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, 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 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
Step 1: Boil the pasta. 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). Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water, then drain the linguine in a colander (do not rinse).
Step 2: Start 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.
Step 3: Add the cooking liquid and seasoning. Add the wine, red pepper flakes, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ cup of the parsley.
Step 4: Clams go in. Add the clams and bring the liquid to a simmer.
Step 5: Steam the clams. Cover the pan and cook until the clams open, 6 to 8 minutes. Discard any that don’t open.
Step 6: Put it all together. 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.
Step 7: Add the final touches. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley; toss to coat evenly and melt the butter.
Step 8: Adjust seasoning and serve. Taste and tweak 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 enjoy!
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Linguine with Clams
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 16 oz 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 crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 lb Littleneck clams (40 to 45), scrubbed
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, divided
- 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 qts (4L) 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 (120 ml) 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 (8 g) 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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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This recipe is fantastic – fast, easy and delicious! I even substituted sardines for the clams and it was even more outstanding. It comes together very quickly, so be sure you’ve prepared all the ingredients before beginning. A wonderful summer dinner!
Hi Jenn,
I made this recipe last night. I made one substitute. I used the white section of green onions because I didn’t have shallots. The dish took me a little longer than usual time noted. The sauce was flavorful and the presentation lovely.
I served with chopped garlic and butter a top of baked sourdough bread. Side salad mix with fresh Swisschard. Dinner was so delicious 😋 that thinking about it makes me hungry.
According to seafood suppliers, Littleneck clams average 9 clams per pound. Your recipe should call for 5 pounds of clams, or 40 – 45 whole littlenecks.
Thank you.
We are loving this recipe. Have had Clams & Linguine in many Italian restaurants; also make at home. This was scrumptious! Will definitely make again.
Hi Jane.
As a former professional chef,and owner of a bistro, our fishmonger who really knew his stuff and sought after, there are 10-12 little neck clams in a pound.
Lisa
bought a 1.62lb of clams (little neck) and only about 18-20…
agree
agree! bought 1.62lb of clams (all they had) (little neck) and only about 18-20…
The smallest clams are called littlenecks amounting to 10-12 clams per pound. The most popular steaming clam in our area but they are often served raw on the half shell with cocktail sauce or even grilled with a squeeze of lemon and some melted butter. Averaging between 12-15/lb.
Thanks!
I used frozen clam meat (sans shells), but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and found the dish to be bland. The second night, with half of the dish remaining, I added half a pound of shrimp, lots more lemon zest and juice, a big pile of extra parsley, a few more dashes of wine, and more Parmesan. It was much tastier.
You changed the recipe and then said it was bland?
Hi Gail,
I agree with RV’s comment. Another point: you didn’t make Jenn’s recipe to begin with. You said what you made was with “frozen clam meat sans shells). You missed out on so much wonderful flavor that fresh clams in their shells bring to the recipe. The shells alone are responsible for so much! There’s a reason Linguine with clams is traditionally cooked & served WITH the shells.
You didn’t make Jenn’s recipe for Linguine with Clams. You used frozen clam meat for what you cooked, included pasta,and the following night having leftovers, put in shrimp & parsley. Just isn’t remotely close to Jenn’s recipe.
You’re missing out on an exceptional recipe. Check out the other reviews. Everyone is loving it❤️.
It doesn’t get much better than Jenn’s recipes & her instructions for success in the kitchen.
Gave 5 stars because Jenn,this is absolutely wonderful! We had 6 for dinner, and this was so easy & everyone loved it!
Thank you again 😊
Hi Jenn,
I’m writing to you from Cyprus, a minuscule Mediterranean island and yet very poor in fresh shellfish availability (the why is another story), so virtually all of our shellfish is imported. I’d love to try out your recipe but can only find frozen clams at our supermarkets. Any idea if I’d have to defrost the clams first (presumably overnight in the fridge) or if I could simply toss them in the pan from frozen with a little longer heating till they open? Many thanks in advance.
PS Apologies for not being able to actually rate the recipe, but it does read like a winner and I will give you feedback when I’ve actually tried it.
Hi Alma in Cyprus 🙂
I haven’t used frozen clams for this but a few readers have commented that they have and have been happy with the results. I would thaw them in the fridge overnight before using them. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
Horrible recipe too much white wine gave it a tart flavor instead of the nice buttery garlic flavor that everyone loves with linguini and clams
good to know – might add a bit of butter…
Mostly liked it but it needed parmigiano reggiano cheese when served.Method that I use is to put the pasta directly from the pot on top of the clams when they are just starting to open.I used 60 manila clams that we dug a few hours before making this recipe on a Hoods Canal beach.Cover the pasta in the 12 inch cast iron skillet and don’t add the extra water as the pasta carries enough to do the job and time it for 3 minutes and then add the parsley and lemon juice and zest. I’ll use this recipe with these changes again as it only requires a bit of timing such as putting the clams into the skillet with the wine just a couple minutes before the pasta is done.
So delicious! We made this recipe with muscles from Costco and Italian linguine pasta. Will make it again because to was so tasty.
my store didn’t have as many clams as i wanted so added some muscles – excellent!
Outstanding! and I mean it. Traded 1/2 the wine for 1 cup of clam broth. Other than that I followed the recipe as written here. Good Bye to canned clams.
I made this with the longneck clams and they were large (for two pounds would have been 24 clams total) so I’m making it next time with the manila clams. Any advice? I hear the manila clams are less ‘fishy’ tasting’?
Hi Renee, manila clams should work here. The cooking time will likely be less for them as they’re smaller. Just keep an eye on them and you’ll know that they’re ready when they open. Please LMK how it turns out with them!
Did not rate above but is 5+ stars
Really great!