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.
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Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
For Margret (6/3/18)… Ha, unfortunately kids in school hear, and use, much worse than “damn” on a regular basis these days, unless of course its a religious school, then listen to what is being said between classes!!! So, it”s not necessary to change your name from “Damm Delicious.” Remember, life is like a beaver colony…it’s one “dam” thing after another,” and usually happens when cooking. I’m 72 years young, and love to cook and eat (can be a bad combination LOL), so am always looking for something new to do in the kitchen. I love your website, and so does my husband. This recipe is so easy-peasy, and truly most “damn delicious,” that it is now “credited” in my own recipe book with that of my Mother’s and Grandmother’s recipes. Thank you, because I love scallops…used to only get them in a restaurant, and now I’m not afraid to cook them at home. 🙂
Oops, forgot to give this recipe 5 Stars, but I give it 10 🙂
Have made this recipe several times and it’s outstanding. Only change I made was using salted butter. Use a cast iron skillet if available. Quick easy and delicious!
Amazing recipe, very easy and delicious. I have try others scallops recipes before but this one tops everyone
Thank you for this very easy and delicious recipe! We loved it!
I made this and I’m a kid.So simple,elegant,and delicious:)
Lemon Butter Scallops – fast, easy, and delicious! These were better than any other I have tried at home.
Perfect cook on the scallops on medium heat, I would use less lemon next time.
This was excellent but cooks should know to turn down the heat on the skillet after searing the scallops. The sauce should be made on a low heat–otherwise the garlic burns and becomes really bitter.
Best Scallops I ever had!!!
Soooooo good!! Didn’t have lemon or parsley. Used lime instead of lemon and no parsley. Still absolutely delicious!
Quite tasty! I only tweaked your recipe slighly, by adding about a half a cup of dry white wine to make a little more sauce. But this got rave reviews!
Easy, yummy recipe. Don’t forget to dry the scallops with a paper towel before they hit the skillet.
The style of explaining the recipe is kind of amazing.
Love it – once a month – great
I’ve made this twice now and my wife loves them. Great and simple recipe. I made this with creamed spinach for the side. Love it
I made this and we loved it! Will make it again. Great instructions and thanks for the tip about remembering it only took about 10 minutes! I prepared basmati rice and broccoli with cheese sauce first. Delightful meal thanks!
WOW- this is truly, damn delicious. I am not a cook and seafood intimidates me but I can honestly say this was absolutely delicious. My scallops were frozen/thawed, so I spent 3 minutes on each side. I paired it with linguini and spiraled zucchini and it was very good!
Restaurant-eorthy and so easy because of your clear instructions! Thank you!
This is my third time making this and I am just so thrilled!!! Thank you!! Scallops at home … I feel like a chef!!
Made the Lemon butter Scallops dish tonight for my family was DELICIOUS! Everyone enjoyed it I couldn’t take credit for it all though. Stay safe all, in these crazy times we are in. Been cooking in a lot of late lol.