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Bacon Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce - this dish tastes just like bacon-wrapped scallops but is much easier to make! It takes only 30 minutes from start to finish!
Bacon Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce
These seared scallops with bacon in lemon butter sauce are easy-to-make, they taste delicious, and look like something you would get at the high-end restaurant! It's a great recipe to make as an appetizer or you can pair the bacon scallops with pasta or rice to serve them as the main course! The buttery sauce with lemon and bacon is super yummy - you'll enjoy every bit of it! This recipe is gluten-free and low-carb.
Keep in mind, that what you see in the photo above is 1 pound worth of scallops. After they are cooked, it's only enough to be served as a small portion. Scallops cook down a lot. Below I have some recommendations about what to serve with bacon scallops.
Serve Bacon Scallops as the main course
Serve seared scallops over pasta or rice to make a complete meal. Here are some suggestions:
- Use angel hair pasta. This type of pasta is fine enough to go with the lemon butter sauce without overwhelming the bacon scallops. You can add olive oil and roasted garlic to pasta for extra flavor.
- Prepare orzo and serve the scallops and the sauce over the cooked orzo.
- Cooked jasmine rice or flavored rice are also great options.
Side Dishes
Because these pan-seared scallops have bacon and lemon butter sauce, the best side dishes would be green vegetables, such as sautéed spinach, roasted asparagus, or mashed potatoes. You can also serve scallops with Asiago Bacon and Garlic Roasted Asparagus or Garlic and Bacon Green Beans.
How to thaw frozen scallops
If using frozen scallops, it's imperative to thaw them completely. Thaw the scallops overnight in the refrigerator. Do not thaw the scallops by leaving them on the counter.
How to cook perfect scallops on the stovetop
- First of all, bring thawed scallops to room temperature before cooking. That means to let them sit on a plate on the countertop for about 30 minutes (not longer) before cooking.
- After the scallops reach room temperature, blot each scallop with paper towels to remove extra water.
- Sprinkle each scallop with a dash of salt.
- Use a large, non-stick skillet (I used stainless steel skillet which works well for me as non-stick).
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in this skillet on high heat until hot but not smoking. Oil should be rolling easily around the skillet when you move it around, and it should not smoke.
- Immediately, add scallops without overcrowding the pan. Sear on one side for about 3-4 minutes until the bottom of the scallops is a nice golden color. Don't move the scallops around the pan in the beginning. Flip the scallops over to the other side and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and transfer the scallops to the plate immediately. Important note: Don't let the scallops sit in the hot skillet, off heat, because they will start to steam, lose their crust and harden up.
Key Tip for making perfect seared scallops
The key to making perfect pan-seared scallops is to cook them really fast on a really hot skillet. After you've cooked the scallops, you should immediately remove them from the skillet. This ensures that the scallops retain their nice golden crust and are not overcooked.
Other delicious recipes with scallops
- Seared Scallop with Creamy Lemon Caper Sauce - in this recipe, scallops are seared in a skillet to a nice golden crust and then coated with a creamy sauce made with garlic, lemon juice, and capers.
- Scallops with Creamy Mozzarella Pasta - this is a great recipe that combines scallops with pasta! Scallops are served with penne pasta and creamy sauce made with Mozzarella cheese, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and red pepper flakes.
Bacon Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 strips bacon , uncooked, chopped
- 1 lb scallops
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice , freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons wine or use lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter , softened but not melted
- 2 tablespoons parsley , fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Cook chopped bacon in a skillet until cooked.
- Dry scallops with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the large skillet until very hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and immediately add scallops. Sear on high heat, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet.
- Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice (and maybe 2 more tablespoons white wine). Scrape the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from heat, add softened butter (but not melted) - to create a creamy sauce. Add chopped bacon. Add back seared scallops. Top with chopped parsley
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
So delicious! It paired well with greek seasoned brussel sprouts and roasted yellow potatoes!
So happy you liked it! Your side dishes sound delicious!
Made this tonight. It was tasty. Served with roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic, and the sauce was good on them top. I'll make it again.
So glad you liked it! Serving scallops with roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic sounds delicious! What a great choice of a side dish!
I really wish you would've specified if you added the bacon fat to the olive oil or not...
