Bacon Scallops with Garlic Butter Sauce
Crisp bacon, tender-melt-in-your mouth scallops with the most heavenly butter sauce. So fancy yet so easy!
Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and if you still don’t know what you plan on doing, you might have a few tricks up your sleeve….
With these scallops, of course.
I’m dead serious. Don’t worry about getting a reservation for dinner on Sunday. It’ll be a mess anywhere you go.
Just stay in, sear some scallops, add your bacon and a whole mess of butter. Boom. You’re done.
Bacon Scallops with Garlic Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 pound scallops
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; reserving 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Remove the small side muscle from the scallops, rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat dry. Season scallops with salt and pepper, to taste. Working in batches, add scallops to the skillet in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until golden brown and translucent in the center, about 1-2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.
- Melt butter in the skillet. Add garlic, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in bacon and scallops.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Many thanks for this great recipe. I made half the recipe as I’m the only one eating sea food. it is so good that I will translate it in french so that my friends and family will benefit from it.
Such amazing flavor, I can’t wait to make it again!
The very first bite makes your eyes get big in a delightful and extraordinary way. I followed the directions as printed and our supper way the most elegant and simple meal I’ve ever made. I have saved the recipe in my favorites folder and will repeat this perfect meal again next week.
We had rice pilaf and cooked carrots with warmed apple slices in a maple syrup glaze as sides to go with the scallops.
Made this for dinner tonight, it was delicious. Poured it over zucchini spaghetti. Will make this again and again, my husband loved it!
I could only find small bay scallops, but it didn’t effect the flavor, just the cooking time. I served with crusty bread, but I think I will try it over pasta next time. This was delicious and enjoyed by all!
Going to make this tonight, I know it will be great… and I bookmarked your site, most everything looks amazing. Thank you.
A extra special dinner!!! So fancy but so easy to make! The seasonings with the scallops went together perfectly. The bacon was a must.
Simple and delicious. Great instructions, great flavor. Will make again!
Wonderful!!! Will definitely make again, maybe with a little less pepper.
Yum
This was so easy to make. I love how the recipe uses common household spices. I had everything I needed in my cabinets. My family loved this. I got a big thumbs up when asked if we should have this again.
Delicious!
I made this tonight. Was out of this world good. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. Served with nothing.
I made this recipe last night. I followed it more or less exactly as written. I just through in some baby spinach since I needed a vegetable and was too lazy to make another dish or salad. I then poured the whole dish over whole wheat spaghetti. It was simple and delicious.
So easy and delicious. I made the recipe as is – except I had fresh basil not dried. Worked well. So yummy. I made pasta with a simple mushroom sauce, and a cucumber salad. Will definitely make this again. my husband LOVED it.
Super easy and delicious!
Loved it! Very easy and we added some pasta to it. I think the next time I make it, I will add a little lemon.
Delicious! So easy to make too. Taste good with amount of butter in recipe but have made with less butter and they were just as good. Scallops to me are an impressive, elegant dinner
I made this for Christmas Eve. It was a huge hit.
I made this the other night and it was phenomenal!! My husband said it was the best! I had scallops from the beach so it was even better with fresh seafood. I did put it over mashed potatoes like someone suggested but I’m sure it would be good over rice or noodles. Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe.
So simple to make and absolutely delicious. Put it all over Angel Hair pasta. Defiitely will make again.
Delicious recipe – very clear instructions that are easy to follow. Thoroughly recommended
Simply delicious! This recipe is very easy to make and is great served over angel hair pasta. We added white wine right before the butter and it gave it an excellent taste. I already can’t wait to make it again!
Those are great additions, Caroline! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Ten minute meal with steamed rice and tomato slices just delicious. Drizzling the butter sauce on sculptured rice was amazing. This is a great recipe
Made this my seven year old loves scallops. I searved it over garlic parmigiana mashed cauliflower.
Made this tonight.
Very easy and presentation was spot on.
Loved the flavours. I didn’t have any red pepper flakes so I added 2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce.
No leftovers.
Amazing!
Made this tonight for dinner. Entire family loved it. Doubled the recipe as it was being served over pasta as a main dish. Took the advice of other reviews and added a spash of wine (white) to deglaze my pan before adding in the butter and a spash of lemon at the end to cut the richness of the bacon and butter a bit. This will definitely become a go to recipe in the future. Quick, easy, customizable! Perfect for my busy household.
Just made this tonight. Used whipped potatoes with cream cheese and topped with the scallops and shrimp. My family always loves my cooking but tonight I got it was the best meal I ever made. Other than the shrimp I made it according to the recipe. Thank you for a new favorite.
Absolutely delicious!!
Dinner made easy! We loved it. Definitely a keeper
Just had the scallops last night absolutely the best!
Very good! Made with Carribean seasoning, added water from the rice noodles and some cream to make a sauce. Agree 1/4 cup butter would have been enough. Also liked the idea of adding some citrus suggested in another post.
