Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops is one of my favourite recipes! Ready in under 30 minutes with perfectly seared scallops and delicious carbonara pasta.
I finally did it, tackled my fear of cooking scallops. I’ve been watching “Hells Kitchen” for several seasons now and watching Gordon Ramsay throw countless hysterics over scallops, I stayed away. The few times in my life I did try my scallops were a complete disaster; dry and rubbery. My problem was I always over cooked them for fear of poisoning someone. Time to take up the challenge. This recipe for Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops is amazing, and is so quick and easy to make!
I bought some very large beautiful scallops, looked through countless videos on YouTube and started my cooking adventure. Using good quality non-stick frying pan worked best for searing the scallops.
I decided on Pasta Carbonara to pair with my scallops. This is such a quick and simple recipe with gourmet flavour, an all-time favourite of mine. This entire dish can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes; a gourmet meal that you would be proud to serve to company!
Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops
Perfectly seared scallops served with a quick and simple carbonara pasta.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 878kcal
Ingredients
- Ingredients for Scallops
- 12-16 large scallops 3-4 per person
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- Salt and Pepper
- Ingredients for Carbonara
- 8 slices thick cut bacon diced I try to find bacon with less fat, or cut away excess fat
- 1 shallot finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic leave whole
- 4 green onions
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup parmigiano reggiano grated
- fresh ground pepper
- 14 oz (400g) pasta of your choice -I used Linguine
Instructions
- Pasta Carbonara
- Start cooking pasta in large stainless steel pot.
- In small bowl mix together cream, egg yolks and 3/4 of cheese.
- In large skillet cook bacon until crisp, add shallots and 1/2 green onions.
- Smash down garlic clove a bit, add to bacon. (remove prior to adding pasta)
- When pasta is finished cooking, drain well, then add to skillet of bacon.
- Toss well, then transfer to large bowl.
- Add cream mixture to pasta and combined well. Make sure pasta is still hot in order to cook the eggs and melt the cheese.
- Arrange pasta on plate, top with seared scallops, add some fresh ground pepper, grated parmesan, and green onions.
- Perfect Pan Seared Scallops
- Blot scallops with paper towel to remove any water. Salt and pepper.
- Heat large non-stick frying pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Make sure frying pan is hot before adding scallops but not smoking.
- Add scallops leaving plenty of space between. Overcrowding the pan will drop the pan temperature and cause scallops to steam rather than sear. (may have to do in batches)
- Sear for about 2-4 minutes or when bottom is a nice golden brown. Don't move them around in the pan or you will prevent them from forming that nice brown crust. After a couple of minutes have peek under to see if golden brown.
- Turn to sear other side. (about 1-3 more minutes)
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter to pan now.
- Spoon the melted butter over the scallops as the other side finishes cooking.
- Transfer to paper towel covered plate.
- Keep warm in oven, if making in batches.
Notes
This recipe tastes best served VERY fresh, so don't let it sit or Scallops and Pasta dry out quickly . Have ALL your ingredients and pots ready to go to make easy work of this.
Nutrition
Calories: 878kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 202mg | Sodium: 917mg | Potassium: 509mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 19.7% | Vitamin C: 3.6% | Calcium: 35.9% | Iron: 13%
Step by Step Photo Instructions
This gourmet dish comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Brown bacon, shallots, green onion and garlic.
Stir together cream, parmesan and egg yolks.
Stir cooked pasta into bacon, onions and garlic.
Toss hot pasta together with cream, cheese, and egg mixture.
Scallops – Pat dry, sear until golden brown in hot olive oil, turn, add butter, spoon over top as other side cooks.
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Joanne says
January 9, 2015 at 3:09 pmMade this last night and it turned out really good. No problem searing the scallops per your directions. I used a pound of pasta for 4 people but next time I may double the cheese, egg, cream mixture. It was a bit dry. Do you think doubling would be a problem?
Laureen King says
January 11, 2015 at 12:58 pmHi Joanne, glad you enjoyed the recipe. Doubling the recipe would not be a problem, works well.
Chris Hart says
February 6, 2015 at 9:31 pmMade this tonight for a “girl’s night in”. Absolutely first rate! I lightened it up slightly by completely draining the grease from the bacon before adding the onions etc, used half and half instead of cream, and only using 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of butter for searing the scallops. Perfectly sauced 1/2 pound of linguine. Plenty for 4 of us with salad and dessert. Thanks so much this is a keeper/repeater!