I drain the fat from the bacon from the skillet. Then I add olive oil.
This was REALLY yummy! I added some Patagonia shrimp but otherwise followed the recipe. It was a huge hit with my boyfriend and my dad. I may try searing the scallops for about 2 minutes on each side next time as I like scallops a little less cooked. Thank you!!
I am very glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your feedback!
Made as an appetizer for Christmas dinner and this received such rave reviews that we have since made for both New Year’s Eve and Valentines dinner. Thank you for sharing.
You're very welcome! So glad this recipe was a success, and that you've made it 3 times now! Love reading comments like yours!
Absolutely amazing!! The taste of the butter/lemon/wine sauce was so smooth and delicious!! Such an easy recipe to prepare - thanks!!!
Stephanie, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind comment!
do u drain the bacon fat or include it with olive oil to sear scallops? looks delish
I drain the fat from the bacon from the skillet. Then I add olive oil.
could you cook in the bacon fat instead? Or does this not work.
I prefer to sear the scallops in olive oil, not in the bacon fat.
OMG!! Just made this for my wife and after a Sunday with two toddlers and it was equally easy as it was DELICIOUS, so simple but the flavors were big. She loved them, and I am now a bigger fan of scallops. Thank you!
I am so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed! Thank you for stopping by and sharing such a wonderful comment!
I made your scallops for Christmas dinner , We had them as our appetizer. I made them exactly as written, and they were absolutely delicious! Even our very picky daughter loved them. Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband is talking about them as I'm writing this, he wants them for New Years Eve, hahaha
Linda, I love your comment! So happy you enjoyed this scallop recipe. What a great idea to make this as an appetizer for Christmas and/or New Year's Eve!
This will be our early Christmas dinner tonight Julia. Thanks!
Just one quick question- Am I using a different pan to cook the scallops or am I adding oil to the bacon grease to cook the scallops.
It depends on a skillet. If it's a non-stick or cast iron skillet - then use the same one. If it's a stainless steel skillet, I would either wash the skillet or use a different one. The reason is that you want to use the skillet that doesn't have anything stuck on it (like bacon bits), otherwise the scallops might stick to the bottom of the skillet.
This was delicious! I’ll definitely make this again. I did substitute the bacon for chorizo though and it was still very nice..btw I’m not a dab hand in the kitchen at all but was still very easy 🙂
Julie, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Using chorizo in place of bacon sounds delicious! What a great idea!
Recipe was super easy to follow! The whole family helped out! Paired it with some garlic roasted brussel sprouts and some rainbow potatoes! My kids and wife loved it!! Thank you!! ❤️❤️
Anyone think I can use fresh basil instead of parsley? I have it in my garden, but fear the flavor will be too strong. Thoughts? I've made this before exactly as the recipe so I will rate it a 5. It was amazing as is!!
Thank you! So glad you liked the recipe! I would use fresh basil even though it does have a strong flavor, but it will go well with scallops and the lemon sauce.
Do you cook the scallops in the same pan as the bacon with the bacon grease?
I prefer to cook scallops in a separate skillet (or clean the skillet after cooking the bacon). If you cook them in the same skillet you just cooked bacon, the scallops might get stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
I ruined 3 & 1/2 pounds of sea scallops that came fresh off the boat (not store purchased).
By not only cooking them in the same pan I added the olive oil, garlic, lemon, wine and parsley to the bacon grease (the receipe didn’t say to drain the pan). I’m so upset.
My family and friends ate the meal, , they must have felt sorry for me because it was awful.
So sorry to hear that! Especially since you had the sea scallops fresh off the boat! The recipe does say to remove the scallops from the skillet after cooking them and only then do you add the lemon, butter, parsley to the empty skillet to make the sauce. Then, you add the cooked scallops back to the pan.
So glad I found your recipe. Spent the last 2 days scalloping and didn't want to mess up our hard earned dinner! Was able to serve this to friends with Celiac and type 1 diabetes, and it was delicious too! Thank you!
You're very welcome! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
This is absolutely delish!! I've made it several times. THANK YOU for a perfect and simple recipe!
I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
Do you think this sauce would work with bacon wrapped scallops?
Definitely!