These Pan Seared Scallops are mild in flavor with delicate notes of butter-garlic and fresh parsley, seared to achieve a perfect golden crust while tender on the inside.
If you’re looking for a tasty seafood dish that can be enjoyed with a plate of pasta or as an appetizer, then you need to look no further than these pan seared scallops! They’ll impress your guests and can easily be made any day of the week.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Pan seared scallops can be cooked in just 10 minutes! It’s a super quick recipe that you can use whenever you’re rushed for time.
- The mild sweet flavor of scallops is enjoyed by most with a perfectly seared crust making them truly irresistible.
- This recipe is super versatile. You can easily use bay scallops instead of sea scallops, change the seasoning, or enjoy them as appetizers instead of with linguine as a main meal.
While it’s true that scallops can be a little tricky to make at first, once you have the necessary tips to know how to achieve perfectly pan-seared scallops, they make a fantastic addition to the dinner table!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Grapeseed oil
- Sea Scallops
- All Purpose Flour
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Unsalted Butter
- Garlic
- Italian Parsley
- Fresh Lemon
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- After rinsing the scallops, proceed to pat them dry with paper towels. The scallops must be completely dry.
- Sprinkle the scallops with flour, making sure to coat them all over.
- Season the scallops with salt and pepper.
- Add the scallops to a pan of hot oil. Allow them to sit for 2 minutes before moving them.
- After turning each scallop over, add in the garlic and butter, swirling it around the scallops.
- Add the chopped parsley, and once wilted remove the scallops (about 2 minutes of cooking time each side).
- Remove the scallops from the pan immediately after they have cooked.
- Serve the scallops with linguine and freshly cut lemon wedges.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making the Pan Seared Scallop Recipe.
These scallops should only be cooked for a maximum of 2 minutes per side in a pan of hot oil (high heat). Using a cast iron pan will also ensure an even heat throughout and you’ll also want to make sure that there is some space between the scallops so that they don’t steam each other.
Lastly, coating the scallops with flour will always result in a beautifully seared crust on the outside of every scallop!
Oils that have a high smoke point are best for searing scallops. This includes the likes of avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
Soaking scallops is a method for tenderizing the meat and also removing the fishy taste and odor that is sometimes noticeable.
Scallops generally should be rinsed before cooking them as a way to remove any potential grit still stuck to them. They don’t need to be soaked in the water though.
The most noticeable difference between sea scallops and bay scallops is size. Bay scallops tend to be the size of popcorn while sea scallops are much larger, similar to the size of marshmallows.
Another distinction is flavor. Bay scallops tend to be sweeter in flavor than sea scallops which makes sense if you think about the difference in the level of salt they are exposed to.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Make sure that you don’t overheat leftover scallops otherwise they will become quite rubbery in texture.
- Don’t drown the pan with oil or butter as this can result in the scallops steaming instead of crisping up.
- You may need to cook the scallops in batches depending on the size of the cast iron pan used or the number of scallops you intend to cook. Remember, overcrowding the scallops will result in them steaming and you won’t achieve the seared outer crust.
- The scallops should make a sizzling noise when added to the pan of hot oil - that’s how you know that the oil is hot enough.
- Apart from the 2-minute cooking time per side of scallop, you will know that the scallops are cooked when they have a golden crust on the outer edges and are translucent in the center.
- It’s important to thoroughly dry the scallops once rinsed as wet scallops will not sear or brown in the pan.
📚 Variations
- I’ve used sea scallops for this recipe but you could use bay scallops instead for a smaller bite-size scallop. You may need to reduce the cooking time for the smaller bay scallops.
- Finely chopped parsley, garlic, and simple seasoning is used in this recipe to flavor the sea scallops but go ahead and use different herbs and spices to vary your scallop flavoring. For a kick of heat, season lightly with some cayenne pepper or red chili flakes.
- Add a bit of pesto like our Homemade Basil Pesto Without Pine nuts to the pan instead of the chopped parsley.
- The light coating of flour on these scallops results in a golden brown sear which I love! You could also fry up some breaded sea scallops by using Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs and egg.
🥫 Storage
Scallops will always taste their best when served immediately after being cooked. If you do find that you have extra leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When serving leftover stored scallops, first allow them to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to reheating in the microwave at half-heat for about a minute.
📗 Related Recipes
I’m a huge fan of seafood and I’m guessing that you are too since you’re still reading this part of the recipe! If that’s the case, be sure to try my Sea Trout Piccata, Pesto Shrimp, or Easy Shrimp Scampi!
🍽 Serve with
I’ve served my pan seared scallops with al dente linguine pasta, scooping any remaining butter garlic sauce from the pan over each serving. It makes an incredibly tasty and easy main meal although you could quite easily serve these scallops as party appetizers on their own.
Other side dishes that would pair well with these pan seared scallops include rice, leafy greens, or hearty protein-packed beans and peas.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
I’m always amazed at the reaction I get from guests or friends when serving pan-seared scallops - it’s usually a mixture of surprise and envy and I’m guessing that’s because most people are wary of cooking scallops for fear of either overcooking or undercooking them.
While cooking scallops can be tricky, it’s actually one of the easiest and quickest meals or snacks you can make once you apply a few helpful tips that I’ve laid out in this post!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
If you’re looking for a quick and easy seafood dish, you can’t go wrong with these pan-seared scallops. They’re seared to perfection with a golden-brown crust, flavored in a mix of butter garlic, and chopped parsley! Enjoy them with linguine pasta or another side dish of your choice.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Pan Seared Sea Scallops With Linguine
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
- 1 pound Sea Scallops about 12 large
- 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic minced
- ¼ cup Italian parsley chopped
- 1 pound Linguine prepared as directed on package.
Instructions
- Start heating the grapeseed oil in a large cast iron skillet (or Dutch Oven) on high heat.
- Rinse the scallops in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure scallops are totally dry.
- Sprinkle the scallops with the flour and make sure to total coat all over.
- Season with the Kosher salt and black pepper and once the oil has become hot enough drop in the scallops one by one, but quickly. Don't move the scallops at all for the 2 minutes.
- Then turn each scallop over quickly. Again, don't move the scallops.
- Add the garlic and the butter to the pan and lift the pan a little to swirl the garlic butter around the scallops.
- Add the chopped parsley, and once wilted remove the scallops. (The total cooking time is about 2 minutes each side).
- Serve immediately with your favorite side. We like to serve it with pasta.
Notes
- Make sure that you don’t overheat leftover scallops otherwise they will become quite rubbery in texture.
- Don’t drown the pan with oil or butter as this can result in the scallops steaming instead of crisping up.
- You may need to cook the scallops in batches depending on the size of the cast iron pan used or the number of scallops you intend to cook. Remember, overcrowding the scallops will result in them steaming and you won’t achieve the seared outer crust.
- The scallops should make a sizzling noise when added to the pan of hot oil - that’s how you know that the oil is hot enough.
- Apart from the 2-minute cooking time per side of scallop, you will know that the scallops are cooked when they have a golden crust on the outer edges and are translucent in the center.
- It’s important to thoroughly dry the scallops once rinsed as wet scallops will not sear or brown in the pan.
Nutrition
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