Treat yourself to my restaurant-style Seafood Marinara. Why go out to dinner when you can cook like a chef in your own kitchen with my easy to make recipes and Chef Tips and Tricks.
Cooking like a chef isn’t difficult and my Seafood Marinara served over pasta will show you just how easy it is to make delicious restaurant-style dishes in your own kitchen at a fraction of the cost of dining out.
Wouldn’t your family love to sit down to a bowlful of my Seafood Marinara? Can you imagine the expressions on their faces when you serve up this restaurant-style dinner?
And the truth is, it couldn’t be easier to make. It’s all about having the ingredients on hand to cook up dishes like this in your own kitchen.
What ingredients do I need to make Seafood Marinara?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Seafood Marinara. 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.
What Kind of Seafood can I use in Seafood Marinara?
I have a nice assortment of seafood in my recipe but you can use any type of seafood that you like eating. Think of my recipe as a place to start.
My seafood marinara recipe is really flexible. Using seafood that you enjoy eating or have on hand is the key to making delicious restaurant-style dishes in your own kitchen. If you don’t have the assortment that I used, use what you have on hand or available at your grocer or seafood store.
Many people love calamari and that would be a nice addition to this dish. I’ve never been a fan, but I’ve cooked more than my share of calamari (squid) during my career as a chef.
I’ve also used chopped clams when I couldn’t get fresh clams. You’ll also find New Zealand mussels at many grocers and they can be used instead of fresh mussels.
Adding scallops, lobster, or chunks of your favorite fish to my seafood marinara is also an option. See how easy it is to adapt this recipe? Use the seafood you like to eat or have on hand to make this delicious dish.
How do I make Seafood Marinara?
The first step in making this dish is lightly sauteing the garlic, basil and crushed red pepper flakes in olive oil.
Next add in the mussels, clams and shrimp. Cover the pot allowing the mussels and clams to steam open. The shrimp will also cook during this time. The clams and mussels will provide an excellent broth that will help flavor the marinara sauce.
**Start cooking your pasta close to the time you start to cook the seafood. You’ve got 10-12 minutes to go at this point in the dish.
Next, add the marinara sauce and crabmeat. Mix gently and reseason to your tastes. Here is my recipe for Marinara Sauce.
**In my restaurant days, making this dish one at a time for my guests, I would reseason it with granulated garlic, granulated onion and black pepper.
Can I make this dish in a white sauce (aglio olio)?
You certainly can. Eliminate the marinara sauce and add enough broth to build out the sauce (12-16 ounces). Clam broth or chicken broth can be used to supplement the natural juices from the clams and mussels.
**If you’re going to make a white sauce, you might want to add a little more garlic when you start the dish.
Add chopped parsley or basil and the Seafood Marinara is ready to be served over the pasta of your choice.
What types of pasta should I serve with Seafood?
My favorite pasta shape for this type of dish is a long strand, with linguine being my first choice.
Other choices include:
- Spaghetti
- Bucatini
- Perciatelli
- Thin cut Fettuccine
Angel hair is too fine for the heaviness of the seafood and wider noodles like Tagliatelle or shapes won’t hold the sauce.
That being said, this is your dinner so feel free to serve it over the pasta of your choice.
Serve up this amazingly delicious pasta dish in your favorite pasta bowl or plate. I love sprinkling grated Romano cheese on my seafood marinara and having crusty bread to sop up the sauce is something you may want to consider.
I recently got these White Porcelain Bowls on Amazon and absolutely love them. They’re perfect for pasta or a dinner salad. This is the 45 ounce bowl. I also got the 30 ounce bowl which is great for dishes requiring less rooom.
If you love seafood and pasta dishes you may also like these recipes:
- Frutti di Mare
- Shrimp & Scallops in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Sicilian Style Seafood
- Seafood Riviera
- Clams and Spaghetti
Seafood Marinara
Ingredients
- 24 mussels thoroughly rinsed and cleaned
- 24 littleneck clams thoroughly rinsed
- 16 large shrimp peeled and deveined ( I used 16-20 count)
- 16 ounces crabmeat lump or claw
- 24 ounces marinara see my recipe for homemade sauce
- 3 cloves garlic fine chop
- 1 tablespoon basil fine chop
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon parsley fine chop for garnish
- 16 ounces ligunine or your choice of pasta (if you love pasta you may want to cook an extra 4 ounces or 20 ounces total for a larger portion per person)
Instructions
- Wash the clams and mussels removing any that are open and won't close when you tap them. I usually rinse the clams and mussels in cold running water, changing the water 3 – 4 times.**Open mussels and clams are dead and should never be eaten.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large saute pan over high heat. You need a lid for the pan or pot. Next add the chopped garlic, basil and crushed red pepper flakes.Saute the seasonings for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Don't burn the garlic!
- Add the mussels, clams and shrimp to the pan. Cover and steam the seafood for 8-10 minutes or until the clams and mussels have opened.
- **Start cooking your pasta close to the time you start to cook the seafood. You've got 10-12 minutes to go at this point in the dish.
- Add the marinara sauce, and crabmeat to the steamed seafood and mix gently. Reseason the dish to your tastes. **In my restaurant days, making this dish one at a time for my guests, I would reseason it with granulated garlic, granulated onion and black pepper.
- Add chopped parsley or basil and the Seafood Marinara is ready to be served over the pasta of your choice.
