Our quick and easy Lemon Butter Scallops are cooked in ghee and fresh lemon juice, they are savory and delicious! Perfect for a weeknight dinner or date-night-in!
The Best Lemon Butter Scallops
I always forget how ridiculously easy this recipe is! Scallops are a favorite of mine and this recipe is simple, quick and SO delicious. Perfect for a date-night-in that looks super fancy but is actually very easy. We love to make these for an epic Valentine’s Day dinner, because who needs to go out when you can stay in with these buttery scallops?!
Looking for More Scallops Recipes?
If you love them as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Buttery Grilled Scallops + Citrus Salsa!
Substitutions
- Scallops: highly recommend getting fresh bay scallops or sea scallops from your local grocery store on the day you make them. Frozen would work too, but they need to be fully thawed and dried before cooking!
- Ghee: perfect for keeping this easy recipe Whole30/Paleo compliant, but regular butter or plant-based butter would also work.
How To Make Lemon Butter Scallops
The first steps to making this scallop recipe are to bring a cast iron skillet to a medium high heat. Make sure the scallops are as dry as possible, season with salt, and sear in the hot skillet with melted ghee. Flip, add some lemon zest, lemon juice, and chives. Continue until fully cooked through and follow the recipe card below.
Best Ways To Serve Lemon Butter Scallops
We love to serve this main dish with some delicious side dishes, like Roasted Broccolini, Whole30 Mashed Potatoes, or Shaved Brussel Sprouts. Feel free to make any of your favorite sides! Or serve turn this basic recipe into a lemon butter scallop pasta and serve over your favorite noodles.
Storage
Leftover scallops can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days. Don’t forget to pour the extra lemon butter sauce on top! To reheat, scrape out the solidified lemon butter sauce into a cast iron skillet and reheat. Add scallops and cook on low to warm up!
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Scallops?
If you have any sort of choice in the matter I ALWAYS choose FRESH! They taste so, so much better! Plus, frozen scallops seem to lock in extra moisture, so when you cook them down, they add water to the skillet, thus watering down the flavor, etc. This recipe will only reach its full potential if you use fresh scallops!
Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Lemon Butter Scallops Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our epic Lemon Butter Scallops recipe is cooked in ghee and fresh lemon juice, perfect for a fancy weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 3–4 tablespoons ghee (sub regular butter)
- kosher salt
- 8–10 large sea scallops
- the zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prep: Bring a large cast iron skillet to a high heat on the stovetop. Add just enough ghee to coat the bottom of the pan. Pat Scallops dry with a paper towel and sprinkle one side with salt.
- Sear: Put salt side down in the hot pan to sear. Sprinkle salt on the other side of scallops. Let sear for 1 minute and then reduce heat to medium-high and add enough ghee to ensure the bottom doesn’t dry out (at least 1 tablespoon).
- Lemon + Herbs: Sprinkle with 1/2 of the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon chives. Cook for 3 minutes on medium and then flip, pushing some ghee under each scallop as you flip to ensure they don’t stick to the pan.
- Finish: Cook for 2-3 minute on this side or until fully cooked (they are fully cooked when the tops start to crack). After flipping, add the other tablespoon of lemon juice. Add additional ghee, as needed, to ensure the bottom of the pan stays nicely coated.
- Serve: Once fully cooked, plate and sprinkle with the other half of lemon zest, the rest of the chives and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Optional: If you want a little bit of a sauce to pour over when serving, leave any residue in the pan and add an additional tablespoon or two of ghee, another tablespoon or two of lemon juice and a swirl of olive oil to the skillet; mix together. Pour over scallops.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 0.8 g
- Sodium: 783.5 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.7 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 74.6 mg
Linda says
Beautiful pics – how could anyone resist making them? I can’t !?
Erin says
?. I don’t know!! ❤️