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.
Candy Rachelle
OMG! this is a must try recipe. I was looking for a delicious and unique style of spaghetti recipe and finally I found yours,
Sincerely Miss J
This looks super yummy! I love how you made this look so easy.
Brianna watson
Very interesting recipe! I’m not a fan of clams so I’m not sure I could eat this but I’d love to make it just to show off lol thank you for sharing this recipe!
Chelle Dizon
I really love easy and quick recipes like this. It sounds really tasty and delicious and we’ll love to try that this weekend.
Bet
I tried the recipe only once and I think this might be one of my favorite dishes so far 🙂 Great recipe, massive thanks for sharing it!
Shannon Gurnee
I love clams and spaghetti and would love to try making this sometime. It looks like a delicious recipe!
Glaemour
Yum! That looks wonderfully easy. I’m new to clams and this was super helpful in making me feel more knowledgeable about it.
Alexandra Cook
These look delicious! Never cooked clams before but I guess I now need to try them, thanks for sharing the recipe
Heather
This is one of my favorite dishes! I haven’t tried to make it myself though (yet).
Catherine
One of my favorites to get when we go out. This looks marvelous, Dennis! So easy to make right at home too!
Kalyan
Looks like a nice spaghetti variant to prepare during the weekend. Nice reading your recipe about the way to prepare it.
Melissa M Sanchez
Well now that I know how to make this, I am preparing a meal for my hubby this weekend. He loves clams but I never knew how to make them!!!!
Lyosha
I Love clams. No. I am crazy about clams. that is closer to the real me. paired with spaghetti it happens to be the ultimate killer perfection combo for me when I want to impress my guests
Lisa
Spaghetti alle vongole is something we eat a lot of here in Italy, so it’s one dish I know very well. I like your recipe too, it reminds me we need to make it again soon.
Myriam
Will definitely try this out, looks absolutely delicious!