Seared Scallops with White Wine Sauce – 20 Minute Dinner Recipe

This recipe for scallops with white wine sauce is perfect for an elegant dinner party or date night meal. The dish is on the table in less than 20 minutes but tastes like you spent hours making it!

The scallops are gently seared and served with a sauce that combines butter, white wine, garlic and spring onions. The aromatics in this white wine butter sauce beautifully compliment the delicate flavor of the scallops.

Be sure to serve the dish with some homemade bread to mop up every ounce of the delicious buttery wine sauce.

Making scallops with white wine sauce

Gather your ingredients. You’ll need these items:

• Large sea scallops
• Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
• Salted butter
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Dry white wine, good quality
• Spring onions – both white and green parts, diced
• Garlic, minced
• Fresh parsley, to garnish

Cooking the scallops

This scallops in white wine recipe is easy to prepare. The trick to its success is not overcooking the sea scallops. They can easily get tough if you cook them too long.

All they need is a light sear on both sides in a hot pan and they’ll be perfectly browned. 

Start by removing the small muscles from the scallops, and then pat them dry on both sides with a paper towel. This step is especially important if you are using frozen scallops.

Thoroughly patting the scallops dry is the key to cooking them, because it removes the excess moisture in the scallops, and gives you a golden crust when you sear them.

Mince the garlic, dice the spring onions, and chop the parsley. Set them aside while you sear the scallops.

Season the dry scallops with kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan.

When the butter and olive oil have melted, place the scallops in a single layer in the sauté pan. Be sure to leave plenty of room around each scallop so they will brown, and not steam.

Cook the scallops for 2-3 minutes to sear them on one side. Using tongs, turn them over and cook for 2-3 minutes more until they are nicely browned.

Transfer the scallops to a serving platter and keep warm.

Making the white wine sauce for scallops

Allow the skillet to cool slightly. Add the dry white wine to the pan and scrape up any browned bits that formed while the scallops were cooking. This is called deglazing the pan.

Add the butter, onions, and garlic to the white wine sauce, stirring it constantly.

Cook for about 2 minutes until the onions are tender and translucent and the sauce thickens slightly.

Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the white wine brown butter sauce over the scallops. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.

You can pair this dish with a glass of the same white wine you used to make the sauce. 

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Admin note: this post for scallops with wine sauce first appeared on the blog in June 2013. I have updated the post to add all new photos, a printable recipe card and a video for you to enjoy.

Yield: 4 servings of sea scallops

Seared Scallops White Wine Butter Sauce

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These gently seared scallops have a white wine butter sauce takes just minutes to prepare.

This recipe is perfect for an elegant dinner party or romantic date night.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound sea scallops
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of salted butter
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

For the wine sauce

• ¼ cup dry white wine, good quality
• 1 tablespoons of salted butter
• 2 large spring onions - both white and green parts, diced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• Extra kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon of fresh parsley, to garnish

Instructions

1. Rinse the scallops and drain well.
2. Remove the small muscles from the scallops.
3. Pat both sides of the scallops dry with paper towels.
4. Season the scallops lightly with salt and pepper and set aside.
5. Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and olive oil into the heated skillet and allow the butter to melt.
6. Add the scallops to the skillet in a single layer, leaving plenty of room between each scallop.
7. Cook on one side for 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Gently turn the scallops with tongs to sear the other side for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the scallops are well-browned.
9. Remove the scallops and place on a serving platter and keep warm.
10. Allow the skillet to cool slightly.
11. Add the dry white wine and scrape up any browned bits that formed as the scallops were cooking.
12. Add the butter, onions, and garlic to the white wine, stirring constantly. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the onions have become tender and translucent.
13. Remove the skillet from the heat and spoon the pan sauce over the scallops.
14. Serve immediately.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 226Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 1041mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 24g

Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.

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