Name: Brown Butter Scallop Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 strips bacon; 3 cloves garlic, smashed and sliced; 2 1/2 cups bay scallops (sea scallops are okay too, but adjust cooking times); 1/2 lb spaghetti; 1/2 cup butter; 1-2 tsp parsley, for garnish; Salt and pepper, to taste

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A simple and delicious weeknight dinner, Brown Butter Scallop Pasta is restaurant quality food, done at home in under 30 minutes. The nutty aroma of browned butter with with the crispy, buttery, and tender scallop texture all come together for a perfect dinner to impress the entire family.

I am always trying new pasta recipes. Maybe it’s the Italian in me, but in my world, no dinner compares to a pasta dish. I’ve made the classics Pesto Pasta, my favorite Tuscan Chicken with a side of linguine, and now I’m trying something totally new: seared scallops with spaghetti, and depending completely on the depth of flavor from browned butter for my sauce.

What do I need to get started?

Scallops. I used bay scallops, but sea scallops are great for this recipe as well. Keep in mind that they are much larger than bay scallops and may need additional cooking time.
Bacon.
Salt and pepper. Salt for the pasta water, and salt and pepper for flavor.
Spaghetti. You can use any long pasta for this – linguine, bucatini, and fettuccine would all work just as well.
Garlic. As demonstrated by the name of my blog, I believe garlic will elevate nearly any dish 🙂
Butter.
Parsley – for garnish.

How do I make brown butter scallop pasta?

This is such an easy recipe to do, I will walk you through the entire thing.

First you want to take your scallops and dry them off with a paper towel. Only dried scallops should be added to the pan. Generously season the scallops with salt and pepper, then set aside. Prepare your pasta according to box directions.

Next is frying the bacon. Cook it according to your preferences, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate, and do not drain the bacon grease. This will add more flavor to our pasta.

Add garlic (smashed and sliced) to the pan and cook in the bacon grease. Remove to a plate.

Now for the scallops – cook in the bacon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, turning at least once. Both sides should be golden brown. Return the bacon and garlic to the pan, along with the butter.

Continue cooking the butter until it is browned. Add the pasta directly to the pan and sauce, and toss it all together. For additional acidity, you could add lemon juice or lemon zest, but this is totally optional – I did not do this.

What is brown butter?

Browned butter is basically just butter that has been cooked slightly past the melting point. Browned butter offers a bolder and nuttier flavor, as well as lovely little flecks of color. Read this article for more info on browning butter!