A Lemon Garlic Scallop Pasta is the perfect restaurant-style meal that you can make at home! Picture it now. A nice crisp minerally white wine, this lemon garlic scallop pasta, maybe a side of this most delicious butter lettuce salad and some warm garlic bread. Sounds like a dream dinner.
Table of Contents
I think it's safe to say we're a bunch of pasta lovers here at WGC. And based on some of everyone's favorite recipes like Creamy Lemon Cacio e Pepe or Garlic Buttered Angel Hair with Burrata it's also safe to say we love garlic, lemon, herbs and things that are fresh and light and loaded with flavor. So this Lemon Garlic Scallop Pasta is right up our alley!
If you've never made scallops before - DON'T FEAR! I'm about to walk you through it. And if you've never had scallops before - omg let me be the first to welcome you to your new favorite seafood dish. Scallops are actually quite easy to make.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Scallops - Substitute the scallops in this Scallop Pasta recipe for shrimp or even a white fish like halibut. If using frozen scallops be sure to thaw them out entirely before cooking.
- Linguini
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Fresh Thyme
- White Wine – This Scallop Pasta recipe can be made without the white wine, skip it and use twice the amount of stock.
- Seafood Stock
- Fresh Basil
- Chopped Chives
- Lemon
*For the full list of ingredients and instructions see recipe card below
How to Make Scallop Pasta
Step 1: For this Scallop Pasta recipe start by cooking the linguini. Hold off on starting the scallops until you drop your pasta into a pot of boiling water. Once the pasta is rolling, remove the muscle from the scallops and pat dry with a paper towel pat. Season the scallops heavily with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. You want the pan to be hot before you place your scallops into the pan. Add a thin coating of olive oil so really get that good sear and lock in the flavor. Too much oil will splatter, but you want the pan to be coated so nothing sticks. Once the oil is shimmering, add the scallops. Sear the scallops for 2-3 minutes on each side until super golden brown. Don't futz with them they should only be flipped once.
Step 3: A minute before they're done, add 2 tablespoons of butter and baste the scallops, then remove from pan and tent loosely with foil to keep warm
Step 4: Add an additional drizzle of olive oil to the skillet and add the garlic, shallots, crushed red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and sauté garlic and shallots 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 5: Add wine to the pan and scrape up any pan drippings. Reduce the wine for 1 minute, then add seafood stock. Continue to cook for about 1 minute. Add the basil, chives, lemon zest and juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and stir the mixture until the butter has melted.
Step 6: Add the cooked pasta and cook for about 30 seconds, just to combine and let the pasta soak up the sauce. Nestle the scallops back into the skillet to serve the Scallop Pasta.
Tips & Tricks
1: First - you need to remove the muscle from the scallop. You can ask your fish monger to show you how! If scallops are readily available at your local markets, I've had a lot of luck ordering them (and seafood in general) from this Alaskan company!
2: Make sure your scallops are DRY. Pat both sides dry with a paper towel. That's going to get you the best color.
3: Season liberally with salt and pepper.
4: Use a cast iron skillet and crank that heat. You want the pan to be hot before you place your scallops into the pan.
5: Make sure you use a thin coating of oil so really get that good sear and lock in the flavor. Too much oil will splatter but you want the pan to be coated so nothing sticks.
6: Don't futz with them. Place them in the skillet and let them really brown before flipping. Don't peak or move them around. They only need to be flipped once, and when it's time to flip them, they should be so golden that it's really easy to flip!
FAQs
What do scallops pair well with?
My favorite way to serve scallops is with with pasta or over a salad like an avocado corn salad.
How do you know when scallops are done?
If scallops are firm to the touch then they are overcooked. If you touch them and they are mushy they are undercooked. Look for them to be golden brown on the outside and opaque in the center.
More Amazing Scallop Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Lemon Garlic Scallop Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ pound linguini
- 1 pound scallops
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus some for drizzling
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 large shallot finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed and chopped
- 1 cup white wine Sauv Blanc
- 1 cup seafood stock chicken stock will work too
- 1 cup fresh basil torn
- ½ cup chopped chives
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to package directions. Hold off on starting the scallops until you drop your pasta.
- Remove the muscle from the scallops and pat dry with a paper towel pat. Season the scallops heavily with salt and pepper.
- Preheat a large skillet (I like a cast iron skillet for this) over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, once shimmering, add scallops. Sear the scallops for 2-3 minutes on each side until super golden brown. The last minute, add 2 tablespoons of butter and baste the scallops, then remove from pan and tent loosely with foil to keep warm
- Add an additional drizzle of olive oil to the skillet and add the garlic, shallots, crushed red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and sauté garlic and shallots 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine to the pan and scrape up any pan drippings. Reduce the wine for 1 minute, then add seafood stock. Continue to cook for about 1 minute. Add the basil, chives, lemon zest and juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and stir the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the cooked pasta and cook for about 30 seconds, just to combine and let the pasta soak up the sauce. Nestle the scallops back into the skillet to serve.
Loved the recipe. I ended up adding cream at the end for a little richer flavor and it was fantastic. Thank you for sharing a great recipe!
Oh my God I just made this it was sooooo good- I had to substitute onions for shallots so it would’ve been even better I think! Also I added a little bit of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano at the end—— Yum thank you!
Made this for dinner tonight...had to use my oven since I have a glass top. It's amazing!
Why did you have to use your oven? Cast Iron is quite fine on a ceramic(glass) cooktop. Just preheat the pan slowly and you don't need to use the highest heat. I use my cast iron skillets on my ceramic cooktop almost everyday.
Go to town girl! 🙂
I have shared this recipe already several times! This dish is incredible!!!! Thank you for your thorough directions on how to perfectly cook the scallops! It was my first time cooking them and they turned out superb!
A new favorite scallop recipe. Love thfresh herbs with lemon and the of the pepper flakes. Will be adding to my rotation. Great recipe for entertaining, nice wow factor with the burst of fresh flavors.
This is now my most favorite dish! It is exquisitely delightfully full of flavor...the sweetness of the scallops, a bit of fire from the red pepper flakes, the thyme and basil are sublime...the freshness pop from the lemon, the silkiness of the sauce. And it was so east and ..so so so good!!! YUM!
I made this tonight for my wife. She said I have to make this all the time now. Thank You.
Great recipe but mine came out over lemoned (I think), I think maybe the lemons were too big so suggest not using two large lemons!!
Hi! This looks so delicious! Any recommendations for a white wine substitute that's non-alcoholic?
I used a little white wine vinegar. Not sure if that will work for you? But I didn't have any white wine... I'm all red! 🙂
Verjus is an excellent white wine substitute. Very similar taste, but non alcoholic. It's easy to get here in Europe, not sure if that is so in other countries.
Made this tonight - very good! My liquids didn’t reduce quite enough but very tasty
If you reserve a serving spoonful size of water that the pasts was cooked in and add it before you add the linguine it will thicken the sauce.
how many people does this recipe serve????
2
This completes me!! I need to try this ASAP!
This sounds so lovely and light and fresh!
I ‘ve bought a bag of frozen butter nut squash in spirals. What would be the best way to season them? Thank you ,Freda
This looks amazing! It is hard to find fresh scallops in the Midwest. Would good quality frozen scallops work? Thank you.
yes! but thaw them out entirely!