Linguine with clam sauce is a simple Italian pasta recipe with juicy clams, al dente linguine or spaghetti, fresh parsley, and a creamy sauce.
Anyone can prepare this dish. You don't have to be a fish expert. Here, you'll learn the secrets and tips to make a delicious authentic clam sauce.
Linguine with clam sauce is the perfect recipe for special occasions, from dinner with friends to Christmas, New Year's Eve, or a cozy Sunday lunch.
What is linguine with clam sauce?
Linguine with clam sauce, or "linguine alle vongole" and "spaghetti alle vongole" in Italian, is a dish from Neapolitan cuisine.
It is one of the most famous Italian pasta dishes, along with spaghetti aglio olio, carbonara, spaghetti meatballs, and amatriciana.
The recipe combines long pasta such as spaghetti, linguine, or vermicelli with clams, a type of mollusk, and other simple ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil, garlic, chili, and parsley.
Sometimes, cherry tomatoes are added to make a red clam sauce; here, we'll show you the authentic Italian white clam sauce recipe.
You'll love how simple this dish is and be amazed at how seven simple ingredients can meld into something so delicious.
What's essential in such a simple dish is to partially cook the pasta in boiling water and then finish cooking it in the clam sauce.
This step allows the pasta to release starch into the sauce, making the dish creamy and flavorful.
Similar recipes: Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, Baked cod.
Ingredients for linguine alle vongole
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Clams
If you travel to Campania, the Italian region where Neaples is, and you eat linguine or spaghetti with clam sauce, you'll probably get local clams called "vongole veraci."
For anyone who lives outside of Italy, it's impossible to find those clams. The best alternative is fresh local clams, which you can find at your local fishmonger.
In the US, a good option is littleneck clams.
Talk to your fishmonger and ask if the clams are fresh and have been previously cleaned. If they haven't, ask them how to do it to remove sand and debris.
They'll be happy to explain it to you. We'll also show it later down the page.
Fresh clams should be closed shut. Open clams are not fresh.
However, since finding fresh clams can be challenging, you can make this recipe with frozen clams or canned clams as a last resort.
We tested this several times, and the result was outstanding.
Pasta
Clam sauce goes with spaghetti, linguine, or vermicelli.
I recommend using imported Italian pasta, ideally a good-quality one like Rummo, Molisana, De Cecco, or a smaller brand sold in Italian Delis.
Also, for the best result, try to get pasta that's "bronze cut." Its dusty and rugged surface releases more starch and is more porous, allowing the sauce to stick.
Extra virgin olive oil
When cooking with few ingredients, opt for high quality. We recommend using good-quality extra virgin olive oil. It doesn't have to be Italian, but it should be good.
Parsley
Choose fresh Italian parsley, also known as flat-leaf parsley. The recipe uses both the stems and the leaves of the parsley.
Garlic
Choose fresh garlic.
Chili
You can use dried chilis, fresh chilies, or red pepper flakes. Add more or less to taste.
Salt and black pepper
We recommend sea salt for the pasta water. We don't add salt to the sauce, as clams are already salty.
Optional ingredients
Dry white wine: white wine, always dry, is an optional ingredient that some cooks add to linguine with clam sauce.
I don't add white wine because it meddles with the clam flavor, especially if it is cheap. If you have good clams, you don't need white wine.
Many chefs in Italy think the same (Alberto Gipponi, Carmela Abbate) and don't add wine to this recipe.
Lemon zest: you can add a small grating of lemon zest to garnish the plate and add freshness.
How to make linguine with clam sauce
Before you start: If you use frozen, jarred, or canned clams, you can start here. If you use fresh clams, ask your fishmonger if they have been cleaned. If they haven't, check out the chapter below on "how to clean clams."
Add extra virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, parsley stems, and crushed garlic with the skin-on to a hot skillet.
Cook on medium heat for one minute.
Add the clams and ½ cup of water or fish stock, and cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes. At this stage, you can add ⅓ cup of dry white wine.
Fresh clams are cooked when they are fully open.
Tip: If using canned clams, add the juice, too.
As the clams open, remove them from the pan and add them to a bowl.
Then, separate most clams from their shells and set them aside in a smaller bowl.
You can keep some clams in their shell for garnishing. Discard the empty shells.
Tip: Clams don't require long cooking time, and the more they cook, the chewier and tougher they get. So, you want to remove them from the heat as soon as they open.
Once all the clams are open and you remove them from the pan, you are left with the clam sauce.
Filter the sauce through a fine-mesh sift to remove debris, then put it back into the pan.
