Easy Linguine with Clams
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
This linguine with clams pasta dish is a quick 30-minute dinner with a very short ingredient list. Quick, easy, restaurant-quality at home!
why you’ll love easy linguine with clams (linguine alle vongole)
- Perfect for a fancy night in. Linguine with clams is known to be a fancy, elegant pasta dish, yet it comes together in less than 30 minutes with quick-cooking clams. It’s perfect for quick weeknight dinners or a romantic night in at home in PJs.
- Budget-friendly. Making this dish at home costs a fraction of the price than ordering at a restaurant. Clams are about $4.99-$6.99 per pound, and you can easily feed a family of four with 2 pounds of fresh clams (or even opt for canned clams). And once you have your clams, all you need is a few inexpensive pantry staples.
- One pot dinner. Not only does this come together lightning fast, but everything gets cooked in a single pot, the boiled pasta, the clams, and the light briny sauce, which can only mean one thing: less dishes for easy clean up!
What is linguine with clams?
Also known as linguine alle vongole, this is an Italian pasta dish traditionally made with long, flat strands of pasta (for example, linguine), fresh or canned clams, and a light, briny garlic sauce.
How to clean clams
You’ll want to rinse and scrub the clams from debris under cold running water. This will also give you a chance to check (and discard) clams that are cracked, feel hollow, or gaping open. All clams should be tightly closed.
Soak the clams in a bowl of salt water – about 4 quarts cold water and 1/3 cup salt – for about 20 minutes to 1 hour. This will help filter out the sand and grit. Using a slotted spoon, drain the clams from the water and into a colander (pouring the water and clams together into a colander will add all that sand right back!), rinsing them thoroughly.
How to make linguine with clams
- Clean the clams. Soak the clams in salt water to remove debris and sand, scrubbing the shells clean.
- Cook the pasta. Boil the linguine pasta in a large stockpot or Dutch oven in boiling salted water until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water for later.
- Sauté the aromatics. Cook the garlic and red pepper flakes in melted butter until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Simmer. Stir in the vegetable broth, salt and pepper, letting it simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
- Steam the clams. Add the cleaned clams, cover, and let steam until the shells begin to open, about 5-8 minutes. Remove any clams that did not open.
- Combine. Toss the al dente linguine until evenly coated, adding the reserved pasta water, as needed, until the desired consistency is reached (and to help the sauce cling to the noodles).
- Serve. Serve in shallow bowls, generously garnished with parsley, with crusty bread and a glass of white wine.
Pro tip
Substitute canned clams to make it more economical.
Canned baby clams or chopped clams are convenient (skipping the cleaning and de-gritting), highly affordable and shelf stable, ideal for a fast, cheap weeknight dinner.
Tools For This Recipe
Easy Linguine with Clams: Frequently Asked Questions
Linguine is generally the classic, traditional choice but spaghetti or bucatini are both great alternatives.
Yes! Swap out the vegetable broth for a dry, white wine (for example, pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc), cooking it down for a few minutes to burn off the sharp alcohol taste.
Littleneck clams are best as they are small and tender. Estimate about 1/2 lb of clams per person for serving.
Discard any clams that remain shut.
A simple side salad and crusty bread (or skillet dinner rolls) are both excellent accompaniments.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days, gently reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water, white wine or clam juice (if needed) until warmed through.
Easy Linguine with Clams
Video
Ingredients
- 12 ounces linguine
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 pounds littleneck clams, cleaned
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a large stockpot or Dutch oven of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; reserve 1/2 cup water and drain well.
- Melt butter in the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in vegetable broth; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in clams. Cover, with a tight-fitting lid, and cook until the clams have opened, about 5-8 minutes. Discard any unopened clams.
- Stir in pasta and reserved pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Clean the clams first. This is key to remove sand and grit as well as exterior debris.
- Cook the pasta until al dente. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce, soaking up the briny clam juice, without overcooking and getting soggy.
- Reserve the pasta water. Thanks to the starch in the pasta water, this will help the briny sauce stick to the pasta for a smooth coating.
- Finish with butter. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter just before serving for a rich, shiny gloss to the pasta.
- Loosen the sauce when reheating. Since the pasta will continue absorbing the sauce as it sits, add in a splash of water, white wine or clam juice to loosen the sauce.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
why discard unopen clams?
The unopened clams are dead from the start, and are unsafe to eat.
I stand with the blogger on think most available clams are harvested by dredging the bottom with special nets, they take everything large, small alive or dead it all lands in the hold. They get all together mixed roughly into lots. The hand digger is more discriminatory. But if clams are dead you have no idea why. They might have died of old age 2 months before the net dredged them. They might have died from infestation with parasites. They might be from a contaminated area from riverine effluent (pollution from contaminated rivers) heavy metals, nasty chemicals, red tide algae,
Human sewage from poorly maintained waste treatment, nitrogen fertilizer or animal manure. Hepatitis A/B/C , E.coli, of many derivations some minor and other severe and deadly. The dead clams may look and smell fine, but can occasionally even contain botulinium toxin. A deadly poisonous food poisoning. Certain forms of E. coli and other human sewerage components kill the unsuspecting young and old. Any Clam or mussel with a broken shell or one that does not open should be considered unsafe, never eaten. That goes for pets and wildlife as well. Put them in a tightly covered jar. Label Spoiled clearly and put out for the trash truck. Make sure it is labeled spoiled. Too many people are stretching their budget by going through trash to salvage what waste they can find. It’s not just the homeless either, it’s the elderly, single parent families, large families, young runaways. And those you have no idea are living that close to the edge.
