Pan seared scallops taste like a special occasion dinner, but they’re easy enough for a weeknight. Serve them over a citrus-infused salad for a light and healthy meal!
Caramelized pan seared scallops combined with sweet oranges and peppery arugula in a garlic citrus vinaigrette—it sounds like something straight off of a restaurant menu, but it’s my new favorite salad recipe! While pan seared scallops might seem high-end, they’re simple to make for a weeknight dinner or even a quick lunch. This dish is also elegant enough to impress guests and easy to scale up if you’re serving a crowd.
Why These Pan Seared Scallops Deserve a Spot on Your Menu
Here’s why you’ll want to make this recipe soon!
- A great way to enjoy scallops. Scallops are low in points, packed with protein, and they always make a meal feel a little bit more special. In this recipe, they’re rich and flavorful, making this salad seem indulgent (even though it’s not).
- Restaurant-quality. The combination of zesty citrus, peppery greens, and savory caramelized scallops creates the kind of salad you’d expect to find at a fancy restaurant. The balance of textures and flavors is phenomenal.
- Easy to make. Quick to prepare, this pan seared scallop salad is ideal for busy weeknights or last-minute entertaining.
What You’ll Need
The pan seared scallops are the star of this recipe and you don’t need much else to make them shine. Scroll down to the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Sea scallops – Dry packed scallops are best. Wet packed scallops are plumped up with water and chemicals to increase their weight; when cooked, this excess liquid evaporates off and leaves you with much smaller scallops than you started with!
- Unsalted Butter – Cooking scallops in butter gives them that nice caramelization and extra flavor.
- Lemon and orange – You’ll use the juice from these to make the dressing, and you’ll also add some orange segments to the salad.
- Garlic – This adds savory flavor to the dressing.
- Salt and pepper – I like to use kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – Use a quality EVOO that’s fruity and aromatic.
- Greens – I use a mix of baby greens and arugula.
- Red onion – If you want to make the onion less pungent, you can toss the diced onion in a little bit of the dressing and let this sit for 10 minutes before adding it to the salad.
How to Make Seared Scallops
This is just a brief overview of the steps for making pan seared scallops. See the recipe card below for printable instructions.
- Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the olive oil, juice from half lemon, juice from 1/4 of the orange, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Prep the salad ingredients. Peel and slice the remaining orange. Place the greens on a plate and add the onion.
- Season the scallops. Rinse the scallops and pat them dry. Season them with salt. While you do this, preheat a skillet over high heat.
- Cook the scallops. Melt the butter in the pan and add the scallops. Sear until they’re caramelized on the bottom, then flip and caramelize the other side. The middles should still be translucent to keep them from overcooking.
- Put it all together. Add the pan seared scallops to the greens, then add the oranges. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve.
Tips and Variations
These tips will help you make sure your pan seared scallops turn out perfect.
- Swap out the greens. You can use another green like baby spinach or go in a different direction and serve your pan seared scallops over quinoa, jasmine rice, or couscous.
- Make sure the scallops are dry. It’s important to pat the scallops dry before cooking them. If they’re still damp, they’ll steam in the pan; they may also cause the butter to spatter when you add them to the skillet.
- Don’t move the scallops. To get that nice sear and caramelization, don’t move the scallops in the pan until you’re ready to flip them.
Serving Suggestions
If you’re serving these pan seared scallops as a first course, pair them with a light dinner like Honey Teriyaki Salmon or Asian Grilled Chicken with a simple side dish. You could also bulk up this salad to make it a more filling meal by adding Instant Pot Brown Rice.
Proper Storage
- Refrigerator: Store leftover scallops in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Be sure to store the salad separately. (I don’t recommend freezing leftovers.)
- To reheat: Reheating scallops is tricky! A quick sear on the grill works well, or place them in a steamer basket set over simmering water, cover, and steam until they’re warm.
More Scallop Recipes
For more dinner ideas using scallops, check out my Seafood Recipes collection, plus these five delicious scallop recipes to inspire your next meal!
Pan Seared Scallops
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb 8 oz sea scallops
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 navel orange
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed
- kosher salt and fresh pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups mixed baby greens
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1 tbsp red onion, chopped
Instructions
- Citrus Mojo Vinaigrette: In a small bowl whisk olive oil, juice from half lemon, juice from 1/4 of the orange, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
- Peel the remaining orange and chop into small chunks.
- Arrange mixed greens and arugula in the center of a plate or platter.
- Top with red onion.
- Wash scallops and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Season with salt.
- Heat a medium size pan on a high flame.
- When pan is hot, melt butter and place scallops in the pan.
- Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust.
- Turn over and cook about another minute while their centers are still slightly translucent (you can check this by viewing them from the side). Be careful not to overcook.
- Remove from the pan and arrange around the greens.
- Arrange oranges on the plate and drizzle with vinaigrette.
Easy to make and loved the flavors. Will definitely make again.
Delicious! 2 minutes one side, one minute the other side. Worked perfectly. I cooked mine in a cast iron skillet
Delicious. Would omit the salt next time – it wasn’t necessary.
So easy and delicious!
This is a wonderful dish for a light and flavorful dinner (leftovers are great too!). Made this for guests and received rave reviews! So easy to prepare and cook for a weeknight dinner also. Will go in the rotation!
This is a favorite for a dinner party. We have a Blackstone cooktop and it sears the scallops so nicely. I serve it with Gina’s risotto.
Light and delicious!
What a great combination of flavors and textures!
Couple of questions:
Med flame = what on electric stove
Sear without touching them for a few minutes until the bottom forms a nice caramel colored crust – what is “a few mins ” 2? 3?. The difference could be a “make or break” If I’m not supposed to touch – how do I know when there is a colored crust?
I’ve made this a few times already and it is so delicious!! The combination of the ingredients work perfect together. Definitely a keeper…
It was different and delicious. Definitely will make it again.
great!
This recipe looks delicious but is it really 246.7 calories?????
No, just updated nutritional info. 🙂
I am 9 years late to the party but I made this last night and it was AWESOME. I used day boat scallops which I think is essential (also called dry scallops) and I added some chopped avocado to the salad and a teaspoon of champagne vinegar to the dressing. So delicious and filling and EASY. Perfect summer recipe!
Oh My! My boyfriend and I absolutely LOVED this recipe! What I loved most about it was that it was SIMPLE but, yet LIGHT and FILLING to top it all off. This is a make again. I did not know if, I would like the oranges with the salad but, it was such a wonderful taste together!
Yummmmmm!! I added craisins, walnuts, and grated Parmesan, and it was delicious!!
Parmesan just doesn’t go with this dish neither does craisins or walnuts. Why don’t people just follow the recipe and not try to improve it because most of the time they make it worse. These recipes are made by a knowledgeabe cook which you evidently are not!
I this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! Going to be a regular for me!
I made this tonight and it was delish!!!!
Gina, can you please update these with the points plus value? Thanks!
Oh. My. Gawd. Yum!
Made this as a side dish tonight with my chicken and baked potato. Couldn’t wait. I skipped the onion and only used mixed baby greens but it was delish! Hubby liked it too!
Thanks
LOVE it! Great recipe Gina 🙂
Sounds fabulous!!!! Making my mouth water too.