Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon Cream Sauce
Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon Cream Sauce are cooked perfectly, then served up on a bed of that dreamy bacon-packed sauce… If you are looking to impress anyone with your skills in the kitchen, this is the one dish that’ll steal their hearts every single time.
This is how you open a date-night dinner to remember.
For Valentine’s Day this year, I wanted to give you all a recipe that will both be the perfect way to show someone how much you love them, and also show yourself how much you love YOU.
Because there’s no other way to say “I love you” than perfectly seared scallops nestled in bacon cream sauce.
I mean, seriously, is there anything that bacon cream sauce can’t make magical?
I think scallops terrify a lot of people because they can go from silky to rubber in about 10 seconds.
However, if you keep a close eye on them, even if you pull them a little early and let them rest, they come out perfect in just about 2 minutes or less.
Really the scallops are the easy part.
I can hear you rolling your eyes, but really, they are easy!
The difficult part is keeping yourself from sticking your face in this bacon cream sauce and inhaling it all in one fell swoop.
The even more difficult part will be trying to find recipes for the subsequent courses that will live up to this opening dish.
Your date actually might still be licking the plate to get every little drop of this sauce before they let you take it away.
If you are making this for your Valentine’s Day date, I’m telling you know, you’ve got the night made; she/he will be swooning for you after the first bite.
This dish is honestly the one meal I will bust out when I am trying to impress.
Easy to make and gorgeous – it doesn’t get much better than that when you are trying to sweep someone off their feet with the meal of a lifetime.
BTW, you can totally turn this into a full meal alongside some couscous and asparagus! YUM.
Valentine’s Day gold, I’m just saying’…
The one thing I do have to say is that you HAVE to follow the instructions to the letter for cooking the pan seared scallops.
It’s such a solid technique so you honestly will not go wrong with it (plus you’ll never believe just how simple it is to cook these!).
All I can say is that Gordon Ramsey really knows what he is talking about.
No matter how many times I make these scallops, they always turn out perfectly cooked and golden. It’s a technique that is really hard to screw up, so cooks of any skill level can master it easily!
Need a stellar cocktail to pair with this dish? Try this Wild Berry Vesper!
This Recipe’s Must Haves
- Shun Classic 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
- Le Creuset of America Toughened NonStick Fry Pan
- Le Creuset of America Enameled Cast Iron Sauce Pan
Pin this Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon Cream Sauce for later!
Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon Cream Sauce
Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:25 minutes
Total Time:30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 6 large scallops
- Salt & pepper
- Chopped chives for garnish
Directions:
- In a medium skillet, cook chopped bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Add butter, cream, and Parmesan to the skillet with the bacon grease. Reduce the sauce over medium heat by half. Stir in the cooked bacon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm over low heat.
- In a separate skillet, heat 1/2 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot (make sure it's really hot!), add the scallops to the pan. Sear until golden brown on one side, approximately 1 minute, and turn over. Sear on the other side for 1 minute until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Serve the scallops over a layer of bacon cream sauce. Garnish with chives.
Food is your love language, isn’t it? Because I seriously love you for making this. You’re right, scallops do seem scary but you’re also right that I should definitely give them a try!
Yes it is, girl!! You know me so well 🙂
There is nothing about this recipe I don’t love. This immediately went to the top of my short list for Valentine’s Day dinner!
Thank you Sarah! 🙂
These scallops are seared just right! The bacon cream sounds over the top delicious! I am sure everyone would love this, no matter it is Valentine’s Day or not!
Thank you! The bacon cream sauce is seriously too much and just right, all at the same time.
I love pan seared scallops. Especially when they are drenched in such a delicious and creamy sauce like this – you definitely have made me hungry now!
Haha good!! You seriously have to at least try the sauce – it is insanely good…
What would you suggest to serve this with if I wanted to make this as an entree? Would risotto be too heavy?
That’s a great idea! I think risotto would a great way to make this an entree. If you don’t want it to be too heavy, perhaps make a lighter risotto (i.e. not too much cream and cheese, with a touch of acidity like lemon juice), then perhaps halve the bacon cream sauce recipe and serve it on the top of the scallops. I think all the flavors would balance out wonderfully!
Those scallops look perfect! Love the idea of bacon in the sauce instead of the usual bacon wrapped scallop!
i can think of at least a dozen uses for that bacon cream sauce / well done my dear !
Mmmmm. Making this tonight!
I’ve gotta ask, foul swoop????
LOL oh boy that’s a *face palm* moment if I’ve ever had one… one fell swoop – HA!
I added mushrooms and chopped spinach to the cream sauce and served it all over angel hair pasta. Very tasty! Thanks!
