This is the best homemade Frutti Di Mare you’ll ever taste! You won’t believe how easy it is to make and how incredibly delicious this classic Italian seafood dish is.
Made with fresh clams, mussels, scallops, and sweet succulent shrimp in a garlic wine sauce served over pasta is a meal you soon won’t forget.
There are as many different recipes as there are Italian grandmothers for Frutti di Mare. And every family has a favorite ingredient that makes it their own special version of this Italian classic.
My Cioppino Recipe is a San Francisco version of this classic dish.
What Ingredients do I use to make Frutti di Mare?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make a Frutti di Mare. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Depending on what I have available and who I am serving will often dictate what goes into my interpretation of this wonderful dish.
My wife enjoys white sauces more than red, so when I prepared this dish for her I kept it in more of an Aioli type sauce. Of course, if you prefer a red sauce or a touch of red feel free to adjust the recipe.
This dish also makes a wonderful Fra Diavolo if your mood is for a little more on the spicy side.
The first step is adding the olive oil, garlic, basil and red pepper flakes to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Let the garlic cook for about 30 seconds to release the flavor into the oil.
Then add the seafood to the hot pan and cover the pan. This will steam the mussels and clams open as well as cook the shrimp and scallops.
Chef Dennis Tip:
** I thought searing the shrimp and scallops first might help, but it really wasn’t necessary and caused them to be just a little overcooked. My advice would be to par-cook the shrimp and scallops, then remove them from the pan before adding the mussels and clams to steam open. Then add them back to the pan to finish cooking once the mussels and clams have steamed open.
I had a nice variety of seafood, but again feel free to add in what you have on hand.
What other seafood can I add to Frutti de Mare?
Some of my favorite additions to this dish are:
- Calamari
- Salmon, snapper, mahi-mahi or any thick cut fish you enjoy.
- Crabmeat
- Lobster
Serve your Frutti di Mare over linguine and pour a little of the best olive oil you have on top for added flavor, and I know Italians don’t like cheese with seafood, but I always add some grated Romano cheese to my pasta dishes, even seafood.
I do hope you give this dish a try, it’s really very easy to make, and you’ll have a restaurant-quality dinner for less than half the price of dining out at your favorite restaurant.
Recipe FAQ’s:
Frutti de Mare literally translates into fruit of the sea. Which means all the delicious types of seafood found in the oceans and seas. When preparing frutti de mare, shellfish of every type, calamari and any type of fish are used in this Italian classic.
Tomatoes or marinara are not typically used when making Frutti de mare, it’s made with olive oil, garlic and all the delicious juices from the seafood. Since it’s your dinner you can of course use marinara or tomatoes when you make it.
Typically Frutti de mare is served over linguine, spaghetti, or bucatini. Angel hair is to fine to support the pasta and wider noodles or shapes will not complement the sauce and seafood.
More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love!
The Best Frutti di Mare Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 shrimp peeled and de-veined
- 8 scallops
- 20 mussels
- 20 littleneck clams
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Basil Chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 ounces white wine optional
- ⅔ lb spaghetti or any other long spaghetti style pasta
Instructions
- Run cold water over the mussels and clams to clean them thoroughly. Refrigerate until needed
- Once your seafood is prepped, get the pasta ready, Linguine or Spaghetti will work the best for this dish, it's a little too heavy for angel hair. Follow instructions on the box, usually around 10-11 minutes for aldente.**When you begin cooking the pasta, start cooking the seafood. (you will need 8-10 minutes for the seafood, so time it so they get done about the same time)
- In a large saute pan over medium-high heat add the olive oil, chopped garlic, basil and red pepper flakes. Let the garlic saute for about a minute.
- Add the scallops and shrimp. Cook them till almost done and remove them from the pan. If you would like to add white wine to your sauce, add it now to deglaze the pan before adding the mussels and clams.*You can skip this step and add all the seafood at the same time.
- Next add the mussels and clams, cover the pot and let cook for 5-6 minutes. All the mussels and clams should have opened by then. Add the shrimp and scallops back into the pan and reseason as needed.
- If you have timed this right your linguine will be done just about the time your seafood is ready. If your pasta still has time to cook remove the seafood from the heat and keep it covered. If needed you can give it a quick reheat as soon as the pasta is done.
- Serve over pasta and enjoy!
Marta
Frutti di mare is the dish I always order whenever we go out for Italian. Now I can make it at home and that makes me so happy! Thanks for such an easy to make recipe Dennis!
Maria
This was delicious! We love seafood pasta and you made it simple to bring it home. With not eating out, this was the perfect stay-at-home datenight with my husband!
Leslie
I’m with you, I would totally add some parmesan cheese to this recipe! This looks heavenly!!
Meesha
This is really delicious! My family ( who are really picky when it comes to food ) absolutely adore this recipe !
Lesli Schwartz
Frutti di Mare is among my all time favorite Italian dishes! I hadn’t made this at home in a long time. Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration, it was delicious!
Taleen
Everything about this dish was amazing, It was a hit with my family!
Natalie
I haven’t made frutti di mare for ages. Thanks for this lovely reminder. Your recipe is somewhat different from how I’m making, but sounds so delicious. I will definitely give your recipe a try.
LaKita
This seafood recipe was so elegant and delicious and perfect for our date night.
Jamie
I loved the medley of seafood in this dish! The flavors were absolutely delicious and I love how it was ready in 20 minutes! I’ll be saving this recipe!
Alena
Frutti di mare is actually one of my absolute favorite dishes to get in a restaurant so I was so excited to find this recipe that makes it possible to recreate the magic at home!! Your recipe was absolutely delicious and even better than eating out!
Jo
There’s something about seafood and pasta together that makes my heart sing. I ate a big bowl of this. It was so satisfying and delicious!
Sara
With the current climate, we haven’t been dining out. This recipe was an impressive alternative. Your well written instructions made it easy to make!
Tara
I always struggle on how to properly cook clams and this recipe made it so easy! I love the simplicity of the sauce. It really allowed the flavor of the seafood to shine in this dish!
Neha
Sounds like a perfect weekend dinner to me! Loving all the tips to make it perfectly. I totally need to replicate this in my kitchen.
Denise
What a delicious meal! My family loved it, I will most definitely make again! Thanks for sharing.
Paige
What a great recipe! You broke the steps down well, and made it easy to make!
Bill Smith
Hi chef, your frutti de mare recipe was fabulous and easy to make. Thanks
Rose
What a perfectly delicious dinner! It was amazing
Marcy
I copied the recipe sounds good but one pound of linguine for two people sounds like way too much pasta.
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Marcy
we love pasta and do have a little left over for the next day, but feel free to cook just what you normally eat
Mary
This is absolutely gorgeous! I will be craving it all day!