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Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce is an elegant yet easy dish that is perfect for special occasions or any day of the week. The caramelized scallops and the delicious sauce is made all in one pan!
The tastiest pan-seared scallops that have a beautiful caramelized crust. It’s drizzled with a lemon caper sauce that makes each bite even more irresistible. Garlic Butter Herb Scallops or Honey Garlic Butter Scallops are other amazing scallop recipes to try!
Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce
Hi there! I’m Jessica Gavin, a Certified Culinary Scientist and cookbook author. I love to teach the science behind better cooking with my readers on JessicaGavin.com.
I’m so thrilled to now be a part of the contributor team here on The Recipe Critic, thanks Alyssa! This delicious recipe is a hit with my family when we’re craving an upscale meal made right at home.
Scallops may seem like an intimidating and fancy dish that’s reserved only for restaurants. I’m here to share my easy method for creating a beautiful crust every time right at home. There are three key steps to a achieve a golden exterior and tender texture.
After a few tasty test runs, you will nail the pan-searing technique, impressing your hungry eaters with your gourmet skills.
How Do You Make Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce?
- The first step is allowing the scallops to sit in a saltwater solution for about 10 minutes before cooking. The benefits of a brine are it delicately seasons the seafood, helps it retain moisture, and prevents the scallops from getting too tough as it’s cooking. If you’ve got a few extra minutes, it’s worthwhile to do.
- The second step is to dry the surface of the scallops as thoroughly as possible. This process allows immediate searing and color development while preventing steaming in the pan. I just dry them in between paper towel until there is no residual moisture and they become slightly sticky when touched.
- The third step is to choose the right pan and use very high heat when cooking. My go-to is a large cast iron skillet, I use it for spicy garlic shrimp and even skillet cornbread. Stainless steel will also work to get a caramel-colored surface too. The pan needs to be super hot so browning begins immediately as scallops can turn rubbery fairly quickly if overcooked. Once those scallops hit the pan, do not move them until you are ready to flip! I also use a little bit of butter to baste the scallops at the end of cooking to promote even more browning and flavor.
- To complement the buttery scallops, a luscious and bright lemon caper sauce is made right in the pan that the scallops were seared. There is a lot of wonderful flavors retained in the pan, and you want to incorporate it in the sauce. Aromatic garlic, white wine, chicken broth, lemon juice and capers are reduced until a thickened sauce is achieved. A little bit of Dijon mustard is whisked in for a hint of pungency, creating a delicate savory citrus sauce to compliment to the crusted scallops.
What is a Scallop?
Scallop is a common name that is primarily applied to any one of numerous species of saltwater clams or marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops.
What do Scallops Taste Like?
They are often described as similar to crab or lobster, but more firm. Their flavor tends to be sweet and delicate, but it’s the texture that really makes them interesting and enticing. When cooked correctly, they are soft and chewy but not rubbery or tough.
Are Sea Scallops Good for You?
Scallops are 80 percent protein. They are also a good source of magnesium and potassium.
How Do I Make Seared Scallops?
Add olive oil to a skillet and turn to medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops and add to the heated pan. Sear the scallops 3-3 1/2 minutes or until the sides are golden brown.
Can You Cook Frozen Scallops?
You will want to thaw scallops, if frozen. You can thaw them several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Do not thaw scallops at room temperature. Rinse scallops and pat them dry with paper towels before cooking.
What Do You Eat with Scallops?
Many green vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans, and broccoli, accompany scallops nicely. You can also serve scallops on a bed of fresh spinach, kale, or with cooked collard greens. I recommend adding angel hair pasta or sautéed zucchini noodles to toss in the lemon caper sauce for a more filling entree.
- Garlic Parmesan Green Beans with Bacon
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Roasted Lemon Parmesan Garlic Asparagus
- Grilled Asparagus Recipe
What White Wine cooks well with Scallops?
For cooking, you will want a wine with a high acidity known in wine parlance as “crisp.” Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sémillon, and dry sparkling wines are especially good.
Can I Leave out the White Wine?
Yes! This is just an option for those who lit the flavor and tasting of a white wine.
Looking for More Seafood Recipes? Try these!
- Fiery Shrimp Diablo
- Lemon Salmon Piccata
- Sweet and Sour Shrimp
- Awesome Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa
- Baked Tilapia and Roasted Veggies
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Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup kosher salt plus more for seasoning
- 1 cup hot water
- 4 cups ice water
- 1 pound large scallops 1 ½ inches wide, about 14 to 16
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup white wine optional
- 1 cup unsalted chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon capers rinsed
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- Black pepper for seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon chopped chives
- 6 lemon wedges
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl combine salt and hot water, stirring to dissolve the salt. Add ice water to cool the brine. Add scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes. Line a sheet pan with paper towels, set aside.
- Drain the scallops, rinse under cold water, and then arrange in a single layer on the paper towel-lined sheet pan. Place another paper towel on top of the scallops and gently pat scallops. Remove as much surface moisture as possible for the best browning results when cooked.
- Allow scallops to sit for 10 minutes at room temperature before cooking.
