17 Quick Scallop Recipes You Can Make in 45 Minutes or Less

Quick-cooking scallops are excellent with sweet fennel and a buttery lemon-caper sauce.

Marcela Valladolid tosses scallops in a spicy, vibrant combination of garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper before quickly grilling them.

These bay scallops are set in a luscious Marsala cream sauce, served over hot crispy bread and garnished with fresh chives. It's a simple dish to prepare, yet so special. We recommend eating the toasts with a knife and fork.

Sweet and meaty sea scallops make the perfect party skewer, great for dipping into this sweet-spicy sauce from chef Matt Jennings.

Chef Paxx Caraballo Moll uses lemon, lime, and orange along with mango and pomegranate for a huge hit of tropical fruit flavor that skews savory thanks to chopped white onion and serrano chile. The sweet, vegetal balance complements fresh raw diver scallops.

To add texture to this dish, Kay Chun tops it with crunchy flakes of sea salt and crisp radish slices.

These garlicky steamed scallops make for a quick and easy appetizer.

"In summer, I cook [scallops] on the grill until just kissed by the flames and pile them on top of warmed veggies with a bright dressing," Gail Simmons writes. "This version, a favorite for quick and easy backyard dinners, incorporates miso, ginger, and toasted sesame, adding a savory dimension to the salad and a rich contrast to the corn and scallops' inherent sweetness."

You've likely seen the restaurant technique of tilting a skillet so that the butter pools at one edge and can be spooned repeatedly over meat or seafood. Justin Chapple uses the technique with seared sea scallops, letting the butter caramelize until browned and nutty. Crisp-tender snap peas, spinach, and dandelion greens finish in the same pan for a truly springy, masterful main dish.

These two-bite quintessential cocktail-party scallops never get old. The bacon adds nice smoky flavor, but you can also prepare this recipe with prosciutto or pancetta.

Fresh young coconut has tender meat that separates easily from the shell; if unavailable, substitute bottled or canned coconut water and fresh or frozen coconut meat. When cut and squeezed, finger limes release tiny citrus-filled spheres that pop like tobiko; substitute lime wedges, if desired.

Food & Wine's Justin Chapple uses white wine -- Sancerre especially -- to delicately poach scallops. If you don't have Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc is delicious, too.

Chef Sheyla Alvarado tosses chilled cooked shrimp and raw bay scallops in Key lime juice and serves them in a pool of cold habanero-tomatillo sauce for a riff on traditional aguachile from Sinaloa. A raw vegetable garnish completes this summery appetizer.

This luxurious eggplant-based relish is a delicious accompaniment to a wide range of meats and fish. Here, the caponata is topped with seared scallops. Serve the dish warm or at room temperature with torn basil throughout.

A quick, garlicky béchamel stands in for crème fraîche and cheese in this luxurious white pizza.

In this luxurious winter salad, Le Coucou chef Daniel Rose contrasts the buttery sweetness of scallops with the tangy crunch of fresh apples and endive.

This easy and delicious recipe from chef Michael Tusk features sweet, plump seared sea scallops on a Sicilian-style salad with briny green olives and fried capers.