A summer meal made completely on the grill! These grilled bay scallops with zucchini, corn and tomatoes are tossed in a simple and delicious garlic basil butter sauce.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ACME Markets. All opinions are 100% mine.
A summer meal made completely on the grill! These grilled bay scallops with zucchini, corn and tomatoes are tossed in a simple and delicious garlic basil butter sauce.

With its light, vegetable forward vibe, fresh herbs and the fact that it’s made entirely on the grill, this meal just screams summer!

I use my grill like I use my stove-top in the summer.

Yeah, it may be a bit of a pain walking to and from the kitchen to the back deck versus the 2 feet between my sink and stove but keeping the heat out of the house and the ease of clean up make it all worth it when it comes to grilling.

With summer, our seafood consumption tends to go way up. There’s something about the nutritious light feel of seafood that pairs so well with all the amazing produce of the season.

This recipe for grilled bay scallops illustrates that perfectly in the most delicious yet simple way.

Frozen bay scallops are tossed in a garlic basil butter sauce and grilled with summer vegetables for an easy meal.
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If you look back on any of my seafood recipes, you’ll probably find me waxing on about the importance of sustainability when it comes to choosing the seafood you buy and consume.

This was something already top of mind for me beforehand but, my trip to Cordova, Alaska back in 2015 highlighted so well the interplay between wild-caught fishing/sustainable fishing practices and the environment, my commitment to the cause has been steadfast ever since.

That commitment is one of the reasons I’m so excited to share this recipe for grilled bay scallops with summer vegetables with you today.

A simple, quick and easy summer meal - grilled bay scallops with zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and corn in a basil butter sauce.

I shopped at ACME Markets, but you can also find these Open Nature® MAGDALENA Bay Scallops at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market and Tom Thumb – whichever is local for you! ACME Markets also offers Grocery Delivery and Drive Up & Go™ for convenient ways to shop.

All Open Nature seafood is wild-caught without preservatives. Open Nature products also now include the Responsible Choice™ logo for sustainable sourcing.

That label shows customers that Open Nature Seafood products have been raised or caught in ways that help safeguard future supplies, helping to keep ocean ecosystems thriving.

Sourcing is all third-party audited to ensure the highest standards and ACME Markets stands behind Open Nature products with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Grilled corn, zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes are tossed in a garlic basil butter sauce and grilled with bay scallops for a light summer meal.

With quality assurances like that, I was super excited to get creative in the kitchen with these bay scallops.

Typically, I would think to use sea scallops (the bigger ones) for a grilling recipe and save bay scallops for other methods like in this Bay Scallop Baby Kale Corn Salad or this Watermelon Feta Salad with Cornmeal Crusted Fried Scallops (oh man, I love that recipe!) but, there’s a little grilling secret I need to let you in on that will change how you approach grilling from here on out…

Grill mats.

It’s that simple. You can buy them on Amazon (these are the ones I have and use) and they’re literally just these mats you lay on top of your grill grates that pretty much allow you to grill ANYTHING.

Even tiny bay scallops that would otherwise fall through the grill grates.

I use them for vegetables (like these grilled green beans) all the time because honestly, who wants to be running between the grill tending to the protein while the veggies are inside on the stove or in the oven?

They’re reusable, washable and will easily last you a season or two.

Of course, if you don’t want to buy grill mats, you can just use aluminum foil in its place but I stay away from cooking with aluminum foil these days to avoid the toxic heavy metal accumulation that can result from that.

This light summer meal is made entirely on the grill and packed full of flavor thanks to a garlic basil butter sauce that coats all the vegetables and scallops!

So when it came to putting this recipe together, along with my trusty grill mat, I decided to grill everything together for an easy and quick summer meal.

It may be light on preparation and ingredients but it’s big on flavor thanks to a garlic basil butter sauce that gets slathered on everything.

While the corn is grilled directly on the grates (like in this hummus flatbread with grilled corn & berries – can’t beat those sweet charred corn kernels!), the rest of the summer vegetables (zucchini, tomatoes and summer squash) and the scallops are cooked right on the grill mat.

It’s a gorgeous meal, full of color, light in feel, big on flavor and easy on the chef.

I served it alongside some leftover sourdough focaccia I had made the day prior and on an 85 degree summer day, it really hit the spot.

I like to think of this meal as the summer equivalent to sheet pan recipes like maple mustard chicken or sheet pan pork chops. It’s just as simple, only the grill does the work, not the oven.

And who can complain about that?

Open Nature wild caught Magdalena Bay Scallops from ACME markets

Love this recipe for grilled bay scallops? Try one of these grilled summer meals too:

Grilled Scallops with Tomatillo Plum Salsa
Peach Honey Grilled Lamb Chops
Tart Cherry Balsamic Grilled Summer Vegetable Orzo Salad
Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Grilled Corn Cherry Salsa
Citrus Grilled Shrimp Skewers

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5 from 4 votes

Grilled Basil Butter Bay Scallops with Summer Vegetables

Servings: 2 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Grilled basil butter bay scallops with summer vegetables
A summer meal made completely on the grill! These wild bay scallops and summer vegetables are tossed in a simple and delicious basil butter sauce.

Ingredients 

  • about 40 frozen wild bay scallops
  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 yellow summer squash
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 2 ears corn on the cob

For the basil butter sauce

  • 2 tablespoons ghee, or good quality butter
  • 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
  • juice of half a lemon
  • salt and pepper

Instructions 

  • Thaw scallops according to directions and pat dry. Transfer to a small bowl.
  • Chop zucchini and squash as desired (circles, half moons, thick slices, etc.). Place zucchini, squash and tomatoes in a medium bowl or dish.
  • Make the basil butter sauce by heating the ghee (or butter), olive oil and minced garlic in a small pan over low heat. Saut́e for about 3 minutes until deeply fragrant.
  • Add the basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stir until combined and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
  • Preheat an outdoor grill over medium heat. Line half the grill with a grill mat or aluminum foil.
  • Lightly brush the ears of corn with the basil butter sauce and place directly on the grill grates (not on the portion lined with the grill mat or aluminum foil). Grill for about 10 minutes, rotating occasionally.
  • Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the basil butter sauce on top of the vegetables and toss to fully coat in the sauce.
  • Toss the remaining 2 tablespoons of the sauce with the bay scallops.
  • Place the vegetables on the grill mat or aluminum foil and grill until softened and grill marks start to appear. Toss once or twice while cooking. Remove to a dish and cover when done.
  • Once vegetables are removed from the grill, add the scallops to the grill mat and cook for about 3 minutes.
  • Slice the grilled corn off the cob and toss the corn, grilled vegetables and scallops together before serving.
  • Garnish with additional basil, sea salt and pepper.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 468kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 9gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 477mgFiber: 8gSugar: 29g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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5 Comments

  1. This recipe looks absolutely delicious and perfect for summer! I’ve got to fix it this week so that we can enjoy it a few times before summer is over! :)

  2. 5 stars
    Winner every time! So easy, super delicious, and perfect for summer. I could eat this for days…thanks for sharing!