Laureen King says
February 6, 2015 at 9:40 pmThank you Chris for dropping me a note to let me know you enjoyed the recipe. Great adaptations!
Laureen King says
March 10, 2015 at 7:23 amterrific Rachel
Sue Mc says
March 24, 2015 at 8:04 amThis looks amazing! I’ve been making variations of Carbonara, my challenge is keeping the pasta hot to cook the egg mixture. What do you suggest! I have tried heatin all my bowls, I’ve used a large wok style pan to cook the bacon then transferred in the pasta, but was a bit too hot when I added the egg mixture as it “scrambled”and turned mealy. What is the secret? Can’t wait to try this!
Laureen King says
March 24, 2015 at 9:09 amThanks Sue, I think key thing is to work quickly and keep tossing the pasta after you add the egg mixture. The egg mixture must be added while pasta is still hot, but do not continue to cook on stove top. I am not sure which recipe you have tried in the past, but give mine a try and let me know if you still have problems.
Mark G says
March 27, 2015 at 1:08 pmYour recipe looks wonderful, will be trying it tonight…Looks similar to some meals I’ve created “on the fly” but it’s nice to have some proportions of the ingredients as a guide. One note, you don’t indicate HOW MUCH pasta should be used, I going to go with a pound. You should fix that part of the recipe!
Thanks!
Laureen King says
March 27, 2015 at 3:36 pmHey Mark you would use 400 gram box for 4 people
Mark G says
March 28, 2015 at 11:46 amI used a full box of whole wheat thin spaghetti (375g). I agree with another person who posted that it was more “tight” than I would have preferred. A 500g box of pasta would have been worse. Possibly because I used dried parmigiano cheese (thats what I had on hand) and it probably soaked up more of the liquids than fresh would have. Maybe the whole wheat pasta sucked up more liquid than regular would have as well, not sure. In any event, it was delicious. But I would caution people to be careful to not have the recipe come out not creamy enough.
Laureen King says
March 28, 2015 at 12:26 pmMuch appreciated Mark, I am actually so bad at measuring my pasta, I tend to always just eye ball it. I have always served to 4, so 400 grams should work great. If you want large servings, doubling the sauce recipe would be great. I have only used fresh grated parmesan, so yes dried would change consistency.
Jason Kang says
March 29, 2015 at 9:02 amI have to say that these pics are gorgeous and looks delicious!! Love it! 🙂
Laureen King says
March 29, 2015 at 9:15 amThank you so much Jason.
Rachel Page says
May 13, 2015 at 8:57 pmYum! I normally don’t add cream to it. Just pancetta, yolks, lot of parmesan cheese and black pepper.
Roberta says
February 21, 2016 at 1:28 pmI will definitely trying this tonight. Never done scallops before but my husband always loves my pasta. Thanks for the inspiration.
Laureen King says
February 21, 2016 at 10:06 pmYour welcome Roberta, I hope you and your husband enjoy the recipe.
Ginnie gibson says
April 2, 2016 at 2:33 pmI made this. It turned out awesome. Restaurant quality.
Laureen King says
April 2, 2016 at 10:02 pmThat is super Ginnie, thanks for dropping me a note, much appreciated!
Laureen King says
April 17, 2016 at 6:58 amSo glad you enjoyed the recipe Gary, but sorry I don’t break my recipes down into nutritional content.
Laureen King says
April 17, 2016 at 8:57 pmLet me know how you make out, love to hear back, Diana.
Diana Cox says
September 24, 2016 at 6:16 amLooks delicious!!! My husbands birthday is today and scallops are his favorite. I am cooking this tonight. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Laureen King says
September 24, 2016 at 7:46 amHope he enjoys it Diana, Happy Birthday to your husband.
Josie says
September 26, 2016 at 10:34 amThis turned out AMAZING
Laureen King says
September 26, 2016 at 2:25 pmThank Josie for the comment
Stacey says
January 5, 2017 at 7:08 pmI substituted spaghetti squash for the pasta to cut out the carbs and it tasted incredible. My boyfriend and I both agreed this recipe is a keeper!
