Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Scallops are made with just 4 ingredients and in less than 10 minutes! The perfect seafood appetizer or snack.
This simple recipe takes fresh scallops and cooks them in the best way. Bacon slices paired with the crispness from the air fryer create an easy recipe that everyone will love. Once you find out how simple it is to air fry scallops, you're never going to want them any other way.
Be sure to check out my Air Fryer Crab Rangoons for another awesome and delicious recipe. From the first time you make this, you're going to be hooked and never want to order out at a restaurant ever again. For another yummy bacon wrapped recipe, try these Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Bites.
If you love bacon, check out our other favorite bacon wrapped recipes made in the air fryer.
If you love this dish, you might also enjoy our other air fryer seafood recipes.
When I say that this is a user-friendly recipe, I totally mean it. Not only is it fast and easy to make, but it's perfect for an elegant appetizer as well. That crispy bacon wrapped around the large sea scallops is delicious every single time.
The best part about this scallops recipe is that it allows you some flexibility and versatility. You can drizzle a little bit of soy sauce on top if you're like, or keep it simple and let the scallop recipe be simple and fresh.
Air fryer sea scallops are tender and juicy and pair perfectly with slices of bacon. Who knew that two flavors that were strong on their own would come together and be a match made in deliciousness?
Don't forget that you can pair up with a dipping sauce or two, but it may not be needed. Sometimes I'll sprinkle a little bit of parmesan cheese right on top to give it an extra flavor kick. It's up to you how you want to enjoy your scallops!
Love bacon, but want a healthier option? Try this delicious air fryer turkey bacon! For more delicious bacon wrapped snacks, try these air fryer bacon wrapped asparagus too.
Bacon Wrapped Scallops
Keep in mind that the crisp golden bacon is going to be the perfect crunch. I swear to you that there's nothing quite like that first bite. Once I realized that air frying scallops cooked them quicker while keeping them tender, I knew that this recipe was going to be a hit!
This dish is the perfect fast weeknight dish and makes cleaning up a breeze! Everyone knows that cooking in your air fryer means that you have less mess to worry about afterward since you're not using recess oil.
Ingredients:
- sea scallops
- bacon
- olive oil spray
- Old Bay seasoning
- ground black pepper
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the recipe card with the exact measurements needed to create these delicious scallops wrapped in bacon!
Succulent Air Fryer Scallops
How To Make Bacon Wrapped Scallops in the Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes. Prepare the air fryer basket with nonstick spray or olive oil spray.
- Cut the bacon in half and place the bacon in the air fryer to partially cook for 3 minutes, turning halfway. Remove and set on a paper towel to cool.
- Take the scallops and remove any side muscle. Remove any moisture from the scallops by patting them dry with a paper towel.
- Wrap each scallop in a slice of bacon and carefully secure it with a toothpick.
- Lightly spray olive oil over the bacon-wrapped scallops and season lightly with black pepper and Old Bay seasoning.
- Place the bacon-wrapped scallops in a single layer in the basket of the air fryer. Air fry the scallops for 8 minutes, turning halfway until the scallop is tender and opaque and bacon is fully cooked through.
- Serve hot.
NOTE: This recipe was made using a basket style 5.8 qt Cosori air fryer. All air fryers cook a little differently and you may need to adjust the cooking time and temperature according to your specific brand of air fryer.
Variations
If you want to add other flavors to this recipe, do so! Adding garlic powder is always a good idea and would go great with jumbo scallops.
Using smaller bay scallops is an option, but you'll want to cook those in a large skillet and then maybe mix with chopped bacon. They're too small to cook in the air fryer because they'll overcook quickly.
Squeeze a tad bit of lemon juice over the top for best results. This citrus flavor gives such a great boost of flavor! You can use lime juice as well.
FAQs
Can I make this scallops recipe spicy?
You can! If you want to add in 1-2 tablespoons sriracha sauce, that's the perfect way to add some heat! You can also sprinkle on some chili powder or even some red pepper flakes on top as well. Just be sure to add this to your portion, so it doesn't make the entire main course hot!
Should you rinse scallops before cooking?
Once you have the scallops, make sure that the side muscles are removed and that you've washed the scallops off. Before cooking, a good rise is a good idea. Just be sure that you pat the scallops dry with a paper towel.
Should scallops be at room temperature before cooking?
If you're cooking them from frozen, it's a good idea to let them come to room temperature before you start cooking them. If you're cooking fresh scallops, they won't need near that long to get to room temperature and should be ready to cook shortly.
Why are my scallops rubbery?
There are a few reasons for this. The first is that you may have overcooked the scallops. Pay attention to the size of the scallops so that you can be sure that you're not overcooking them. If they're small scallops, you need to adjust the time and maybe even place scallops in a large skillet to cook instead.
The other reason that your scallops may be rubbery is that they were "too wet" with liquid when you started cooking them. This is why you need to pat dry the scallops so that you're getting rid of excess moisture.
How to reheat this scallops air fryer recipe
The best way to reheat these scallops is to reheat them in the air fryer. Just a few moments of time should help to reheat the scallops and reheat the bacon as well. Reheating in the air fryer is going to be one of the main ways to get that crunch back into the bacon, too.
I really think that you're going to see why this is one of the best recipes. When you're looking for easy air fryer recipes, bacon wrapped scallops are so good! They're fun to make and are loaded with such an amazing flavor!
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Scallops
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 16 sea scallops large, freshly cleaned and peeled
- 8 slices bacon center cut
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon olive oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes. Prepare the air fryer basket with nonstick spray or olive oil spray.
- Cut the bacon in half and place the bacon in the air fryer to partially cook for 3 minutes, turning halfway. Remove and set on a paper towel to cool.
- Take the scallops and remove any side muscle. Remove any moisture from the scallops by patting them dry with a paper towel.
- Wrap each scallop in a slice of bacon and carefully secure it with a toothpick.
- Lightly spray olive oil over the bacon wrapped scallops and season lightly with black pepper and Old Bay seasoning.
- Place the bacon wrapped scallops in a single layer in the basket of the air fryer. Air fry the scallops for 8 minutes turning halfway until scallop is tender and opaque and bacon is cooked through.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is a calculated guesstimate. Please note that this can change with different brands and modifications you may make to the recipe. For the most accurate information, use a nutritional calculator with the exact brands and measurements you're using with each recipe.
©AirFryingFoodie 2023
Dave
I always have to modify your instructions since I use a tray type air fryer, not a basket type and a good thing with my type is that you don't have to turn the items over since they sit on an open tray in the middle of the over so heat surrounds them constantly. But for this recipe, instead of patting the scallops completely dry, I would leave them moist and sprinkle them with pepper and Old Bay before wrapping with the bacon. Seems a waste to have to spray oil on BACON to cook it. Putting the seasoning on the scallop first means it will stay on and not fall off if you don't spray it. Just my thoughts, works for me.
Yes, so good of you to share. Every air fryer will cook a little differently, so even if you had a basket air fryer you might have to adjust a little. So glad you know how to adjust these recipes to work for you.