Tip: If you notice sand in the sauce, filter the sauce through a sift lined with a clean kitchen towel, muslin, or cheesecloth.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water per package instructions minus 3 minutes.
Fish the pasta out of the water and add it to the sauce.
Add ½ cup of pasta cooking water and cook on medium heat, stirring the pasta in the sauce, for about 3 minutes or until cooked but with a bite (al dente).
When the pasta is almost ready, stir in finely chopped parsley, cracked black pepper, and clams.
Tip: Stirring is essential because it helps the pasta release starch in the sauce, making it creamy. If the pan gets dry, add more water and olive oil.
Garnish with the clams in the shell, more olive oil, black pepper, and parsley.
Optionally, you can add some grated lemon zest.
Serving suggestions
Linguine alle vongole is a beautiful first course for an Italian-style dinner, or you can serve a larger portion as a main.
It's excellent for a Sunday lunch or a holiday like Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Tips
Use good ingredients: This recipe has few ingredients, so ensure they are good quality. EVO oil, Italian pasta, and fresh clams will make a better meal than canned clams, cheap oil, and cheap pasta.
Don't overcook the clams: Clams require a few minutes of cooking. Fresh clams are ready as soon as they are fully open, and canned clams won't need more than 5 minutes. Extending the cooking time will make the clams chewy and rubbery.
Filter the sauce: When using fresh clams or whole frozen clams, filter the sauce in a fine-mesh sift lined with a clean kitchen towel to remove dirt and sand.
Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce: When you fish the pasta out of the water and add it to the sauce, it should be heavily undercooked. You want to finish cooking it in the clam sauce with some reserved pasta water. The pasta will release starch into the sauce, making the dish creamy.
Reserve the pasta water: In an Italian kitchen, pasta cooking water is like gold. It makes the sauce creamy, so don't throw it out.
Questions
First, soak the clams in cold, salted water for 2 hours. In this "sea-like" environment, the clams will relax and release dirt and sand.
Then, drain the clams and wash them two or three times in fresh water, shaking them vigorously with your hands.
Discard clams with a broken shell.
Canned clams are not traditionally used in Italian cooking, but you can use them in this recipe if you prefer them to fresh ones.
When you use canned or jarred clams, you can also use their canning juice to flavor the sauce.
Canned clams are generally overcooked and rubbery compared to fresh clams.
You'll need about 1 pound, one dozen, or 500 grams of fresh unshelled clams per person.
This will give you about 4 ounces or 110 grams of meat per person.
Keep in mind that some clams will not open, some will break, and you will have to discard them.
Storage
Make ahead: Linguine with clam sauce is not suitable for making ahead. The recipe is best eaten immediately when the pasta is still creamy and has a bite.
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 36 hours. Not suitable for freezing.
Reheat: Reheat in the microwave or on a skillet with a splash of water and a drizzle of oil.
Recipe
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 ounces linguine or spaghetti
- 2 pounds unshelled clams substitute 2 cans clams (each 10-ounce net or 5oz drained). See notes below if your unshelled clams are not cleaned.
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley stems and leaves
- 4 twists black pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes + black pepper
Instructions
- To a hot skillet, add ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 6 parsley stems, and 2 cloves garlic crushed with the skin-on.Cook on medium heat for one minute.
- Add 2 pounds unshelled clams and ½ cup of water, and cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until they all open.
- As the clams start to open, remove them from the pan and add them to a bowl.Then, separate most clams from their shells and set the meat aside in a smaller bowl.You can keep some clams in their shell for garnishing. Discard the empty shells.
- Once all the clams are open and you remove them from the pan, you are left with the clam sauce.Filter the sauce through a fine-mesh sift to remove debris, then put it back into the pan.
- Boil 6 ounces linguine in plenty of salted boiling water per package instructions minus 3 minutes.Fish the pasta out of the water and add it to the sauce.Add ½ cup of pasta cooking water and cook on medium heat, stirring the pasta in the sauce, for about 3 minutes or until cooked but with a bite (al dente).When the pasta is almost ready, stir in 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped), 4 twists black pepper, and the clams.
- Serve on a plate/bowl and garnish with the clams in the shell, more olive oil, black pepper, and parsley and make sure to take all clam meat and sauce from the pan.Optionally, you can add some grated lemon zest.
Notes
- Soak the clams in cold, salted water for 2 hours. In this "sea-like" environment, the clams will relax and release dirt and sand.
- Drain the clams and wash them two or three times in fresh water, shaking them vigorously with your hands.
- Discard clams with a broken shell.
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