Pan fried Scallops with White Wine Garlic Sauce

ByAlida Ryder Posted on Updated on
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Pan fried scallops with white wine garlic sauce is an easy and delicious recipe, perfect for a date night in. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the sauce or over creamy lemon risotto for a showstopping dinner. 

Panfried scallops with white wine garlic sauce

Ingredients

Full recipe and amounts can be found in the recipe card below. 

  • Scallops.
  • Olive oil. 
  • Salt and pepper. 
  • Butter. 
  • Garlic. 
  • White wine. 
  • Lemon juice. 
  • Parsley. 
  • To serve: Lemon risotto or crusty bread

How to pan fry scallops

  1. How to cook frozen scallops: Thaw frozen scallops in the fridge overnight. Remove from packaging, drain any liquid then pat dry with paper towels. If you don’t dry the scallops they won’t sear and form that beautiful golden exterior.
  2. Seared scallops: Drizzle the scallops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the scallops, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. If you add too many scallops they will steam instead of fry. Cook the scallops for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on their size, until they are golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.
  3. Make the sauce: In the same pan, melt the butter then add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds then pour in the white wine, lemon juice and parsley. Allow to come to a simmer and reduce for 3-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the scallops back in the pan to warm.
  4. Serve with crusty bread or creamy risotto.
Panfried scallops with creamy lemon risotto.

How long to cook scallops

Scallops are a quick-cooking protein, like all shellfish. Depending on their size, they should take no more than 2-3 minutes per side. Scallops are cooked when the flesh is milky white throughout and opaque. The internal temperature will read 54ºC/130ºF on a meat thermometer.

What to serve with scallops

  1. Creamy lemon risotto 
  2. Crusty bread 
  3. Mashed cauliflower
  4. Creamy polenta 
Scallops with creamy risotto.

Date night recipes

  1. Creamy lemon garlic shrimp pasta
  2. Lemon risotto with pan-roasted chicken
  3. Prawn cocktail stuffed avocados
  4. Date night pork fillet with mushroom risotto

Panfried scallops with white wine garlic sauce

Panfried scallops with white wine garlic sauce is an easy and delicious recipe, perfect for a date night in. Served with risotto, it's a showstopper.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: How to cook scallops, Panfried scallops, Scallop recipes
Servings: 4
Calories: 193kcal
Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1lb) scallops Cleaned | If frozen, thawed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper

White wine garlic sauce

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3-4 garlic cloves minced (to taste)
  • ½ cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste

To serve

Instructions

  • Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over high heat.
  • Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  • Add the scallops to the hot pan (do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan) and allow to panfry for 2-3 minutes per side until they are golden brown and seared on both sides.
  • Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Melt the butter in the pan then add the garlic. Allow to cook for 30 seconds then pour in the white wine, lemon juice and parsley.
  • Bring the sauce to a simmer then cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly.
  • Add the scallops back into the pan and allow to heat through.
  • Serve with sides of your choice.

Nutrition

Serving: 4people (scallops only) | Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 1076mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
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4.54 from 49 votes (43 ratings without comment)

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7 Comments

  1. Really excellent, especially when served atop Lemon Risotto, another recipe here on Simply Delicious! The only adjustments I made was to switch to avocado oil so it doesn’t smoke as much and reduce the cooking time because the scallops continue cooking once removed from the pan as well as when being sauced.

    Reply

  2. This was a good recipe to trust expensive ingredients with. I used our good local Orkney scallops (Queenies) which are a bit smaller than the large and very expensive model. Missed the instruction to reduce the wine 3 – 5 minutes – which it really needs or the sauce is quite sour. Simmered the sauce longer with some extra butter and it seemed to reduce the sour taste. I served it separate so we could pour on what we want. Actually, all it needed was another good stir after I took it off the stove. Served with basmati rice and glazed whole carrots. Made my husband very happy so thanks for a recipe that brightened up a very dreich day.

    Reply

  3. I’ve just cooked these and the recipe worked perfectly for a delicious meal. If (when) I do it again I’ll double up on the sauce.

    Reply

  4. Unfortunately, all I had were frozen scallops, and despite blotting them with paper towels they still leaked a ton of water in the pan when I tried to sear them. Still, flavor was delicious and my parents loved them served over thin spaghetti. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    1. Hello! I only saw the pan heat as high in the recipe. I burned the sauce. Was I supposed to turn down the heat somewhere in the steps?

      Reply