatoes :).
Really delicious. My only change next time would be the cooking times on the scallops and shrimp. With bringing it to such high heat until the pan is sizzling hot, it is easy to overcook both. I plan to cut cooking time for shrimp in 1/2. I followed this recipe but I usually cook my scallops by reducing from medium-high heat to medium heat once scallops are placed in the pan and cook for ~3 min. Then turn to medium-low before turning them over and cooking for an additional 30 sec – 1 min.
Hi Courtney,
Thank you so much for the feedback! When I wrote up the recipe for this dish, I had an electric cooktop which was quite weak so I had to use high heat setting to sear the scallops and shrimps. Now I have a much powerful gas cooktop, medium heat is already sufficient. Thanks for sharing the tips on cooking the scallops and shrimps and I’m happy that you enjoyed the dish.
Sophie
This recipe was so simple and came together so quickly I wasn’t sure how flavorful it would be. But wow did it exceed my expectations! So delicious…will definitely be making this again and again. It’s going to be great for entertaining fellow seafood lovers too. Thank you!!
Hubby doesnt like seafood. Is there any other meat I can substitute?
My boyfriend and I made this for our anniversary and were blown away. We both agreed that it was the best thing we’ve ever made as a couple. We will definitely revisit this recipe sometime in the near future! Thanks so much.
Hi Charlotte,
I’m so happy to hear that you and your boyfriend chose to make this dish for your anniversary and it turned out great for you guys. Happy anniversary and thank you so much for the comment :)!
How do you “deglaze” the pan?
Hi Genevieve,
After you sear the scallops and shrimps, there will be some brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan and those bits have lots of flavors. With the heat on, then you add white wine (or stock if you don’t have wine) and use a wooden spoon/spatula to scrape the pan to release those bits and their flavors. That’s how you deglaze the pan.
For deglazing to work, you should not use non-stick pans because food doesn’t brown well in non-stick pans so you won’t get those flavorful bits. It’s better to use cast iron or stainless steel pans.
I hope this helps :).
Sophie
Delicious! Date night meal with the hubby!
Hi Becky!
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m glad to hear that it turned out delicious for you :).
Sophie
Hi, can I use Rose wine instead of white? Thank u
Hi Chris,
I haven’t used rosé wine in cooking so I did a google search and read several articles. It seems to be okay to use rosé wine instead of white wine in recipes. However, there are different types of rosé wine, so I think you can check whether your rosé wine pairs well with seafood and if that’s the case, you can try using it for this recipe. I hope this helps :).
Thank you so much for that respod and your research. Thank you!
Glad I was able to help! I look forward to hearing how it turns out with rosé wine.
This is delicious. I’ve made it twice now. Second time I upped the seafood( a pound each), did a whole cup of wine, and made a whole pound of pasta. I cut up extra garlic and added some to shrimp. Came out great.