Yum that sounds delicious! I am going to have to try that ASAP 🙂
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Made these tonight. So easy and they were fabulous!! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I am so glad you loved them! I still have dreams about that bacon cream sauce…
Awesome recipe. I just made it today-fantastic! This is going to my ‘save’ list! Absolutely will makeagain
For future recipe tryers – the only thing I would recommend for the sauce is that if you leave the sauce sitting for a little while, more than 5 minutes the oil/butter starts to separate from the sauce. It’s best to make the sauce RIGHT before serving. If the oil/butter separation happens though don’t panic, I added about 4 tablespoons of the cream, simmered, whisked and my sauce came back to life
Great tip! Thank you Debra!!
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I made this for my husband yesterday for valentines day and he said that it was better than what you can get at a restaurant! Delicious!! Plenty of sauce and fyi it tastes really good reheated and served over some scrambled eggs the next day 🙂
Thank you so much! That makes me infinitely happy to read 🙂 And OMG that sauce on eggs??? GAH genius!
please be sure to put recipes with your food pictures.I can’t seem to find a lot of the seafood recipes.I’m looking forwood to making these delicious looking seafoods. Thank You
All recipes are noted at the bottom of the post! If you ever have any questions about a specific recipe, please leave a comment and I’ll reply as soon as possible 🙂 Also, here is a link to all of the seafood recipes on my site: https://www.cakenknife.com/category/seafood/!
Those look fantastic!
I’m going to make these for my daughter and I as we are the only two that enjoy seafood, but I’m going to kick it up and ad some grilled asparagus light seasoned with grated lemon and olive oil.
Mmmmm that sounds amazing!! Best dinner idea ever!
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I am making scallops as a side for Christmas Eve dinner and this is my new recipe for them! I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for sharing!
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What is nutrition facts, please? Sounds awesome!
I don’t have the nutritional facts calculated, but I do find that using MyFitnessPal does a good job if you want to plug in the recipe there! Hope you enjoy it!
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Me: I made roasted cauliflower. Put the bacon cream sauce on it.
Wife: Why?
Me: Three words: Bacon Cream Sauce
LMAO omgggg that is the best idea EVER. YUM!
We made it tonight, and omg, it was fantastic and easy. The best part is that it tasted so good. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Definitely would make again.
That makes me so happy to hear! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Made this tonight. OMG, it was soooo good! My son can’t stop raving about the sauce. I added some finely chopped onion & chopped spinach to the sauce. This recipe is a definite keeper.
That makes me infinitely happy to hear!! 🙂
I made this with scallops and shrimp and it turned out amazing. I usually don’t comment on recipes but I just had to do it to thank you. My husband loved it so much.
Thank you SO much for leaving a comment! It means the world to me to hear that!
Made it for my family tonight. Wonderful! Thank You!
Cream, bacon and scallops! On top of angel hair pasta was a great combination. Best dinner in a long time.
Oooo that’s sounds like a great idea! I’m trying that one next time I make it!
Ok first of all, I have never left a comment on anything in my life, but these were absolutely wonderful! I have always hated scallops because any time I ordered them at restaurants they were like a rubber hose. These were the best scallops I’ve ever had and my husband, who also had bad experiences with scallops, loved then too. Bonus- super easy to make. I think the bacon was the longest part. Thank you for this recipe! Will definitely make again!
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback with me! It means SO much to hear that you enjoyed them so much!!
If I double the amt of scallops, should I double all the other ingredients?
Yes, I would definitely recommend doubling!
Thank you for this recipe, utterly amazing. I used only authentic parmesano reggianno and the dish turned out wonderful. Many thanks from Ottawa, Canada
I am so happy to hear that! I truly appreciate you taking the time to comment!
My WORD!!! I was so nervous to try to make scallops, but my husband (he LOVES scallops) said these were the best he’d ever had, and ended up getting a spoon to finish up the sauce! Definitely keeping this in mind for future special dinners!
Thank you SO much! I am thrilled to hear that you loved them!!
Made this sauce last night and put over CAULIFLOWER RICE …Added fresh spinach ( made it sheet pan style ) what a FABULOUS hit it was ! Served with oven poached salmon … Great presentation and absolutely delicious !!! Now Its’ in my ” sauce ” repetouir !!! Thanks SO Much !!
Made this sauce last night and put over CAULIFLOWER RICE …Added fresh spinach ( made it sheet pan style ) what a FABULOUS hit it was ! Served with oven poached salmon … Great presentation and absolutely delicious !!! Now It’s in my ” sauce ” repetouir !!! Thanks SO Much !! ( OH … BTW … I JUST USED BACON FAT !!! )
Ooooo that sounds like a great idea!! I am totally trying the sauce over cauliflower rice myself!