Cooked in 6 minutes, this Scallops Recipe is the perfect quick dinner. Easy enough for a weeknight meal but fancy enough for entertaining guests! Make this healthy scallop recipe with just 7 simple ingredients.
If you’re looking for more delicious seafood recipes and tips, check out my Pan Seared Salmon Recipe, Simple Garlic Butter Salmon Recipe, Blackened Salmon Recipe, Dijon Mustard Salmon Recipe, and Maple-Mustard Salmon.
If you love a good and easy seafood recipe, you’re going to love this one.
Scallops can be an intimidating protein as they can easily go from perfectly cooked to overcooked but with the help of this blog post, you don’t have to worry about that! This post will help you make restaurant-quality delicious golden pan-seared scallops for a fraction of the cost.
This scallops recipe is so simple to make and one of my favorite seafood dishes, because it’s so easy to make.
I don’t have to worry about running behind and with how quick they are from start to finish, I don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking. I was already thinking about preparing for these Gluten Free Peanut Butter Waffles for breakfast the next day because this meal came together SO quickly.
I love pan-searing in my cast iron, like in my Pan Seared Scallops, Pan Seared Salmon Recipe (Web Story) and Pan Seared Steak with Mushrooms (Web Story). I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet for this to get a nice sear on them.
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How Do Scallops Taste?
Sea scallops have a sweet and delicate flavour to them and tastes almost like a cross between lobster and crab meat. They have a creamy texture and they take on flavours very well so you don’t need too much garlic and butter to give it a strong garlic butter flavour.
How Do You Pick Them?
Scallops are pretty easy to find at most grocery stores both in the fresh fish counter or the frozen section. For this scallops recipe, you’ll want large fresh scallops instead of the smaller bay scallops as the cook time will be different. If you cannot find fresh scallops, frozen works as well. You’ll also want to buy dry instead of wet scallops.
Wet scallops have been soaked in a bath of phosphates to preserve their freshness while dry scallops have not. The dry scallops sear much nicer as it isn’t water logged and taste much sweeter than their wet counterpart.
Some think that wet scallops tastes soapy and if you’re paying by the pound, wet scallops weigh more as they’re soaked. Wet scallops also shrinks more when cooked as the water evaporates and is slightly tougher than dry scallops.
Ingredients to Make this Scallops Recipe
- Fresh large scallops — remove the side muscle
- Coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- Butter — be sure you use unsalted butter as you’re seasoning with salt and pepper
- Garlic cloves — minced
- Freshly chopped parsley – or you can use other fresh herbs such as thyme and basil.
- Lemon juice — really helps brighten up the flavour of the garlic butter scallops so don’t skip it. Fresh lemon juice is best. If you prefer you can replace lemon juice for white wine.
Instructions to make scallops recipe
Prep the Scallops
- Remove the scallops from the fridge about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking.
- Place them on a paper towel-lined cutting board and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Season well on all sides of the scallops with coarse salt and set aside.
Prep your Cast Iron
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Let it heat up for about 2 minutes. When the skillet smokes just a bit, it’s a sign that it’s properly heated.
Sear Your Scallops
- Add the scallops in a single layer. Please, don’t over crowd the skillet and if it’s necessary, work in batches.
- Sear (cook scallops) for 2-3 minutes on each side. They will be golden and cooked through to get the best golden brown crust. Remove from skillet and set it aside. We want tender scallops, so don’t overcook it.
Make the Garlic Butter Sauce
- Add the butter, garlic, fresh parsley and lemon juice. Saute for 1-2 minutes and add the scallops back to the pan and heat through. Enjoy this scallops recipe immediately!
Tips For Making The Best Scallops
- Make sure your scallops are patted dry before adding it to your pan. If your scallops are wet, they will steam on the pan and you won’t get a nice golden crust on them.
- I recommend using a cast iron for searing scallops because it helps to make the best scallop recipe.
Recipe Variations
- To make this scallops recipe Whole30 and Paleo friendly: use Ghee instead of butter. You will have the same buttery scallops flavor if you are cooking with ghee.
- You can change up the seasoning: swap in paprika, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and more.
- If you don’t have scallops, you can make this recipe with shrimp like my Garlic Butter Shrimp recipe.
More Garlic Butter Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
I would suggest you serve and eat all of the scallops immediately. While they do last in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days, because they’re such a delicate protein, reheating might cause it to toughen and lose it’s creamy texture.
The garlic butter scallops cook up in 6 minutes minutes and you’ll know they’re done once they turn firm and opaque in colour. If you are worried about overcooking your scallops, you can always under cook it for a minute and let them rest for 1-2 minutes before serving.
Yes – just make sure to thaw the scallops ahead of time.
To thaw frozen scallops to make this garlic butter scallops recipe, you can place them in the fridge overnight or quick thaw them in a bowl of cold water in your sink for 10-20 minutes.
What Can I Serve Scallops With?
You can serve this seared scallops recipe with so many options like pasta, rice, risotto, salad and so on. See below some good recipes to go with it.
- Parmesan Lemon Asparagus Skillet
- Garlic Butter Green Beans Recipe
- Roasted Parmesan Green Beans
- Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
- Easy Roasted Vegetables Recipe
- Roasted Sweet Potato
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Garlic Butter Scallops
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh large scallops* removed the side muscle
- Coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter or ghee for Whole30 and paleo
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp freshly chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Remove the scallops from the fridge about 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking.
- Place them on a paper towel-lined cutting board and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Season well all sides of the scallops with coarse salt and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Let it heat up for about 2 minutes. When the skillet smokes just a bit, it’s a sign that it’s properly heated.
- Add the scallops in a single layer. Please, don’t over crowd the skillet and if it’s necessary, work in batches.
- Sear for 2-3 minutes on each side. They will be golden and cooked through. Remove from skillet and set it aside.
- Add the butter, garlic, fresh parsley and lemon juice. Saute for 1-2 minutes and add the scallops back to the pan and heat through. Enjoy immediately!
Tips
- If scallops are frozen, thaw in cold water before using.
- Make sure the scallops are dry before you sear them. You won’t get a nice crust with moisture on the scallops.
- I love the sear I get from using a cast iron skillet and highly recommend you use one.
- To store: Scallops are best enjoyed fresh but you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- To reheat: Gently reheat the scallops on the stovetop.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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V Height says
Simple to prepare and delicious to eat.
Olivia says
Happy you liked it!
Jane Skusa says
So simple and delicious
Olivia says
Indeed it is 😉
Eileen says
Loved it ❤️
Olivia says
Happy you liked it!
Nandy Thompson says
Very easy and flavourful. Thank you.
Olivia says
You’re welcome!
Brenda Ponty says
Awesome, great help!!!
Olivia says
Happy to help!
Blaine ware says
Wish the recipe included amounts of ie oil, butter, lemon juice.
Olivia says
It’s all in the recipe box/card.
Yolanda Lee says
Delicious 🌹
Olivia says
Happy you liked it!
Brian P says
I’ve tried these a couple time and whenever I take out scallops and add butter, lemon juice and garlic the garlic always burns. When I put scallops back in the burnt garlic sticks to them. It’s not too bad, but definitely unsightly. Any tips?
Olivia says
You can lower the heat to avoid burning them, or cook garlic separately or use sliced garlic or remove burnt garlic with a spatula or tongs before serving. You can also try sprinkling fresh chopped garlic over the scallops after removing them from the pan.