Place the dish into the preheated air fryer basket
Cook the frozen scallops on the air fry setting for 9-12 minutes at 400°F, pausing to stir and flip the scallops about every 3 minutes
Scallops are cooked when they are opaque and internal temperature reaches at least 125°F
Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley
Lemon wedges and parsley for garnish
Notes
You can also substitute sea scallops, and can use fresh instead of frozen of either if desired
If you are using fresh or thawed bay scallops, reduce cooking time to 5 minutes to start
For sea scallops instead of bay scallops, cook for 6-8 minutes for fresh, or 10-15 minutes for frozen (depending on size)
My frozen bay scallops took 10 minutes to be perfectly cooked in my Ninja Foodi Dual Zone air fryer. Other brands and models may vary slightly
The scallop edges sticking out of the garlic butter sauce will brown. For a browner crust, only stir them once during cooking
If you don’t have a dish you can use in the air fryer to contain the sauce, season the scallops and cook them on their own. While scallops are cooking, melt butter, olive oil, and garlic in the microwave or a saucepan on the stove. Once scallops are cooked, add them to the sauce and serve
Unsalted butter also works, but you’ll want to add a little more salt to the recipe for flavor then
You can use the jarred minced garlic, roasted garlic, or mince your own fresh
If you want to add some more spice, feel free to add ½ to 1 tsp seasoning (depending on taste). I recommend Old Bay, Cajun spice, or a similar seafood seasoning you like
For an au gratin variation, add about 1/8th cup of grated parmesan to the top in the last 1-2 minutes of cooking
Exact nutritional values will vary based on brand of ingredients, seasoning amounts, and total quantity consumed, so please consider this a guideline only
Keyword air fryer bay scallops, air fryer bay scallops recipe, air fryer frozen scallops, air fryer frozen scallops recipe, frozen scallops, garlic butter scallops in air fryer, how to cook frozen scallops, ninja air fryer frozen scallops, scallops