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!
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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.
Jayne @ SMABL
What a delicious dish! And so inexpensive too. I think I will give this a try at the weekend. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yeah Lifestyle
I love delicious dishes such as this – especially when they take little to no time to make!
kumamonjeng
I love clams and spaghetti so this is great for me. I have a question. Do you think I can use frozen clam without the shells for this recipe? It is because sometimes it is quite hard to get the fresh clam with the shell.
berlin
my 3yo loves clam and this is a perfect recipe for us to try. just need to buybsome shells by the market.
wander women abroad
Yummm! this looks so delciouse. My parents make a similar dish and it is one of my favorites. Ill def have to try this one out
Joanna
I have never had clams spaghetti because I find them quite hard to eat. However, I do love clams and mussels in general and I would use your recipe for the cooking of the clams just to have them like that, with a glass of white wine. Yum!
Jordan
My mom used to make this for me as a kid!!
Danielle Wolter
i love this dish so much. the fresh flavors of the clams, garlic and herbs is just incredible. what a great recipe!
Cristina Petrini
OMG but it is a dish that tastes of the sea, I really like its appearance and who knows the taste! Yummy!
Stacie
I love your recipes. This one especially is calling my name. I’m a huge shellfish lover. I can eat it any way at all. BUT in addition to shellfish, I love pasta. This is perfect for me.
Frances Ismajloski
I purchased a pound of minalla. Clams and my husband put them in the freezer without my knowledge. And surprised me with by taken me out to dinner and with the hectic. Life style of everyday life i complexly forgot about the clams and while rearranging my freezer. Discovered my clams, can I still make the clam sauce or must they be tossed.
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Frances
they should still be good, in essence by freezing you preserved them. The only thing you won’t be able to know if any were dead before you froze them, you should never shellfish that died prior to cooking. If you decide to use them, I would take them out of the shell and just use the meat to make the sauce, and look for any signs they were bad and toss those.
Minnie@thelady8home
Clams and spagetti…can’t go wrong with that. I didn’t know Open clams were dead. Thanks so much for that tip.
Chef Dennis Littley
you’re welcome Minnie, thanks for stopping by!
Christine from Cook the Story
This sounds like a fantastic weeknight dinner!
Michelle
I’ve been wanting to make this for so long and now that I see how simple it is, I feel silly for putting it off. So now I will be buys some clams and fresh herbs this week. Thanks!
Brian @ A Thought For Food
I have always loved pasta with clam sauce. Even as a kid, I’d ask for it for my birthday dinner… loaded, of course, with mounds of parmesan.
Chef Dennis Littley
I love cheese on mine as well Brian, it just adds to the flavor!