Easy Roasted Garlic Sauce Recipe: One-Pan Seafood & Veggie Bake for Weeknight Dinners

Let’s be real, who doesn’t lose their mind over garlicky, savory, slightly charred food? I’ve been obsessing over both steamed scallops with glass noodles and garlicky BBQ skewers lately, so I decided to mash the two together into one ridiculously easy, no-fuss bake. I call it my “universal roasted garlic sauce meal” because you can toss literally whatever you have lying around into the pan and it’ll taste amazing. No fancy techniques, no hour-long prep, just good, cozy food that takes 30 minutes max from start to finish. This recipe is for one person, but you can easily double or triple it if you’re cooking for friends or your very hungry roommate who always appears when the oven dings.

What You’ll Need for This Garlicky One-Pan Bake

First off, feel free to swap out any of the seafood or veggies for stuff you actually like. Hate mushrooms? Toss in some zucchini instead. Allergic to shrimp? Swap for chunks of white fish. No judgment, this is your meal. Here’s what I used for my go-to version:

Seafood & Veggies (Customizable!)

• 3 medium shrimp (peel them if you want, I leave the tails on for extra flavor)
• 1 large scallop in the shell (you can use 2 small ones if that’s what you find at the store)
• 6 clams (make sure they’re closed when you buy them, toss any that don’t pop open when you boil them later)
• 50g enoki mushrooms
• 3 shiitake mushrooms
• 25g dry glass noodles (the mung bean kind works best here)
• A splash of cooking wine (shaoxing wine is ideal, but dry white wine works too if that’s what you have)

Roasted Garlic Sauce Ingredients

• 1 whole head of garlic (yes, the whole thing. Don’t skimp, this is the star of the show)
• 6 tablespoons steamed fish soy sauce (if you don’t have this, low-sodium soy sauce mixed with a tiny bit of sugar works as a substitute)
• A pinch of chicken bouillon powder (skip it if you’re vegan, no one will notice)
• Ground cumin, to taste (I add a lot because I love that smoky warmth, but add as little or as much as you like)
• Chopped green onions, for topping
• Diced small red chili, for topping (skip if you don’t like spice, or add a handful if you want it fiery)

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make Your Garlicky Bake

Okay, let’s get cooking. This is so straightforward even if you burn toast on a regular basis, you can pull this off. I’ve included photos for every step so you don’t have to guess what anything is supposed to look like.

Prep Your Noodles First

First things first, you need to get your glass noodles soft so they cook properly in the oven. Don’t use boiling water, that’ll make them mushy before they even go in the pan.

Soak the dry glass noodles in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes, until they’re flexible but still have a little bit of a bite to them. Drain them and set them aside. Easy enough, right?

Clean and Prep Your Seafood

Seafood prep sounds scary, but it’s actually super quick for this recipe. Let’s start with the clams, since they take a tiny bit of extra work.

Scrub the clams under cold running water to get all the sand and gunk off their shells. I use a small brush for this, but a paper towel works too if you don’t have a brush handy. Throw out any clams that are already open and don’t close when you tap them—those are bad, you don’t want to eat those.

Put a tiny bit of water in a small pot, just enough to cover the bottom, and bring it to a simmer. Toss the clams in, put the lid on, and let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they pop open. Drain them and set them aside. Again, toss any that didn’t open, they’re not safe to eat.

Next up, the scallop. Hold the scallop shell firmly, and slide a dull butter knife between the two shells to pry them apart. Scrape the scallop meat off the top shell, and then peel off and discard the black, sandy-looking pouch on the side of the scallop meat—that’s the digestive sac, and it tastes gritty if you leave it in.

Rinse the scallop meat quickly under cold water, pat it dry with a paper towel, and put it back in the bottom half of the shell. Drizzle a tiny splash of cooking wine over it and let it marinate for 5 minutes while you prep the rest of the stuff. No need to marinate it longer, we just want to get rid of any fishy taste.

Now the shrimp! Rinse them under cold water, pat them dry, and use a small knife to cut a slit along the back so you can pull out the dark vein. You don’t have to cut all the way through, just enough to open it up a little so the garlic sauce can sink in later.

