My delicious clam linguine recipe is one of those dishes that you think you can only get when you go out to eat at your favorite seafood or Italian restaurant. And that couldn’t be further from the truth, it’s actually one of the easiest, most affordable pasta dishes you can make in your home kitchen.
Don’t let cooking seafood like clams or mussels be intimidating, I promise they are incredibly easy to cook, and after your first time making this delicious dish, you’ll wonder what took you so long!
The prep takes no time at all, with so few ingredients. The only real work is rinsing the clams, and that’s not much work at all. The meal can be on your table in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
The list of ingredients is pretty short.
- littleneck clams
- olive oil
- garlic cloves
- crushed red pepper flakes
- dry white wine (like pinot grigio)
- fresh basil
- linguine
- sea salt
- black pepper
Bags of farm-raised littlenecks are readily available in most grocery stores in this area, so they are easy enough to find, and a bag of 50-60 usually runs around $ 25.00. Add in a pound of linguine and a special dinner for two just became very affordable!
Chef Dennis Tip:
Don’t overuse garlic for this dish!! My first time eating clams and linguine in Italy I was amazed at how little garlic was actually in the dish, most novice cooks think that lots of garlic is needed for this type of dish and most Italian cooking, and that is not true.
What Types of Clams Should I Use?
For linguine and clams the smaller the clam the better. For appearance and tenderness of the clam. The larger the clam the tougher the meat. These are my choices.
- Countneck Clams (also known as pasta clams)
- Littleneck Clams
- Topneck Clams
- Steamers (also known as soft shell clams and Ipswich clams)
- Manilla Clams (found on the west coast of the US and Japan)
- Chopped Clams (frozen or canned) I don’t recommend canned clams but if that’s you’re only option they will work.
If you have leftover clams, you can use them up in my tasty clams casino recipe.
How to Make Linguine and Clams
Follow along with my simple instructions to see how to make linguine and clams in your own kitchen.
The first step is to rinse the clams thoroughly in cold clean water. I let them soak in the water using a colander. Then dump out the water and repeat the process 5 times or until the water is clear and free of sand and debris.
*If any of the clams are open, they are dead and must be discarded.
This is an important part of the recipe to ensure your clams and linguine is sand-free. Clams burrow themselves in the sand and washing them well can get rid of the grit you don’t want in your dinner.
Chef Dennis Tip:
One very important thing to remember about clams is that they come in a mesh bag for a reason, so they can breathe. If you place them in a plastic bag to get them home, remove them from the bag immediately when you get home and place them in a bowl uncovered in the refrigerator. The cold might open some of the clams, but they will close if they are not dead when you move them around.
- Place a large saute pan ( or small stockpot) on the stove and add the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Allow the garlic to cook a little and become fragrant.
- Add the clams, basil, and a splash of white wine to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid allowing the clams to steam open, about 7-8 minutes.
HOW DO I KNOW THE CLAMS ARE COOKED?
Once the clams have all opened they are fully cooked. Keep the clams covered until ready to serve.
If the clams don’t open they still be okay, but just a warning, every now and then you get a mudder. A clam packed with mud from the seabed. Don’t open them over your pasta, I speak from experience. If it is a good clam, you can add it.
Timing is everything with this dish
First of all start your pot of water for the pasta heating up, while the water is coming to a boil get out your clams and wash them off in cold water.
This is the time for you to inspect your clams, an open clam is a dead clam, (if you tap it and it closes it’s just trying to fool you) so discard any open clams. If a clam gets broken by miss handling it will die and it will smell…..this does not mean all the clams are bad but it will impart an odor to the rest of the clams, just rinse them well in cold water.
What to serve with Linguine and Clams?
I like serving a nice tossed salad with this dish. A Ceasar salad can also be served, but that adds more garlic to the dinner and can detract from the overall experience.
Good crusty bread is a necessity, using it to sop up the juices from the dish is highly recommended! And of course, a nice glass of the white wine you used to make this dish will be a perfect accompaniment.
I know that purists will tell you that you Never put cheese on seafood, but it’s what you enjoy and how you like to eat. If you like grated cheese like we do, then add it on and enjoy your meal.
Recipe FAQs
The only real difference between linguine and spaghetti is that linguine is a flat and slightly wider noodle, while spaghetti is a round noodle.
Spaghetti is generally used with tomato sauces, while linguine is used for seafood and pesto dishes.
My first choice would always be fresh clams for this classic dish. Frozen chopped clams or canned chopped clams can be used if fresh clams cannot be sourced.
That is a personal preference, but served in restaurants clams are never removed from the shell because they add to the appearance of the dish, add volume and can be served while hot. Picking the clams out of the shells takes time and you’ll reheat the sauce which can toughen the clam meat.
