Clams and Spaghetti is one of the traditional Italian dishes that you’ll find served in the finest Italian restaurant around the world.
And of course, the price will reflect its popularity. What these restaurants don’t want you to know is just how easy it is to make this dish. And how inexpensively you can make it in your own home.
Not only will you have a delicious restaurant-style meal in about 15 minutes, but you’ll also have money left over for a bottle of wine and a movie!
What ingredients do I need to make Clams and Spaghetti?
The list of ingredients is pretty short.
- little neck clams
- olive oil
- garlic cloves
- crushed red pepper flakes
- fresh basil
How do you cook clams for clams and spaghetti?
Steaming clams and mussels is so easy they almost cook themselves!
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 repeating 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 spaghetti 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.
How do I know the clams are cooked?
The next step is adding olive oil, chopped garlic, crushed red pepper, fresh chopped basil and clams in a large pot with a lid and steaming them open. It’s really that simple. You can add other spices or wine to make them exactly how you like them. The clams will be done cooking in 7-9 minutes on high heat.
Once the clams have all opened they are done. Keep covered until ready to serve.
Then it’s just a matter of serving those beautiful clams over pasta and enjoying the deliciousness.
So if you’d like to save yourself some money while improving your dinner menu this is the dish for you! If you want to make it red just add 2 cups of your favorite marinara, or swap out mussels for the clams for a change of pace. It’s just that easy!
Can I buy Farm Raised Clams and Mussels?
Mussels and Clams are becoming much easier to find with safe and delicious farm-raised products (from the United States) readily available in many supermarkets. Just remember if the clams/mussels are open and they can’t be coaxed into closing back up they’re dead. If they’re dead, don’t eat them! You want your shellfish alive and closed tight!
Don’t forget a loaf of good crusty bread and a bottle of your favorite wine or sparkling water to make this an evening to remember!
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Clams and Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 lb of good quality Linguine (De Cecco Del Verde, or Barilla)
- 1 bag Farm Raised Little Neck Clams (bag of 50 or at least 15 clams per person)
- 2 cloves of Garlic sliced
- 1 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil chopped
- Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
- Pinch of Black Pepper
- Sprinkle of grated Romano Cheese
- 2-3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- place large stock pot on stove to cook pasta per directions on the box
- Finely chop parsley and basil
- Chop garlic
- 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!
- 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 and garlic.
- Briefly saute the garlic then add the clams, basil and crushed red pepper to the pan and cover with a lid allowing the clams to steam open.
- 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.
- Drain pasta, place in bowl and divide clams and sauce between them
- sprinkle fresh chopped parsley on top of the clams and serve with grated Romano cheese.
Jim
2/3 tbsp of olive oil provides enough steam to cook clams?
Chef Dennis Littley
Thats 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, not 2/3 of a tablespoon
Ken Matson
This recipe look great and simple but I do not like the grit that comes with clams. Cleaning and soaking does not seem to work for me. What do you do to prepare these and avoid the grit?
Chef Dennis Littley
That comes from clams that have been harvested after a storm that have picked up a lot of dirt from the water being agitated. The only way to help cut this is rinse the clams even longer than usual. The other option is to strain the liquid through a cheesecloth. I’ve found that not pouring the last big of liquid from the pan will help keep a good portion out as it tends to settle to the bottom of the pan.
It’s definitely worth a try again, every now and then we do get a batch that’s extra gritty.
Joanne Willcox
What a super dish! Loved it and it’s so easy 👍❤️
Chef Dennis Littley
Happy to hear you enjoyed the clams, its one of my wife’s favorites we have it a few times a month
Cheryl
Hi Dennis,
I love clams and want to try this dish, the only problem is that I am cooking just for me.( It’s very hard to cook for just one} . As I am reading the recipe even cutting it in half looks like to much. Do you have any suggestions please.
Also if you have any recipes for cooking for one would be helpful.
Thank you so much
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Cheryl
most of my recipes are for two and are easy enough to scale back. As for the clams and spaghetti, you could just buy as many clams as you like and just reduce the ingredients by half and you’ll be in good shape. A bag is usually 50 small clams which is good for 2-3 people depending upon how much you like clams. You could also make the whole recipe, remove the clams from the shells of the leftover clams and freeze the clams and broth for another dinner. Either in a ziplock bag of container
Brian Jakovina
No wine in this classic preparation?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Brian
I don’t use any but feel free to add your favorite white to dish.
Sonal
Loved the post with detailed step by step instructions and photos. Truly restaurant style dish.