- Place a portion of pasta in a bowl and divide the seafood among them. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and enjoy!Serve with grated Romano cheese and crusty bread.
Nutrition
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Mayleen says
Great recipe for Christmas and other special occasions.. thank you so much Chef..
Mary Traveler says
We are a family of non seafood eater, basically because I don’t really know how to cook it lol. Your dish looked so tasty and colorful too!
Sarah says
This is not about the recipe (although it looks delicious). I am writing to tell you that I tried to subscribe to your newsletter. When I received the first email I clicked on the “confirm” button, but it did NOT verify my confirmation. Instead, It returned me to the sign-up page. It said:
“Never Miss a Recipe Again – Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter!
For the latest news from Chef Dennis”
It asked again for my name and email.
So, essentially your website has one big loop, and I am not able to subscribe. I tried three times, to no avail.
When and if this problem is fixed, I will look forward to receiving your newsletter.
Jamie says
What a great combination of seafood in this pasta. I’m a total fan of marinara pasta but never tried it with seafood. I’ll definitely be making this soon!
Jo says
Seafood and pasta is that wonderful combination that you need to try. this is such an amazing combination. Seafood with marinara sauce and pasta, nothing better than this!
Marisa F. Stewart says
You’ve really grabbed my tastebuds with this one. I was raised on seafood – and eating it often. My mamma used to make my Papà a brodetto with seafood and her special sauce. That plain was clean as a whistle when he got done with it – he had the Italian scarpetta to clean everything up. I’m going to try your recipe this week – I’m going to our local fish store to get the freshest ingredients. Can’t wait.
Kari Alana says
This has so many flavours I love together so I am going to make this for the weekend.
Sharon says
You can’t beat a recipe that has you making a seafood pasta just like you would get at the restaurant, made right at home.
Jenny says
This is a wonderful pasta recipe. We eat tons of seafood in our house and I haven’t once attempted to make a seafood marinara with pasta. Well, until now. I am so inspired by your recipe and I am making it! Hubby loves cherrystone clams, do you think they will work for this recipe? They should, right? I am planning it for this weekend, it is going to be fabulous!
Denise says
Yum! What a delicious looking Seafood Marinera! I will have to give this a try, I think my family will love this!
Kerri says
Seafood marinara is always one of those great comfort foods. We enjoy this so much that we make it at least once a month!
Jennifer says
This looks really delicious! I bet those shrimp are perfectly tender! I’ll have to make this for my bestie.
Monica Y says
This recipe looks so delicious. My family love seafood and I need to make this for our next gathering
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Mmm… I think I just heard my tummy growl. lol. Thank you for making me hungry!
Ice Cream n Sticky Fingers says
Yum. This sounds amazing and I will have to give it a try. We love shrimp and crab. I’ll have try try eating the clams, cooked oysters, and mussels.
Sandra Shaffer says
I have a a seafood market near me that I frequent that I was able to get all the same melody of seafood. This came out better than any restaurant dish. This is a keeper. Thanks.
Louisa says
OMG everything about this recipe is making me hungry. I’ve never tried making marinara pasta but after seeing and reading your recipe, it just might be the best dish for the change in season.
Jenn @ EngineerMommy says
This pasta recipe sounds amazing to me. Totally want to try your recipe this weekend.
Lois says
This is as good as it gets, thank you for sharing this recipe.
Debra says
Awesome recipe….I just love an excuse to make your delicious marinara sauce!
Lynndee says
That absolutely looks delicious. I would love to have that for dinner today. Now if only I could find clams around here.
Catalina says
Seafood is always welcome in our house! My family will thank you for this recipe!
Nyxie says
Gorgeous! This is exactly the sort of thing I would go for when out for dinner. I don’t know about making it myself though, osters can be dodgy.
Jennifer Van Haitsma says
This is one of my favorite types of seafood dishes. We don’t make it a lot because my husband is sensitive to shellfish, but I love ordering it when we go somewhere! Looks delicious!
sara lafountain says
This seafood marinara looks like a great dish to serve for an upcoming family birthday! Any dish with pasta is popular around here.
Amanda Marie Boyle says
Looks so good and easy. My husband keeps asking me to make clams or mussels, now I have a recipe to try.
Angela says
I love all your recipe Chef Dennis! This pasta is my favorite!
Amy says
Wanted something special for Father’s Day and this was a treat!
Terri A Steffes says
I love flexible recipes that allow you to use what is on hand, or whatever is in season. This looks delicious, Chef.
Pam Wattenbarger says
I love any type of seafood marinara so I can’t wait to try this. It looks like a perfect meal for any time of year.
Ashley says
I love seafood and this recipe was so easy to follow. Absolutely delicious!!!
Taleen | Just As Tasty says
I love seafood pasta! I can’t wait to try this delicious recipe!
Emily Flint says
You always make seafood dishes seem easier to make in your recipes. I can’t wait to try this one and impress my friends!
Gloria says
WOW….no need to pay the high prices to go out to dinner. This is perfect for date night. Add some wine and enjoy!
Sarah Bailey says
Now I can’t remember the last time I have seafood but now I really want some. This sounds absolutely delicious and definitely something I would love to try for myself.
Sarah James says
What a tasty recipe, looking forward to trying your Seafood Marinara soon.
Sue says
I love this combination of seafood and marinara sauce. Irresistible!