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Simple and delicious Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta. This quick-cooking pasta is like summer in a bowl. Crisp pan-seared scallops tossed with a golden, browned butter cherry tomato pan sauce, with white wine, caramelized corn, and plenty of basil. Serve topped with creamy burrata cheese, fresh, basil, and lemon. This is the perfect summer dinner, all made using summery seafood and garden produce. Simple yet so delectable, and ready in under an hour. Most importantly…every twirl of pasta is mouth-wateringly delicious.

overhead photo of Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta with burrata

Here’s the deal, you can make tomato basil pasta just about any time of the year. But I always find it best this time of year, when the gardens are bursting with fresh basil and the tomatoes are just beginning to turn ripe enough to eat. Our local farmstand, Uncle John’s, has just started filling their delivery trucks full of sweet cherry tomatoes, homegrown in Colorado. They’re the best, sweetest little cherry tomatoes.

We love them.

And if you’ve been following along all summer, you know we are growing plenty of fresh herbs this year. Our basil and thyme are currently taking over the garden and I could not be happier about it. Basil is by far one of my very favorite herbs, probably my favorite. But I hate to choose solid favorites when it comes to food because my favorites really do change with the seasons.

Funny enough, this is a pasta I made many summers ago. But I love making it every year once the cherry tomatoes arrive towards the end of July. It’s the quickest pasta dinner to create. It would be amazing as a special Friday or Saturday night meal with your favorite glass of wine, yet it’s simple enough for any weeknight too.

It’s light and summery, but yet also a bit indulgent and very satisfying. An all-around completely delicious meal.

photo of raw cherry tomatoes

Here are the details for this summery scallop pasta.

Like a lot of my summer recipes, this pasta is simple. I used angel hair pasta because it’s what I had in my pantry. Well, wait, I have almost every kind of pasta in my pantry. Because you know I love a good pasta dinner and I love keeping the pantry well-stocked. But truth is, I love angel hair the most. My mom ingrained this into me at a very young age and I think it will always be my favorite. You can, of course, use any long cut pasta you love, but angel hair is my go-to.

The added bonus when it comes to using angle hair? It takes almost no time at all to cook up.

prep photo of sear scallops in skillet

Sear the scallops and finish things up.

Once you have the pasta boiling, get to work on the scallops. I pan-seared them simply with salt, pepper, and olive oil. The key to a good pan-seared scallop is making sure you’ve patted the scallops very dry before searing. This will ensure your scallops brown evenly on the outside, but stay soft and buttery toward the center.

Once the scallops are seared, get them out of the skillet and finish up this pasta.

To that same skillet, add those cherry tomatoes, some garlic, herbs, corn, and butter. Let the butter get a little brown and toasty, and then add a splash of wine. Yes, wine on a weekday, and it’s the best thing ever. Obviously.

Toss in the pasta, parmesan, basil, and seared scallops. And that’s it.

overhead prep photo of Burst Tomatoes in skillet

Well almost…the plating is very important and should go as follows:

Pasta, room temperature burrata, a sprinkle of lemon, and then lots of fresh basil.

Seems really fancy, right? But it’s actually so simple and is made entirely in one pan (ok, two including the pasta cooking pan). And all in under an hour.

This one is as close to perfect as a summer pasta can get.

overhead photo of Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta

Pour yourself a glass of wine, fix up a big plate of seafood pasta, and relax out on the patio or deck…the perfect summer night dinner! Sounds pretty darn good. Lovin’ the easy summer living.

And nothing’s better than buttery, herby, seafood pasta, sweet tomatoes and corn, cheese, and wine…all together in one dish. Happiest Thursday!

PS. I’ve decided that everything in the summer months is better with burrata and fresh basil…everything!

overhead close up photo of Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta with burrata

Looking for other summer seafood recipes? Here are a few ideas: 

Cajun Pepper Shrimp with Creamed Corn Orzo

Garden Herb Shrimp Scampi Linguine

Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

Lastly, if you make this Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 629 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

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Instructions

  • 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Just before draining, remove 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta.
    2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. When the oil shimmers, add the scallops and sear on both sides until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the scallops from the skillet to a plate. 
    3. To the same skillet, add the tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and a pinch each of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the tomatoes begin to pop, about 4-5 minutes. Add the butter and corn, cook until just browned, another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the wine and lemon juice, simmer 2-3 minutes. Add the pasta, parmesan, basil, and scallops, gently toss to combine. If needed, thin the sauce with a little of the pasta cooking water.
    5. Divide the pasta among plates and top with burrata cheese, basil, and lemon. Enjoy!
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Comments

  2. Yummy! I played the proportions to make it a bit more whole foods than noodles, and to ramp up the flavor. Definitely worth repeating!

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  3. 5 stars
    Made this recipe tonight and followed it pretty much to the letter, but used frozen roasted corn warmed up since it’s no longer corn season. It was amazing! The creamy burrata cheese made the dish. Don’t skip the fresh basil, it’s delicious and really brightens the dish. Will make again!

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  8. 5 stars
    This was great love scallops and the fresh tomatoes…I give this recipe a five star fresh and delicious

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  9. 5 stars
    So I was a bit skeptical about corn with pasta – but decided to try bc so summery. And had cherry tomatoes from my garden – and basil and angel hair. Actually sent my husband 3 choices for dinner – two of which were yours. He picked this and so glad he did – it was so delicious and a perfect summer meal. We are cutting down on dairy so left out the barrata but did put shaved parmesan.. So good! You continue to amaze…Oh – and we are making your other choice I gave him tomorrow

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  11. 5 stars
    Made this last night for my hubby and I and it was amazing! So flavorful, I felt like I was at a fancy Italian restaurant. I used a little bit of white fish because I didn’t have scallops, and I didn’t use Parmesan because I didn’t have that either… still fantastic! Thanks teighan!
    Make this recipe people!!!

    Reply

  12. Made this tonight and it was delicious. A few notes for others: if you’re using angel hair – 3/4 lb is too much for the dish. I would use closer to 1/2 lb. I used 3/4 pound and it overwhelmed my large 10 inch skillet. Also, you could get away with using more basil and more cherry tomatoes than the recipe calls. A beautiful delicious recipe. Excited to make it again!

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  13. 5 stars
    Incredibly delicious!!! I love everything about this recipe. I wish I could give it ten stars. You have a natural gift of knowing what flavors compliment each other. Thanks so much for sharing your love ? of food.

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  15. 5 stars
    We made this exactly as written and it turned out very good. I couldn’t get the scallops quite as dark brown, even in a cast iron skillet, but they were cooked perfectly and blended well with the other flavors. What moved this from 4 to 5 stars was the ease and quickness of the recipe – we did it on a busy weeknight and had restaurant quality dinner on the table faster than ordering takeout. Leftovers were also great the next day.

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    1. I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Andrea! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan

      Reply