Laureen King says
January 6, 2017 at 12:32 pmHI Stacey, great idea to use the spaghetti squash, I love spaghetti squash!
Erika tate says
January 23, 2017 at 7:52 pmI made this tonight and it was amazing! Love love
Laureen King says
January 23, 2017 at 8:24 pmWonderful Erika, so glad you enjoyed the recipe
Sarah K. says
March 2, 2017 at 6:13 pmWow!! This carbonara recipe was spectacular! I made this for my parents while I’m visiting them from out of country. My dad is a huge scallop lover and I think ate at least 8 of them. It was my first time tying them and personally didn’t love scallops, but they were a hit with everyone else. This carbonara recipe tasted reminiscent of what I’ve had in Italy and my parents had never tried it. All in all, everyone loved it! Saving for sure.
Laureen King says
March 2, 2017 at 6:42 pmThank you so much Sarah for the huge compliment. So glad your parents loved it.
Shoni says
April 17, 2017 at 7:55 pmThank you for sharing this recipe. Husband loved it, and I got to redeem myself with scallops, thanks to your directions they turned out perfect! Being vegetarian and unable to taste it, I followed the directions as stated changing only an addition of cooked peas and using minced garlic (which I left in the pasta). The scallop-fry stink was worth it, evidently. 🙂
Laureen King says
April 17, 2017 at 8:14 pmThank you Shoni, how special of you to make this for your Husband. Glad he enjoyed it.
Cheri says
June 18, 2017 at 11:02 amThis was great! I made homemade linguini. Dare I say, though, too much cheese. No complaints, but I would cut back by 1/2 cup (of a good cheese) and add more as needed at the table. Didn’t like the green onion on top; switch to parsley. And add more garlic. Was interesting to get it to come all together at the same time but we did! Really, really good! Definitely on my tried and true list!
Laureen King says
June 22, 2017 at 4:01 pmThanks for the great feedback Cheri, I found the more times I made this the easier it was to have it all come together at the same time. Enjoy!
Daryl Munoz says
July 14, 2017 at 2:35 pmMade this the other night and it was a hit with the family. Followed your directions for the scallops but cooked them in a cast iron skillet and they came out perfect. Will probably use grilled shrimp next time when the scallops aren’t on sale. This is a definite do over, thank you for sharing.
Laureen King says
July 14, 2017 at 4:05 pmHi Daryl, I’ve made this with shrimp and also chicken. Family loves it, so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Kristyn says
February 16, 2018 at 6:17 amMy husband and I made this recipe last night. The scallops came out perfect. (We purchased a 32oz frozen bag – for two people we got 3 meals out of it, but for a family of four a scallop meal could be $$.) We felt the pasta was a bit dry. Your recipe calls for 14oz of pasta, it’s possible I used too much linguine (grabbed a handful out of a 16oz box). I feel like I need to double the cream sauce recipe next time. We added a handful of frozen peas to the boiling pasta water, love the color and texture it added to the recipe. Thanks for sharing your recipe – we will definitely make this one again!
Laureen King says
February 16, 2018 at 7:44 pmHi Kristyn, yes scallops are expensive! I have done this recipe using shrimp. Peas are a great addition! If you like it more saucy definitely double up the sauce ingredients. Thank you for your feedback.
Athena says
April 7, 2018 at 5:48 pmAMAZING! Thank you for sharing! We loved it!
Laureen King says
April 15, 2018 at 10:43 amThanks Athena for the comment 🙂
Ashley says
May 31, 2018 at 2:58 pmI have never lived a recipe enough to leave a comment but wow. I mean wow. This dish I’ve made a dozen times now. I’ve used less cream or less bacon grease, more salt or added chicken. I’ve tweaked it but ultimately the base recipe is heaven. Thank you! This recipe makes me look like an amazing cook!!!
Laureen King says
June 3, 2018 at 10:17 amThis is one of my favourite recipes Ashley, so appreciative you took the time to leave a comment
Pat says
January 10, 2019 at 4:41 pmI just came across this recipe, had all the ingredients so made this for a quick dinner. Wow, fantastic choice. I’ll dump all my old Carbonara recipes. This will be my go to from now on.
Laureen King says
January 10, 2019 at 6:35 pmThank you Pat for taking the time to drop me a comment. So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Tastes great with chicken or shrimp as well.