These Perfect Pan Seared Scallop Recipe can be yours to share with your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day or at any time. The key to this recipe is fast and simple, giving you the best outcome. How great is that?
Do you want more simple recipes to share with your loved one? Then try our Shrimp Scampi or French Onion Soup for Two. Or if you are in love with lemon, then try some of our 47 Luscious Lemon Recipes.
First off, find a good fishmonger that you trust, and that has good quality items. Fresh scallops are way better than frozen ones. Look for pearly white ones that are firm with no fishy smell.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Fast and easy to make
- Sexy appetizer or dinner for two
- Perfect for a romantic meal
- Seafood delicacy
- Lovely mild flavor
Helpful Items For This Recipe
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10 Inch Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Frying Pan, Whole-Clad
6-Piece Wooden Spoons for Cooking – Smooth Finish Teak
Appetizer Plates, Embossed Ceramic Dessert Plates, Salad Plates Set of 6, 6 inch White
Seared Scallops Ingredients
Simple, easy, fresh, great ingredients are needed for this seared scallop recipe. This is not a time to cheap out on ingredients. You want nice big-sized scallops for this recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
Scallops
Olive oil – Good quality EVOO is needed for this recipe.
Large scallops – You want large-sized, very fresh scallops for this recipe with the side muscle removed, patted extra dry with paper towels *see note
Kosher salt and coarse pepper – The usual suspects to bring out flavor.
Unsalted butter – You can use salted butter if that is what you have on hand. Watch how much salt you add, though.
Sauce
Unsalted butter – Again, you can use salted butter if that is what you have on hand.
Garlic – minced
Fresh lemon juice – Keep the bottled juice for another recipe.
Fresh parsley – For the recipe, plus more for garnish. Not a time for dried parsley.
Lemon slices – for garnish, this is the perfect finishing flavor for the scallops.
How Do You Make Seared Scallops
Remove scallops from the fridge and line on a paper-towel-lined tray. Blot the scallops dry so there’s no moisture anymore. Let them sit out of the fridge for 15 minutes. This will help ensure the scallops cook more evenly.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Let it heat until the oil is hot and rippling.
Right before adding the scallops to the pan, season them with salt and pepper. Add half of the scallops.
Once your scallops are in the pan, do not touch them at all for 2 minutes. Check one scallop by gently lifting with a spatula or spoon. If it is a deep golden-brown color, flip the scallops. If they are still just lightly seared, let them continue cooking for another 30-60 seconds and check again.
Once the scallops are flipped, quickly add 4 pieces of butter from 1 tablespoon around the pan and let melt. Baste the scallops with the butter/olive oil in the pan while they cook an additional 2-3 minutes until the second side is seared. The scallops are done when they are totally opaque.
Remove the scallops to a plate and remove the oil and butter from the pan. The oil and butter in the pan will make your second batch of scallops darker and potentially burn if you do not remove the oil and butter from the pan.
Cook the second batch of scallops the same way as the first half by first adding the oil to the pan and letting it get hot. Continue the process and remove the second batch to a plate as well.
Sauce
Make the sauce by adding the butter and garlic to the pan. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds and then remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice and parsley. Give it a quick stir, and add the scallops back into the pan (still off the heat).
Baste the scallops with the sauce and serve hot. Garnish with more parsley and lemon slices, if desired. Serve with a nice baguette or crusty bread to soak up some of the sauce with.
Recipe Pro Tips!
FAQs
The side muscle of a scallop is a little flap that sometimes is left on and sometimes is not. My grocery store did not have the muscle on it but if yours has them on it, remove them. This part will be tough when eaten if left on. They peel off easily.
Make sure your scallops are as dry as possible. If they are wet, then they will steam when they hit the hot pan instead of sear.
Using salted butter in this may ruin the scallops and make the dish too salty. Watch how much salt you add.
If you check for a nice sear too early, the scallops are more likely to be stuck to your pan, so don’t touch them for 2 minutes.
To ensure you have no sand in your scallops, you can rinse them lightly in cold water before you pat them dry.
Pictured are U15-size scallops, which means you get about 15 or under per pound.
These are best eaten right away as they don’t freeze well.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SEARED SCALLOPS?
You can make this appetizer into a meal with some side dishes. Here are some of our favorites.
Perfect Pan Seared Scallop Recipe
Ingredients
Scallops
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound large scallops side muscle removed, patted extra dry with paper towels *see note
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces per tablespoon, divided
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 small cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh parsley plus more for garnish
- Lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
- Remove scallops from the fridge and line on a paper-towel-lined tray. Blot the scallops dry so there’s no moisture anymore. Let them sit out of the fridge for 15 minutes. This will help ensure the scallops cook more evenly.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Let it heat until the oil is hot and rippling.
- Right before adding the scallops to the pan, season them with salt and pepper. Add half of the scallops.
- Once your scallops are in the pan, do not touch them at all for 2 minutes. Check one scallop by gently lifting with a spatula or spoon. If it is a deep golden-brown color, flip the scallops. If they are still just lightly seared, let them continue cooking for another 30-60 seconds and check again.
- Once the scallops are flipped, quickly add 4 pieces of butter from 1 tablespoon around the pan and let melt. Baste the scallops with the butter/olive oil in the pan while they cook an additional 2-3 minutes until the second side is seared. The scallops are done when they are totally opaque.
- Remove the scallops to a plate and remove the oil and butter from the pan. The oil and butter in the pan will make your second batch of scallops darker and potentially burn if you do not remove the oil and butter from the pan.
- Cook the second batch of scallops the same way as the first half by first adding the oil to the pan and letting it get hot. Continue the process and remove the second batch to a plate as well.
- Make the sauce by adding the butter and garlic to the pan. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds and then remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice and parsley. Give it a quick stir, and add the scallops back into the pan (still off the heat). Baste the scallops with the sauce and serve hot. Garnish with more parsley and lemon slices, if desired. Serve with a nice baguette or crusty bread to soak up some of the sauce with.
Comments & Reviews
Ahmad Nisar Malik says
This recipe is an absolute game-changer! The golden sear on those scallops looks incredible, and the garlic butter sauce sounds like the perfect finishing touch. I love how simple yet elegant this dish is—definitely trying it for my next date night!