My first choice of clam and linguine are littleneck clams. They are small enough to be tender but not as small as pasta clams. Depending upon where you live other varieties can be used manilla clams and steamer clams (Ipswich) are also great choices.
More Shellfish Recipes You’ll Love!
Clam Linguine Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅔ lb linguine (De Cecco, Del Verde, or Barilla)
- 2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 bag little neck clams (bag of 50 or at least 15 clams per person)
- 1 ounce dry white wine optional
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Basil chopped
- 1 pinch Black Pepper
- grated Romano Cheese to serve with pasta
Instructions
- place large stock pot on stove to cook pasta per directions on the box (aldente is always best)
- Finely chop parsley and basil, set aside
- Slice garlic cloves
- Rinse clams in cold water checking to make sure they are all closed, or that they will close when tapped. If they are open they are dead..do not use them!Rinse the clams until you don't see much sediment in the water.
- As soon as the pasta water is ready add the pasta and set your timer per instructions.
- Place a large saute pan on the stove and add the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes
- Briefly sautee the garlic then add the clams, basil, and splash of white wine to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid allowing the clams to steam open, about 7-8 minutes.
- If you have timed this correctly the clams will open with about two minutes to spare on the pasta, turn off the heat on the clams and keep covered until serving.
- Add a large spoonful of the pasta water to the clams, then drain the pasta. Divide the pasta into serving bowls and divide the clams and sauce between them.
- sprinkle fresh chopped parsley on top of the clams and serve with grated romano cheese.
Todd says
I added a squeeze of fresh lemon as well.
Jackie says
Thank you from a clam sauce novice! I modified the recipe a little by using a combination of little necks and cockles, & added a tad more garlic. Everyone enjoyed it. Definitely a keeper!
Kathy says
Finally a recipe that brings me back to my childhood. It was easy to prepare and delicious!
Kathy SANSEVERINO says
The best I’ve ever had
Angela says
Your recipe looks amazing…very similar to mine……I use much more garlic, ‘cause I love it, and also add some oregano….gives a very nice flavor. And yes, I use pecorino Romano on my linguini with clam sauce. Sooooo delish!!! Your recipe is the closest to mine I have seen!
Adriana says
Hello Chef Dennis,
When steaming the clams how high should you have the stove? Medium heat? Thanks!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I usually have it on high heat to start. The process takes about 6 minutes. Once they look like they’re open you can move them off the heat, keeping them covered.
Hillary says
We have a place on the beach near Seattle and steamers coming out of our ears. I make A LOT of clam dishes, including other clam linguines. This was easy AND delicious. Going to the top of my repertoire.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my clams recipe, Hillary. Its one of our favorite dinners. Thanks for the great review!
Tomaso Cruzzini says
Chef
You don’t have the basilico in the list of ingredients. How much?
Tomaso
Chef Dennis Littley says
hi Tomaso
yes I do its listed as Chopped Basil – 1 Tbsp.
M Burns says
How long do you cook the covered clams?
Chef Dennis Littley says
They should take about 7-8 minutes. Once they are opened they are done.
Jim Caristi says
I have a question for you, Chef Dennis. I’m located far from fresh clams, so they will cost me a LOT if I want to serve about 30 people. So I’m going to try to substitute something else. You convinced me not to use canned or frozen. What about using scallops? I know it’s a somewhat different flavor, but the tenderness will be there with bay scallops. What do you think?
Chef Dennis Littley says
The only difference will be that the clams add their juices as they steam open. You can use scallops or shrimp. The only difference will be you’ll have more of an garlic sauce than the added flavors from the clams.
Colleen says
Delicious! TY for sharing this recipe- linguine and clams is one of my favorites and I will use this recipe again!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you so much for the great review and comment. I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe for linguine and clams, it’s my wife’s all-time favorite dinner!
Fatima DaLuz says
Hi! I’m Portuguese and we Portuguese cook a lot of sea food, i make Linguine with Clams very close to this recipe with out the Basil and Romano cheese, I’m going to try this recipe today and I bet that I’m going to love it.
Thanks so much 🙂
Fatima
Chef Dennis Littley says
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do Fatima!
michael says
It’s awesome. Thanks, Chef
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe, Michael!
Janet Borloglou says
This recipe is a must “share & save” keeper to pass down to all loved ones!! It was delicious!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you Janet, it is one of our favorites! So easy and so delicious!
Gayle Murray says
My sister put the clams in the freezer. So they are now frozen. How can I prepare them with pasta?
Chef Dennis Littley says
Clams open when you freeze them as you’re pretty much killing them. They are still good to cook with but they won’t have the same juice that you get when you steam fresh clams open. If you like red sauce I would suggest taking all the clams out of the shells and adding them to a spaghetti sauce and enjoy pasta with a red clam sauce.
Janet Borloglou says
Five stars👍🏻