Pasta With White Clam Sauce
Pasta with white clam sauce is a classic Italian dish that is simple, fast and delicious. Small sweet clams are infused with garlic, olive oil, clam broth and fresh herbs then tossed with al dente pasta for one truly delectable meal.
Spaghetti or linguini with clams is a very popular pasta dish in most Italian restaurants. However, this flavorful meal can easily be made at home. If you have trouble finding small fresh clams where you live, your market might carry whole and chopped frozen clams that can be used. They will have already been cleaned, purged and ready to use. If fresh or frozen clams are not available, canned chopped or minced clams are perfectly acceptable.
I have made this recipe over the years using either fresh, frozen or canned clams and have enjoyed them all. If you have a well stocked pantry that includes clams, you can put this recipe together for your family in less than 30 minutes. However, if you are serving this dish to guests you might want to search out small whole clams for a nice presentation. I would suggeest that you serve the meal with a crusty loaf of bread to soak up the flavorful sauce.
Pasta With White Clam Sauce
Serves 2, adjust the recipe accordingly
- 1/2 lb. spaghetti or linguine
- 2 dozen small whole clams, (purged and cleaned if using fresh)
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 small onion, chopped fine
- 3 – 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. anchovy paste
- 1/2 c. dry white wine
- 1 bottle (8 oz.) clam broth
- 1 1/2 c. chopped/minced clams or a 6.5 oz. can of chopped or minced clams
- 1/2 tsp. chili flakes, or to taste
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh oregano
To clean and purge fresh clams: Scrub clams well and put in a bowl of salted water and let sit for an hour. Carefully lift the clams out, rinse and repeat the procedure. Carefully lift out the clams again and discard the water. Your clams should be purged of most of their sand.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta and cook according to package directions.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and anchovy paste then stir until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, stir well then let reduce slightly. Add the clam broth and the cleaned and purged whole clams. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and steam the clams for about 3 minutes until they open. Remove the clams with a slotted spoon to a bowl, cover and keep warm. Remove and discard any clams that haven’t opened.
Add the chopped clams, chili flakes and butter to the sauce and stir. Cook for several minutes.
When the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the sauce (saving a cup of pasta water). Add the parsley and oregano and toss well until the sauce thickens slightly. Add a little pasta water if the pasta appears dry. Plate and garnish with the whole clams.
I have not added salt in this recipe as store bought broths and canned clams, if using, have salt in them…some being very salty. I would rather add salt at the end of the cooking time if it is needed.
If you make this recipe using only canned clams. I would use one can of chopped and one can of minced clams.
notes from the kitchen
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Pasta with clam sauce is one of my husband’s favorite Italian dishes. Many times he will ask me if we have the ingredients to make pasta with clam sauce for our evening dinner. That is when I rely on ny pantry and make this recipe using canned minced clams. While not as special as when made with fresh clams, it is a delicious dinner nonetheless.
Love this and used to make it often. But with my gut issues over the past few years I am reduced to eating a very restricted diet. But I can reminisce. Thanks for the memories!
Ah, one of my favorites, and yours looks delicious indeed!
Love this recipe, will make it with chopped fresh clams from wegmans
I love spaghetti with white clam sauce. I haven’t had it for ages — a friend created a garlic free version for me, and now I want this for dinner. I love that your version has a good amount of anchovy paste — I need to try that! Anchovies really add so much umami to all variety of dishes. Thanks for sharing your recipe — I look forward to trying it.
Classic and gorgeous!
What a great recipe, Karen. I will make it as soon as I get a chance I especially like the anchovy paste in the dish.
I’ve never made a pasta with white clam sauce before (always red). This looks very good and well worth giving a try!
My sister married a Sicilian Italian and made this often. I was never fond of clams (the texture) and would eat the appetizers, salad and bread 🙂 I love a simple pasta without a red sauce!
Looks quite tasty, I can see why your husband likes it so much. Glad you included that canned clams are acceptable, I don’t usually see fresh clams at the market here.
This is one of my favorite pasta dish! Thank you for the recipe, Karen!
This looks delicious and I must make it. Hubby is allergic to shellfish so only I can eat it. But that’s OK. Thanks!
You know how we all love this dish!! 🙂
Delicious – I love dishes like this!
One if my all time favorites. I used to eat thus dish with my grandfather on Fridays
Hi Karen,
Clams aren’t really a thing in Australia, despite an abundance of seafood. I can imagine local mussels or pipis would do fine.
This recipe looks so gratifying – with a glass of wine!
Looks delicious Karen, especially with a glass of wine.🍷
Looks delicious Karen and over the years, I’ve probably ordered this dish in an Italian restaurant more than any other. Now I’m anxious to try your recipe. Just wish I could get Scottie to beam me some fresh Cedar Key clams.
interestingly enough I think it was Marcella Hazan who said that it doesn’t matter if they don’t open. She said just smell them and they’re okay to use if they don’t stink, and look okay. I don’t know if it’s true but that was her take on it…
One of the easiest things to do, after soaking the clams in plenty of cold water containing salt and letting them ‘steep’ for about 1 hour, is to drain them, rinse them under cold running water and then ‘maltreat’ them – meaning, for instance, place them in a large mixing bowl, shove your hand inside and swirl them around energetically. Any clam containing sand will thereby open and you can get rid of it. Once cooked, however, if a clam does not open I would not eat t …
Karen, this looks delicious! I love any pasta dish and the white clam sauce sounds amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Pasta with clams “was” one of my all-time favorite dishes. That is, until I became allergic to clams a few years ago. Wahhh! Curses! Sigh, at least I did get to enjoy many a pasta dish like this while it lasted. Now, it’s pasta with shrimp for me. 😉
Thanks for sharing this recipe. My husband LOVES linguini with white clam sauce. I keep promising him that I’ll make it one day considering it’s not a dish easily found at restaurants in the desert southwest. Perhaps this is his lucky week. 😋
We’re getting our fair share of clams in Spain and they are wonderful. They usually serve them without pasta but it would be wonderful too.
Don’t eat pasta, but I absolutely love the clam sauce!
angiesrecipes
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A classic as noted above by Kay Gale … and guess who is making some tonight for my sister visiting from England !!! Yep, you guessed it!
Happy people at your table when you serve this. 🙂
One of my favorite meals! It looks wonderful.
I am hungry! Beautiful photos and I can almost taste this! I live in the PNW so a clamming beach is not far away!
This clam pasta sauce is a quintessence of delicious and elegant dish. Simple flavours but nothing short of amazing!
This is a family favorite and when my sons were living at home, I always kept the pantry stocked with the ingredients.
I’ve never had this so I’m excited to try your recipe, Karen. I can’t believe you can make it in 30 minutes either. We do our best to plan our meals out a month in advance but sometimes we just need something that is quick and easy. This looks flavorful too which is a fabulous bonus! Hugs and thanks for the recipe, CoCo
I’m delighted to have this recipe, tried and tested! My husband loves clam “anything,” and especially pasta. So does my son-in-law, and I’ve never made it. I’ve bought it and reheated it. LOL! That may change 😉
Pasta with white clam sauce is indeed a classic Italian dish that never fails to impress. Your recipe sounds absolutely mouthwatering. This is one of my favourite pasta dishes
It really is a classic, and for good reason! This is our dinner just about every Friday night.