Linguine with Clams
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Linguine with clams in a garlicky white wine sauce makes an easy and elegant Italian pasta dinner.
Linguine with clams is a classic Italian restaurant dish, and it’s also one of the simplest, most affordable pasta dishes you can make at home. I know cooking shellfish, like clams and mussels, can be intimidating to the uninitiated, but I promise they are the easiest thing in the world to cook — and once you try it, you’ll wonder what took you so long! For this dish, you can do all of the prep and make the clam sauce in the time it takes to boil the pasta, so dinner is done in 30 minutes. To complete the meal, toss a salad, warm some crusty bread, and pour a few glasses of the same white wine used to make the sauce.
Looking for more classic Italian restaurant pasta dishes? Try my penne all vodka, bolognese, and lasagna.
What you’ll need to make Linguine with clams
HOW TO PREPARE THE CLAMS
The recipe calls for Littleneck clams, which are readily available at most supermarkets. They are usually sold in a mesh bag because they are alive and need to breathe. If your fishmonger places them in a plastic bag, remove them from the bag immediately when you get home from the supermarket and place them in a bowl (uncovered) in the refrigerator.
To prepare the clams, first, check that they are alive by making sure all of the shells are tightly closed. If any clams are open, gently tap them against the countertop; if they are alive, they will close their shells. Discard any clams that do not close their shells or that have cracked or chipped shells.
Next, place all of the clams in a bowl and cover them with cool tap water. Let the clams sit for 20 minutes to an hour. During this time, the clams will expel sand from inside their shells. When you’re ready to cook, lift each clam from the water and rinse it, scrubbing if necessary, to get rid of any grit from the surface. (Note that most supermarkets sell farm-raised clams, which are already quite clean, so you may not find a lot of grit or sand.)
How To Make Linguine with Clams
In a large pot over high heat, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to a boil. Add the linguine and cook according to package directions until just shy of al dente. (The pasta should still be firm to the bite since it will cook another minute or two in the sauce).
Reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain the linguine in a colander (do not rinse).
Meanwhile, prep all of the ingredients for the sauce.
In a very large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until just golden, about 30 seconds.
Add the wine, red pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 cup of the parsley.
Toss in the clams, then bring to a simmer.
Cook, covered, until the clams open, 6 to 8 minutes. Discard any unopened clams.
Add the drained pasta to the sauté pan with the clams. (If you don’t have room for everything in one pan, transfer the clams to a plate and cover to keep warm. When ready to serve, add them back to the pasta on a serving platter).
Increase the heat to medium and cook the linguine with the clams, tossing occasionally, until the pasta absorbs most of the sauce and is just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. If necessary, add some of reserved cooking water to keep moist.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley; toss to coat.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, lemon zest and/or lemon juice, if necessary. Transfer the linguini with clams to a serving dish or bowls and serve.
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Linguine with Clams
Linguine with clams in a garlicky white wine sauce makes an easy and elegant Italian pasta dinner.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound linguine
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped shallots, from 2 shallots
- 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc (see note)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 pounds Littleneck clams (40 to 45), scrubbed
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, from 1 lemon, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, from 1 lemon, plus more to taste
Instructions
- In large pot over high heat, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to a boil. Add the linguine and cook according to the package directions until just shy of al dente (the pasta should still be firm to the bite since it will cook another minute or two in the sauce). Drain in a colander (do not rinse), reserving ½ cup of the cooking water for the sauce.
- Meanwhile, in a very large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until just golden, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, red pepper flakes, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, clams, and ¼ cup of the parsley; bring to a simmer and cook, covered, until the clams open, 6 to 8 minutes. Discard any unopened clams.
- Add the pasta to the sauté pan with the clams. (If you don't have room for everything in one pan, transfer the clams to a plate and cover to keep warm. When ready to serve, add them back to the pasta on a serving platter). Increase the heat to medium and cook the linguini with the clams, tossing occasionally, until the pasta absorbs most of the sauce and is just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. If necessary, add some of reserved cooking water to keep moist. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley; toss to coat. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, lemon zest and/or lemon juice, if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish or bowls and serve.
- Note: When cooking with wine, select a bottle that is inexpensive (under $10) but still good enough to drink. Avoid "cooking wines," which are salty and include additives.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 627
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 67 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 33 g
- Sodium: 920 mg
- Cholesterol: 61 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi Jenn,
Can I make this with shrimp instead? I want to cook something like shrimp scampi and thought maybe it would work with this recipe. If so, what would I need to do differently? Thank you!
Hi Turtle, Yes, you can use shrimp in place of clams. No need to modify the recipe except to change the amount of time the shrimp cooks. After sauteing the shallots and garlic, I’d add the wine and other ingredients sans the shrimp and let that cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the shrimp and cook for about 3 – 4 minutes or until just cooked through (be careful not to overcook them). I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Grocery store had wild clams but followed rest of the recipe closely. Turned out amazing! Thank you for this great dish!
Finally!!! A recipe that doesn’t call for canned clams and/or bottled clam both.
Excellent and easy! I followed the recipe exactly using fresh littlenecks. A perfect amount of heat from the red pepper flakes. This will join my foolproof recipe file.
My son and I really enjoyed this recipe. We live in a rural area in middle of the desert so fresh clams weren’t an option. I used frozen clam meat from Safeway that was roughly 11oz of clam meat without the shell or juice. Paired with 1 pound of linguine it was enough for 2 big hungry fellas and probably just enough for 3 normal portion eaters.
The lemon zest with the amount of fresh parsley this recipe calls for is what makes this version of linguine and clams different from most.
Our dinner was delicious!
Only thing I did different was add about 4 cranks of fresh ground black pepper along with the red pepper flakes. We also tried just a sprinkle of fresh graded parmesan about 1/2 way through our plates to see if it made it better. The dish is already rich from the wine and butter so the cheese was nice but it almost pushed it over the top.
I will definitely makes this again using frozen clam meat but will try in the near future to also make it with fresh live clams.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for such a great and easy recipe to follow and wow the family!
Jenn, Do you think this would be ok with frozen clams in the shell? They are more readily available.
Hi Laura, I haven’t made these with frozen clams but a few readers have commented that they have and have been happy with the results. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Absolutely fabulous! One of my many favorite recipes from you. I used to order it a lot in italian restaurants, but this is definitely better than any other version I’ve had before. Make it a lot for my husband, and just made it for my family from another country, who loved it as well. So decadent and light at the same time! A must try.
This was FABULOUS! And much easier to make than it first appears! I increased the number of clams by about 1.5 as my family loves those. Used corn fettuccini noodles (we need to be GF) which matched the flavours beautifully. Garnished with some fresh Parm. And served with a romaine salad. Only note, don’t cook the clams too long! I think I let them cook an extra minute or two and they started to get a little on the chewy side. Jen, I try about 1 of your recipes a week. You are my GO TO! Will be cooking your brisket and onion recipe Friday night for Passover (amazing – have made this several times) and will try the chocolate meringue cake for the first time. Can’t wait 🙂
🙂
This is a fantastic recipe. Now, I can finally make my favorite meal like a pro! And by the way, on a weeknight 😊!!