Lemon Butter Scallops
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These lemon butter scallops are so easy to make yet so fancy! Requires only 5 ingredients and 10 minutes for restaurant-quality scallops!
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Why you’ll love lemon butter scallops
- Fool-proof recipe. Cooking scallops may be daunting and intimidating, but this recipe is completely fool-proof with just a few tips and tricks (ex. keep the cook time short and make sure the pan is extra hot – more on that below!).
- Short ingredient list. It really doesn’t take much to cook restaurant-quality scallops right at home with an irresistible lemon butter sauce. All you need is 5 ingredients, 10 minutes, and a single heavy cast iron skillet.
- Easy yet so impressive No reservations required here. These scallops are perfect for a date night in or to impress weekend company, costing just a fraction of the price when ordering out.
Types of scallops
Bay scallops
Bay scallops are bite-sized, about 1/2-inch in diameter, sweeter and more tender.
Sea scallops
Sea scallops are about 2 inches in diameter, saltier, thicker and chewier.
Dry scallops
Dry scallops are not treated with preservatives, therefore their shelf life is much shorter, although much fresher than wet scallops. They have a slightly tan, vanilla color, almost even grey and sometimes pink appearance.
Wet scallops
Wet scallops are treated with water and preservatives, and have a higher water content. They are generally more expensive due to the added weight. Wet scallops will often times look pure snow-white.
How to make lemon butter scallops
- Prep the scallops. Remove the side muscle on the side of each scallop, rinse with cold water, and pat completely dry using paper towels.
- Prep the skillet. Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Season. Season both sides of the scallops with salt and pepper.
- Sear. Melt the butter, then add the scallops to the hot skillet in a single layer without overcrowding the pan. Let the scallops cook, undisturbed, for about 2-3 minutes.
- Flip. Flip the scallops and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until firm and opaque; set aside.
- Make the lemon butter sauce. Melt the additional butter in the same skillet, then sauté the garlic until fragrant. Finally, stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Serve. Serve the scallops immediately, spooning the lemon butter sauce on top and garnishing with parsley.
what to serve with lemon butter scallops
Tools For This Recipe
Lemon Butter Scallops: Frequently Asked Questions
Unsalted butter allows you to add as much salt (or as little) salt in your dish. It allows for more control and consistency.
Yes! You can thaw frozen scallops overnight, transferring it from the freezer to the fridge the day before. For a quick thaw, you can run them under lukewarm water until completely thawed. Pat them dry as thoroughly as possible to remove any excess moisture.
When pan searing, scallops will cook through fairly quickly, about 2-3 minutes per side. Scallops are done when they are opaque and firm around the edges.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 day, reheating in a low oven at 200°F, covered in foil, until warmed through.
Lemon Butter Scallops
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound sea scallops
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the lemon butter sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- 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 2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.
for the lemon butter sauce
- Melt butter in the skillet. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve scallops immediately with lemon butter sauce, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a cast iron skillet. A cast iron skillet retains heat exceptionally well, allowing for a deep, golden brown crust on the scallops before the insides become overcooked.
- Prep the scallops. Although safe to eat, gently peel away the small side muscle from the scallops as it is tougher and chewier than the rest of the scallops. Rinse and pat dry to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
- Use dry scallops. Dry scallops are generally preferred over wet scallops as the latter is treated with preservatives, retaining excess water, and will not caramelize properly with a golden brown, crusty sear.
- Cook in batches. Overcrowding the pan will lead to poor searing and chewy, rubbery scallops.
- Serve as an appetizer or main course. Plan for 1-2 scallops per person when serving as an appetizer, and 3-5 scallops per person when serving as a primary protein, pairing with risotto or vegetables.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover scallops can be rubbery when reheated in the microwave. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 200°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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Scallops are always delicious, or else you didn’t make them right.(probably too much heat.) Enjoy this recipe; it is easy-peasy!
Helpful hint : try a touch of lemon cello in this.
Hi,
is Lemon cello . Lemoncello the liqueur
Fabulous; just right amount of lemon and garlic. Flavorful yet delicate. Just right!
Made a little extra of the sauce and tossed it all together with some pasta. Delicious!
Great, simple,easy, tasty way to cook scallops.
Excellent! Only one thing added was 1/2 tbs of capers. That puts it over the top.
Yummy
I have made this scallop recipe many times. Sometimes as dinner or sometimes as a lovely appetizer for guests. I live in Maine so seafood is my thing. Here is my tip. Dry your scallops really well before you put them in the hot pan. I have a special towel I only use for this purpose. I wrap them up and squeeze until they are very dry. It makes a world of difference. This recipe is so quick and easy! Your guests will be impressed and you have minimal work!
Super easy and soooo good! This recipe is so easy and quick to make. I love it! Too bad I can’t add a picture of my dish. My scallops were frozen and thawed over night. I rinsed and pay dry. For me, the trick is to make sure to heat up pan very well and when you add scallops give them about an inch and a half or two apart from each other so that they don’t foam or boil. Do not cover. I cooked mine 2 1/2 mins each side. Perfection! Thank you!