This was an amazing meal, we served it over GF pasta with a green salad. I could eat this at least once a week!
OMG! This is awesome. Will make again, and again and again. Would show you the pictures but cab’t see where I can send,
You can tag me on Instagram at @damn_delicious. I would love to see what you whipped up!
I’ve never liked scallops in the restaurants I think because they have always been hard and rubbery. This was absolutely hands down the best! This recipe made me a fan of scallops 🙂 thank you for teaching me how to cook these. They aren’t small rubber hockey pucks after all. LOL – New Huge Fan Alert 🙂
Used scallops seasoned with oregano, salt and pepper, used 1 and 1/2 garlic cloves minced, fresh basil, (no red pepper flakes or parsley), 2tablespoons salted butter, and bacon… it was absolutely delicious and amazing! Also had boiled lobster tails sprinkled with Adobo and a dipping sauce of salted butter, fresh basil, and 1 1/2 garlic cloves minced
This recipe makes a VERY delicious dish. My husband and I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for sharing this with the world.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome. I have never developed much love for scallops because I’ve never been impressed when I have had them at restaurants. Well, I am now a huge fan! So flavorful! And scallops seared perfectly when patted very dry before adding to hot pan. Only tweek I made was to deglaze the pan with about a 1/2 cup of chicken stock before adding the butter and herbs. Hubby loved it, said to add this to his “Favorites” list. Thanks for another great recipe! You never disappoint!
Made this last night. It was delicious- love the seasonings. I don’t think it needed 1/2 c butter tho- it was a little heavy along with the bacon. Needs a little citrus or something to cut the fat.
Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe seems fairly easy to prepare. I would try it out during the weekend
I added two splashes of white wine for a minute before melting the butter to deglaze bits of bacon/scallops as I used a stainless steel pan. Sooooo good! I will make this again and will add a few shrimp. This is easy, quick and flavorful.
i thought the sauce needed some citrus. a little blah
I made this dish last night and it was PHENOMENAL!! Very easy to make too, which is important for me:). Thank you for posting this. It will go in my permanent recipe folder! I’ll say a couple things about the recipe. First, I made balsamic mushrooms as a side dish and they went very well with the scallops. Second, next time I make it I’ll probably only do 1/4 cup of butter instead of 1/2 cup. The 1/2 cup seemed a little much when it was all done. Third, next time I’d like to serve the scallops over whipped potatoes. I think the potatoes will help soak up the extra butter and goodness from the sauce. Thanks again for posting this!
Sounds divine
Made this two nights in a row – first, just as written; the second, I added an extra splash of olive oil, and served it on angel hair pasta.
Easy and delicious! Chungah, you keep coming through with “keeper” recipes- thanks!
I made this last night, didn’t have any basil or parsley and was still incredible! Next time I will add some shrimp like other reviewers did. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this last night for dinner. I threw in some shrimp and used fresh sea scallops. In one word….outstanding! My wife loved it too. Served them with fresh sautéed red bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms. It was definitely, “Damn Delicious!”
Quick, easy, dynamite!!!
I put this on top of angel hair pasta including all the melted butter. Delicious!!!
Yum! I think I need to throw some shrimp in the mix here, too! Perfect indulgence for Valentine’s Day!
I would love nutrition information on your many recipes. I have made many of them and this one looks yummy too.
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
LOVE your recipes.
I have to be careful of the amount of sodium and appreciate the nutrition facts with the recipes. THANKS for the Google tip, I’ll check it out.
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I tried this recipe tonight. My husband loved it. I thought it was a very quick and easy. Thank you!!!
Great! Thanks for sharing with us.
As always, you ROCK girl. We are having this tomorrow as part of our valentine dish. Thank you!
Love this recipe. Thank you and have a good weekend
These scallops looks fabulous! Chungah, do you think I could substitute just a few drops of Sriracha for the crushed red pepper flakes? Thanks for taking the time to answer!
Yes, absolutely!
Been using this recipe for years with oysters and shrimp. We are just a short hop to the Gulf. It is wonderful. For a twist, drizzle a little Hollandaise sauce over the top at the table. Wow!
whatcan i make to go with the bacon +scallops for dinner.I can’t wait to make this meal.Looks Delicious. Thank U For the recipe
A creamy Risotto goes well with scallops.
I like to sauté corn on the cob in the butter broth after removing the scallops! Mmm!
Are these sea scallops or bay scallops?
Lisa, you can use either/or – but bay scallops will require less time to cook through.
These scallops look amazing! Can’t wait to try them.
Oh well, I was going to roast a chicken tonight, and now I have to go out in zero degree weather to buy local scallops……
Well now, That is a problem! Why not have the scallops and the chicken? I bet you are a 300 pounder so it is achievable.
Why do you have to be so mean? Keep your poison to yourself.
Troll. Unnecessary comment
Oh my goodness, this is definitely going to be on my dinner table tonight!!