- In a 12-inch saute pan or cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until oil ripples and just begins to smoke.
- Sprinkle scallops lightly with salt on both sides.
- Place scallops into the hot pan without crowding. Gently press scallops with a spatula to make direct contact with the pan.
- Sear scallops without moving them, continuing to cook until bottoms are a rich golden brown, 3 to 3 ½ minutes.
- Add butter to the pan. Turn the scallops over and cook the second side. Use a spoon to baste the scallops with the butter, tilting the pan to collect the butter as needed.
- When the scallops are opaque in color and firm to the touch, about 1 to 2 minutes, turn off heat and transfer to a plate, do not discard pan.
- In the same pan used for cooking the scallops turn heat to medium. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant but not browned.
- Increase heat to medium-high and add wine. Simmer wine, stirring as needed until the wine is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
- Turn heat to high and add the chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice and capers to the pan. Cook until sauce is reduced by half, about ½ cup, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and whisk in Dijon mustard.
- Turn heat to medium and add scallops back to pan, cook until warm, 2 minutes.
- Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Garnish scallops with chopped dill, chives and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Notes
•Fine dine Mixing Bowls
•The Recipe Critic Apron
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
any advice for treating “wet” scallops to remove the chemical taste? – Dry scallops at my local fishmonger are $46.00 per pound (cdn) – a special treat. I have bought supermarket scallops and didn’t like the aftertaste. Someone told me to soak them in milk – what do you think?
Elizabeth Priddle, Barrie Ontario
That sounds like a great idea! Let me know how it turns out!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m not certain how to remove the chemical taste when one encounters treated scallops, but I was delighted to discover that Costco’s Kirkland brand of frozen raw sea scallops is pure, nothing added. Do they have Costco where you live? I found these in the frozen seafood section in a big blue and white bag; the size of scallop is 15-20 per pound. Best of luck sourcing the real thing!
Made this tonight – served over buccatini -and it came out great. I added spinach to the dish just before it was finished, long enough for the spinach to wilt. I did all the prep work will the scallops were brining, so the brining really didn’t all all that much time to the overall dish. This will definitely be on my ‘go to’ list! Thanks for an awesome website!
Since I can leave out the white wine, how do I adjust the recipe without that ingredient?
You do not have to substitute it, just leave it out.
We cooked this tonight and served over spaghetti squash for a great low carb dinner. Loved it!
Made two pounds of scallops and did one and a half of all ingredients. Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Served with angel hair pasta. Also, bought fresh scallops from local seafood market. Cost an arm and a leg but well worth the price. They were as fresh as fresh can be and made this fish a true gourmet meal. Will definitely make again and save the sauce recipe for other fish.
Could you post the nutritional values for the scallop recipe? Doing Keto and this sounds amazing!
I like to use skinnytaste.com or myfitnesspal.com for any nutritional information. Hope you can find what you are looking for!
Can the scallops be refrigerated after first cooing (in the morning) the sauce made then also and refrigerated also. Take scallops out of fridge maybe 20 minutes before serve time, heat sauce in a chafing dish, then warm scallops and serve? Want to make these for a party but like to get as much cleaned up ahead of time as possible.
That sounds like a great idea! Let me know how it turns out! Enjoy your party!
I made this recipe exactly as written ( i did leave the scallops in a warmed oven so they wouldn’t get too cold). It was fantastic, I ended up making it with steamed green beans and quinoa/brown rice. There was a very nice amount of sauce left so I threw the beans into it and after we ate all the beans we dumped the quinoa into the sauce and loved that as well. I will definitely make this again!
Exceptional. I can see this sauce doing so much duty with other seafood, pasta etc. Thank you for the technique to get a good crust on the scallops. I had been told that only day boat scallops can get a good crust, that frozen have too much water integrated into their tissues.
Lemon in combination with capers are very strong flavors. Both are great but together they over power the flavor of the scallops. My husband did not like that fact. I followed the recipe to a tee. And I thought that adding dill and chives at the end, both distinct flavors, would cover the taste of the scallops even more so I just sprinkled a small amount of chopped chives. The sauce went well with pasta but not so much the scallops. I think chicken breast would be better than such a light seafood.
Thank you for helping me be the hero tonight! My bride of 38 years was absolutely raving about this dish and said it was a “keeper!” She’s going out to buy more scallops tomorrow! Awesome! And the sauce would be excellent over some angel hair pasta, but that’s for next time. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
That is fantastic! I am so happy for both of you! Thank you for sharing and following along with me! XOXO
These look amazing
I had friends over who are allergic to shellfish and also vegan, so I made this with scalloped king oyster mushroom stems, substituting “no-chicken broth” for the broth and a little bit of margarine for the small amount of butter needed. (And I soaked the mushroom stems in salt water with a little bit of seaweed.) It turned out fabulously! The sauce was spot on, and my friends couldn’t put their forks down. Thanks for this recipe!
I made this tonight for dinner and WOW! It was fantastic. The brining really makes a difference.
DELICIOUS! And the sauce… AWESOME! I could drink that sauce! Lol
Delish!
Thank you thank you thank you looks so delicious and easy. Can’t wait to try this