Lemon Butter Scallops
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All you need is 5 ingredients + 10 minutes for the most amazing, buttery scallops ever. So easy, so simple, so fancy!
As much as I love scallops, I have always been very hesitant to cook with it. At $20 per pound, there is absolutely no room for error when it comes to cooking these.
But little did I know with a few handy tricks, scallops are actually one of the easiest (and quickest) meals to whip up, and they’re just on par with restaurant-quality scallops.
And this lemon butter sauce is absolutely unreal, and the perfect accompaniment to these golden brown oh-so-perfectly seared scallops.
Just remember – you’ll want to have your side dishes and/or light salads ready to go since these scallops will be ready in a flash in just 10 minutes from start to finish!
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
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.
Any of these side dishes and/or light salads would go beautifully with these scallops. Our favorites include glazed carrots, roasted cauliflower, and chicken caesar salad with homemade croutons.
You can also serve this with some light crusty bread to sop up all that leftover sauce!
Lemon Butter Scallops
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound 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 1-2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.
- Serve scallops immediately with lemon butter sauce, garnished with parsley, if desired.
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.
Did you make this recipe?
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My garlic turned green – only downside – how do you prevent this from happening?
See below!
These are incredibly easy to make and super succulent!! They were juicy and full of flavour and I appreciate the simple ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions. I noticed my minced garlic was expired so I substituted garlic powder (eyeballed the measurement) and used salted butter. Wow! Can’t go wrong with this recipe. Even my picky 12 year old son devoured them and gave 2 thumbs up! 10/10 for flavour, facility and convenience!
Garlic turns green of heat is too high or its cooked too long. Gets a terrible taste too!
Best recipe I’ve tried for scallops. Like wow! Better than the restaurant ❤️ Thank you!!!
Damn delicious indeed! Whoohoo!
Excellent scallops. Loved the veggies and pilaf with it greatest clam chowder ever!
OMGGGGG never cooked scallops before and these were delicious – thank you 🙂
Delicious. The only thing I had to modify is I needed to scrape the burned bits from the pan and cool it down a touch before making the sauce. So good.
This was awesome! I made it according to the directions, but I can see I can tweak it here and there! Thanks yto the whole team for continuing to put great recipes out there to try and to enjoy!!
Hi Chungah, this scallop recipe sounds and looks absolutely yummy!
Does this recipe make enough lemon butter sauce for adding the scallops to Angel Hair pasta or Linguine if I’m using 3/4 of a Lb. of pasta? Your thoughts on doubling the sauce and adding capers?
Love your recipes and look forward to trying the scallops!
Thank you!
Myrna
I cooked the scallops with this recipe.
While eating it I had goose bumps.
Thank you!
Total Perfection!! Easy and Fast!
Delicious and so easy/fast to make!
Very easy. But I thought it was a little too sour.
You’re high!
Anthony Sabatino I I
This was super simple and easy. I used small sea scallops, which worked well for 1 person, but I’d suggest using large scallops for a crowd.
On the side, I made roasted broccoli and potatoes, which were delightful with the lemon butter sauce.
I am going to try this recipe soon! What would you recommend as a side for the scallops, to make it a whole meal? Thanks!
Una recepte tan sencilla com deliciosa !
Love, Damm Delicious is Always out of this World. “You Can Not Go Wrong”
Do Yourself A Favor Try This Just A Few Times, You’ll Be Stuck!!
“Kaye Burrell”
So easy and delicious!
Delicious! I will definitely make this again.
Super easy and super good! I will be making this again soon.
Thanks. Being that we can’t go out to eat I made this for my wife for her birthday and she love it. The lemon butter sauce is terrific. I Ended up putting some on the porter house too!
My family and I really enjoyed this meal. We had tuna steaks as well, and I used the same sauce. Crescent rolls and a broccoli cauliflower casserole with a cream sauce paired nicely. I think I would have preferred asparagus cooked with butter and garlic. I got busy and overcooked the garlic a touch and turned the butter brown. But the brown butter made the lemon really pop. Thank you. This is going in my recipe vault.