Grilled shrimp and scallops with herbs make a healthy, delicious dinner when you steam them on the grill in this easy recipe for grilled seafood packets. Bonus points: almost no clean-up involved! How scrumptious is that?
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Why this recipe works
Seafood cooked on the grill is one of my favorites, but it is definitely a balancing act between cooking your fish on the grill and not ending up with your seafood overcooked or sticking to the grill grates.
A grilling pan is definitely one way to go (looking at you, scallops on rosemary skewers!) but this recipe solves all those issues in a delicious way!
In this case, you are not putting your beautiful seafood right on the grill. Nope, you are putting them into nice little foil packets that steam your shrimp and scallops into perfection.
A little lemon juice and garlic and a handful of fresh herbs add to the flavor, and when you open up the packets less than 10 minutes after you put them on the grill, the cooking process will also have magically created a lovely juice that you can pour over rice or pasta if you like.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Seafood: You can make this recipe with all shrimp or all scallops if you like. We find that the larger size shrimp work the best.
- Sausage: The chorizo sausage we use gives this recipe a little bit of spicy flavor. If you like things milder, you can use kielbasa or any other kind of cooked sausage. And of course you can leave out the sausage if you like and just add in a little more seafood.
- Herbs: We have used everything from fresh thyme and basil to oregano and even mint! Use your favorite.
- Pasta: We like pouring the contents of the cooked packets right over pasta or rice, but you can also enjoy it as is…maybe with some focaccia bread to sop up the juices!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Get the nice, big version of both shrimp and scallops. Grab a roll of heavy duty foil, and rip off two biq squares per person. (We’re using two squares so our delicate seafood gets nicely steamed without being scorched.) Now divide your shrimp and scallops between the foil squares.
I like to add some chopped chorizo sausage for a teeny little bit of spiciness, but that part’s up to you…seafood alone will work just fine.
STEP 2: Now scatter some chopped garlic on top of your seafood pile. Squeeze on some lemon juice, grind on some fresh pepper and then add some fresh herbs. Take a stalk or two and rub it between your palms until it is slightly crushed. This will both release the oils in the herbs and also make your hands smell glorious. Now drop the crushed herbs onto your seafood piles.
STEP 3: Now comes the fun part. Gather up the edges of the packets and seal them up nice and tight. Now crank up your grill to high and when it is hot hot hot, carefully place the packets on the grill and close the lid. Eight to ten minutes later (eight if your shrimp and scallops are on the smaller side, ten if they are the biggest kind) use your tongs and take them off.
STEP 4: Working really carefully, open up those packets. I like to do this with a set of tongs in each hand, just to keep a respectful distance from the steam inside. When your packets are open, you’ll see that not only is your seafood steamed perfectly, there is a lovely pool of seafood juices at the bottom.
STEP 5: Now the only thing you have left to do is pour each one of those packets, juice and all, onto plates of hot rice or pasta or just by itself with some bread on the side. Don’t be tempted to leave the juice out…it’s what makes this dish so rich and wonderful!
Drizzle about a tablespoon of good olive oil over each serving, scatter a little fresh chopped herbs on top, give everything another grind of fresh pepper, give everyone a few lemon slices to squeeze over the top of their dinners, light some citronella candles and eat this one outside.
Recipe FAQs
You want the big sea scallops, and sea scallops come in two versions: wet scallops and dry scallops, and we always want to try for dry. Dry scallops are freshly caught scallops that aren’t treated with any outside ingredients. Wet scallops have been treated with a preservative that theoretically has them last longer but can add a kind of chemical taste. Most scallops today are sold dry, but it never hurts to check!
You can! Or you can substitute another variety of sausage, as long as it is pre-cooked.
Lay two pieces of heavy duty foil one on top of the other and place your ingredients in the center. Bring the long sides of the foil up towards the center and fold them together, crimping tightly to seal. Then fold the shorter ends up and over the top, sealing the packet thoroughly and keeping steam and delicious juices in. Open it carefully…steam is hot! 🔥🔥
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
What to serve with this recipe
Other easy seafood recipes we love!
We want to know what you think! 🤔
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe.
Grilled Seafood Packets
Grilled shrimp and scallops with herbs make a healthy, delicious dinner when you steam them on the grill in this easy recipe for grilled seafood packets. Bonus points: almost no clean-up involved! How scrumptious is that?
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Lactose
Ingredients
- 20 large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
- 16 large sea scallops
- 1 cup chorizo sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- Juice from one lemons
- 8 stalks fresh herbs (mint, thyme, basil, oregano) plus extra leaves for garnish
- 4 cups freshly cooked pasta or rice (optional)
- 4 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- Freshly ground pepper
- Lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Heat grill to high.
- Take eight pieces of heavy duty foil (about one foot each) and stack them in sets of two to make a double layer of foil for each packet. Divide shrimp, scallops and sausage evenly among the four foil packets.
- Top each seafood pile with equal amounts of garlic and lemon juice. Take two stalks of herbs per packet, crush them gently between your palms and add to packet. Grind a little fresh pepper on top, and then bring up the edges of each packet and seal tightly.
- Put the packets on the grill, close the lid and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on how large your seafood is.
- Remove the packets from the grill and using tongs, carefully open the packets. Don’t get your fingers too close to the steam. Pour the contents of the packets, including all juices, onto plates of rice or pasta (or enjoy just on their own!).
- Drizzle each plate with a tablespoon of olive oil, scatter a little fresh chopped herbs on each, grind some pepper on top and serve at once with lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
-
- Seafood: You can make this recipe with all shrimp or all scallops if you like. We find that the larger size shrimp work the best.
-
- Sausage: The chorizo sausage we use gives this recipe a little bit of spicy flavor. If you like things milder, you can use kielbasa or any other kind of cooked sausage. And of course you can leave out the sausage if you like and just add in a little more seafood.
-
- Herbs: We have used everything from fresh thyme and basil to oregano and even mint! Use your favorite.
-
- Pasta: We like pouring the contents of the cooked packets right over pasta or rice, but you can also enjoy it as is…maybe with some focaccia bread to sop up the juices!
Alex says
This is so delicious and makes me think about a grilled paella type dish. Will be making this again!
Grilled paella is a great idea Alex! I will need to work on that one. :)
tayyaba says
If i chose to do this in the oven what temperature and time would you suggest??
Kate says
I have to say I’ve never tried it in the oven, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t work – I’d do 10 minutes at 450. Let me know how it comes out!
Cupcake and Talk says
Yum! What a fund dish. I love to grill. Thank you for the recipe.
Kate says
I pretty much keep my grill going all summer long!
Joanne says
I’ve done this with parchment paper and my oven but I’m thinking the smoky flavor from the grill would make your version way way better!
Kate says
I love pretty much anything better when you make it on the grill!