One of my new favorite seafood dishes to whip up, incredibly easy (if you can get the scallops cooked properly, i.e. not over-done) and a crowd pleaser. The only seafood dishes I pick to cook over this, are oyster based dishes (albeit, that is a lot more work).
I’ve only had one issue with the dish and it probably comes from the fact I cringe at using 3/4 of a cup of butter to make it all. I use 1/4 cup of butter to cook the scallops and then I use another 1/4 cup to make the sauce. I’ll also throw in some minced shallots in the sauce (I recommend that), to go along with the minced garlic. What happens if you skimp on the butter is you will get more charred material from cooking the scallops. Then when you go to make your sauce, it has a slightly less appealing look, but it still taste insanely good. I bet if I added a touch of oil to go with the reduced butter amount, then this wouldn’t happen (I’ll try that next time). I have also found that using lemon/lime zest in the sauce gives it some extra citrus punch, many will probably enjoy this tweak.
I find this goes great with artichoke rice and garlic bok choy.
Note on cooking scallops: Many people will tell you to literally cook scallops for 90 seconds on each side (using medium to high heat), but that will vary dramatically based on the density and size of each scallop, even your type of cookware and stove play a role in the timing. I have seen scallops still somewhat raw after this period and I’ve seen them perfeclty cooked. I think the recommendation of ~2-3 minutes on each side, is a good average time, but you will have to adjust it based on your scallops. I’d recommend doing a small test batch before serving it to guests, if this is your first time.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I realized the recipe calling for this much butter was on a different site, lol.
I knew it sounded insane, but I guess other sites really like their butter!
I made this recipe last night and came away with some issues/questions.
I melted the butter first and also added a bit of oil as well. Once I put the scallops in, the scallops started to foam up and release a lot of juices. After I took them out of the pan, I tried to use high heat to get rid of some of the excess juices but I couldn’t. When I put the garlic in to saute and brown, it pretty much steamed the garlic. The end result was less than great. Any thoughts?
Your scallops were what is called “wet.” That means they were treated with TSP to keep their weight up. Scallops treated this way release a lot of liquid, either when being cooked, or when they’re thawed.
The trick is to find a fish seller you can trust, and ask before buying if the scallops are wet or dry. I only buy dry scallops, for the very reason you found out.
I made this recipe with frozen scallops which thawed overnite. I did rinse and dry. There was a lot of liquid from the scallops when cooking. Next time I will try fresh scallops. They still were excellent. I was wondering if there is a way to use frozen thawed scallops so they can cook with out all the liquid. Limited skilled in kitchen but luved the quick meal.
Hey Donna, we did the same exact thing, used thawed frozen scallops and had a lot of liquid at first. My husband cleared them out of the pan after they only cooked for about a minute and we basically started fresh. Cleared the liquid out, used a new tablespoon of butter and turned the heat up a little higher. Was perfect from there, the butter started to caramelize and they were seared. So good!
Delicious! Thank you 🙂
Very quick and easy! Perfect scallop recipe
These turned out as good as or better than the best gourmet restaurant. Thank you!
Fantastic ! Made them for my girlfriend, her 1st time. She wants them again. I haven’t made scallops in years because the ones I was buying were really salty..from every place. So I served them over home made spinach linguini, so I made extra sauce. Dried them out best could, did them in 2 batches, ( 20 30 ct) so Maybe I’ll squeeze dry them next time. ThY would help. I also,like a previous poster, wondered if a little olive oil in the cast iron pan along with less butter to cook, would be a better way to go.
None the less, they were great. Thank you so kindly for posting this recipe!
Nevermade scallops before, cooking seafood is pretty intimidating for this inner continent dweller. This recipe was a breeze, and very tasty. Hubby loved it too. Thank you, that’s one more dish added to my arsenal!
Try avocado oil instead of olive oil.
I made this with fresh sea scallops, substitutingthe juice of a lime for that of a lemon, out of necessity. it was delicious.
This was wonderful! So flavorful, quick and easy. Thank you for sharing!
So good. So fast, so easy. Cook up some asparagas and supper us ready. Throw it on top of a bed of rice. Might even go good as part of a salad. I made shrimp with mine, but ate all the scallops before I even finished cooking the shrimp lol
First I’d like to thank you for not sharing your life story before sharing the recipe. Although I’m sure your story is fabulous and I’d love to hear it sometime, when I need a dinner recipe in the next 5 minutes, it sure helps when you cut to the chase!
Thanks also for the delicious, easy recipe <3
This was wonderful! So quick and easy to prepare. The butter sauce was perfect. I love garlic so added 3 more. Real butter is best. Delicious!
I’ve been making this recipe for my husband’s birthday every year for the last five years (since watching Hell’s Kitchen and seeing Gordon Ramsay annihilate some of the contestants over their ability to cook scallops properly). 😉 I have ventured out and tried others but this is the one I come back to every time. Thank you for a fast easy delicious recipe!