Can I use chicken stock instead?
Yes.
Spending over $22 in ingredients for just ONE dinner? Yikes.
Emla, the beauty of spending $22 for one dinner that serves 4 is equivalent to spending the same amount for one eating out! That’s the beauty of home cooking 🙂
Yes it is expensive, I agree but nice for a special dinner for you and a date, spouse, partner, for Valentine’s Day, Anniversary, Birthday. If you have children set them up early with a Mac and cheese
Casserole. I loved clams as a small child but many little ones are less adventurous. Don’t forget to get 2 bottles of wine, 1 to cook with and 1 to drink with the meal. MaryAnn from Boston – clams are out of season here so canned are our Winter Option.
Do you think chicken broth (instead of vegetable) will be too overpowering for this dish?
Chicken broth should work just fine.
This may have been mentioned in a previous comment but I have canned clams on hand, how many 6.5 oz cans should I use? Next time I’m at the market, I’ll get fresh but I want to make this NOW! 😀
Kristina, I actually do not have much experience cooking with canned clams so I’m not entirely sure on the ratios here.
Hi I make Con Von Gale all the time from whole baby clams in 10-12 oz cans from Geisha or Bumblebee.. I use 3 cans for the same amount of linguine. The can broth is part of the recipe. That will be roughly 9 of the tiny cans. +/- to your taste. I tried it once with a 12oz package of coarsely chopped frozen sea clams, thawed that came out very well my thought is half Clam broth(available in 12 oz bottle from Snows or Atlantic Seafood) half wine a a dry or medium white wine, something good enough to drink. Add some lemon wedges, to taste, squeeze then drop into the broth. My recipe came from an Italian Grandmother of a Nurse I worked with. It calls for a half and half mix of olive oil and butter fresh Italian parsley or thyme if you prefer, or oregano. Whatever your taste buds prefer. I use black pepper over the red pepper, baby clams have a delicate taste, but sea clams are assertive enough for red pepper flakes. Just have the pasta water boiling when you start the sauce, it comes together quickly linguine and clams need to cook together. Otherwise linguine will be over cooked or clams get tough and rubbery.
This looks so delicious! Can I add a little white wine to the sauce while cooking? If so how much and what kind would you recommend? Thank you!
Megan, you can actually swap out the vegetable broth for white wine, or you can adjust as needed to fit your taste preferences.
This looks delicious. Mussels are my favorite so I may have to sub some of those in here too!
The first recipe I ever posted was clam chowder and I haven’t cooked with clams since… something I keep thinking about. Where did you buy your clams? When I bought them from Whole Foods, they were not so budget friendly. :/
I purchased them from Gelson’s and they were very cheap!
Picked up my clams..I always use little necks… What do you serve for the side? Love how simple this recipe is!!!
This would go great with some crusty garlic bread!
Perfect recipe for me. I live in a little salt water town. Clams all over the place.
I have eaten clams with linguine, but never fixed it. This look damn delicious and
easy.
Linguine with clams is one of my favorite seafood dishes… yours looks INCREDIBLE! We have some clams frozen for clams casino, but I’ll probably be making this instead! 🙂
How do you clean the clams? Thanks
There are actually many ways to clean clams, and many resources on Google. But please feel free to check out this great tutorial here: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-clean-the-sand-out-of-c-58389.
I really enjoy seeing this site in my inbox, the receipes look great and easy to prepare. Thank you
This sounds wonderful for a quick meal during the holidays! I would also like to make some of your skillet to oven chicken thigh dishes but don’t see those recipes anymore. Can you repost them please?
Terrileigh, I am a little confused because I have not taken those recipes down. Please feel free to browse through the visual recipe index here. You can also use the search bar on the right sidebar.
OOooooooooo! This is awesome! I always “treat” myself with linguine and clams when I am out to eat (I am the only one in my house who likes it!) but this looks super simple! I will have to treat myself at home when I am the only one home to feed! =)
SaraLily
In a Nutshell…
UN PLATO DELICIOSO!!!
Felices Fiestas!!!
Conxita :))))))
Some couples have “their song”, we have “our food”. Can’t wait to try this!
Mmmm clam-infused pasta, sounds divine 😀 Perfect Sunday dinner 🙂 x
This looks delicious; however, I prefer red clam sauce. How can I convert this?
Judy, this recipe is strictly for white clam sauce, and without further recipe testing, I cannot advise on converting this recipe to something entirely different.
Thank you.
How much canned clams would I use and use the clam juice too or drain it?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I make clam sauce a lot. You use clam juice, and the juice on the clams as well. If you want less fishy taste skip the juice and just use the juice they are in. Also do not put the clams in until the pot is removed from the heat when using canned because they will get really tough.
I love clam linguine, this looks incredible!