Prep Your Veggies and Assemble the Pan

Vegetable prep is so fast here, you’ll be done in 2 minutes flat.

Wash the shiitake mushrooms, cut off and discard the tough stems, and set the caps aside. I like to cut a little cross pattern on the top of the caps to make them look pretty, but that’s 100% optional, they’ll taste the same either way.

Wash the enoki mushrooms, cut off the tough root end at the bottom, and separate the strands with your fingers. Super easy.

Now it’s time to put everything in your baking pan! I use a small square oven-safe dish for single servings, but any baking pan works. Layer the soaked glass noodles at the bottom first, then pile on the enoki and shiitake mushrooms, then arrange the shrimp, scallop in its shell, and boiled clams on top. It doesn’t have to look perfect, just make sure everything fits.

Make the Star of the Show: Roasted Garlic Sauce

This sauce is so good I’ve been putting it on everything lately—rice, roasted veggies, even toast. It’s addictive, and it takes 5 minutes to make.

Peel all the cloves from your whole head of garlic. I know peeling garlic is annoying, but trust me, it’s worth it. Rinse the peeled garlic cloves and pat them completely dry with a paper towel—if they’re wet, they’ll splatter when you fry them.

Mince the garlic into fine pieces, or use a garlic press if you have one to make it even faster. You want pretty small pieces so they get fragrant and a little crispy when you fry them, but not so small that they burn instantly.

Heat a small pan over low heat, add a couple tablespoons of neutral oil (canola, vegetable, or avocado oil all work), then toss in the minced garlic and your desired amount of cumin. Stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic smells amazing and is just starting to turn light golden brown. Don’t walk away here! Garlic burns in 2 seconds flat, and burnt garlic tastes bitter and terrible. Keep the heat low and keep stirring.

Pour the fried garlic and oil into a small bowl, add the 6 tablespoons of steamed fish soy sauce and the pinch of chicken bouillon powder, and stir everything together until the bouillon is completely dissolved. Taste it—if you want it saltier, add a little more soy sauce, if you want it smokier, add more cumin. Adjust to your preference!

Bake and Serve

Almost done! This is the easiest part, I promise.

Drizzle the entire garlic sauce mixture all over the top of your assembled baking pan. Make sure you get sauce on all the seafood and veggies, so every bite is flavorful. Then pour a tiny bit of water (2 to 3 tablespoons) over the glass noodles at the bottom—this keeps them from drying out while they bake.

Preheat your oven to 160°C (that’s 320°F for my US friends). Put the baking pan on the middle rack of the oven, and let it bake for 15 minutes. Set a timer, don’t leave it in longer or the seafood will get rubbery.

Once the timer goes off, pull the pan out of the oven (use oven mitts, it’s hot!) and sprinkle the chopped green onions and diced red chili all over the top. That’s it! You’re done.

Pro Tips to Make This Even Easier

I’ve made this recipe so many times I’ve figured out all the little hacks to make it even more low-effort. Here’s what I’ve learned:

• If you don’t have an oven, you can cook this in an air fryer too! Same temperature, 12 minutes, and it comes out just as good.
• Pre-peeled garlic from the grocery store is a total lifesaver here. It costs a little extra, but it saves you 5 minutes of annoying garlic peeling, which is 100% worth it for weeknights when you’re tired.
• To make this vegan, swap the seafood for extra veggies like asparagus, bell peppers, or tofu, skip the chicken bouillon, and use vegan soy sauce. It’s still so flavorful.
• If you want extra protein, toss a handful of edamame or some cubed tofu into the pan before baking. It works perfectly.
• Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days. Just reheat them in the oven or microwave for a minute before eating.

Seriously, this recipe is my go-to when I want something that tastes like I spent an hour cooking, but actually took 20 minutes of active prep. The garlic sauce is rich, savory, a little smoky from the cumin, and it soaks into the noodles and veggies perfectly. The seafood is tender and juicy, and every bite has that perfect garlicky kick. Give it a try next time you’re craving something cozy and delicious—you won’t regret it!