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Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe

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This Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe is so delicious and full of flavor with fresh clams and just a pinch of heat. Our new favorite pasta recipe!

Linguine with Clam Sauce is one of my favorite meals. I often order it when we’re out at an Italian restaurant, and I make it at home, too, but with a canned sauce. This was my first go at making it on my own, and it was actually really easy and tasted SO much better!

This Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe is so delicious and full of flavor with fresh clams and just a pinch of heat. Our new favorite pasta recipe!

It’s a two-pot dish, one for the clams and sauce and one for the pasta, and there are a few steps here but it’s not difficult at all. Read through the whole recipe before you get started.

This Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe is so delicious and full of flavor with fresh clams and just a pinch of heat. Our new favorite pasta recipe!

We finished it off with a drizzle of EVOO to bring it all together. Here’s the recipe:

Yield: 6 servings

Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe

Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe

This Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe is so delicious and full of flavor with fresh clams and just a pinch of heat. Our new favorite pasta recipe!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • Approximately 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided)
  • 9 cloves garlic, divided
  • 50 littleneck clams, cleaned and rinsed
  • 1 cup white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (see note)
  • 1 lb. linguine
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan that has a lid. Add 5 cloves of crushed garlic (just smash them, no need to chop).
  2. Cook until the garlic is aromatic and turns golden brown, then discard the garlic. You are just flavoring the oil.
  3. Add the wine and water to the flavored oil and half of the clams (just eyeball it). Cover the pan and bring to a low boil, cooking about 10 minutes until the clam shells open.
  4. Remove the clams from the pan and allow the liquid to continue to cook at a slow bubble to reduce. Meanwhile, remove the cooked clams from the shells. Save the clams, discard the shells.
  5. Pour the cooking liquid into a measuring cup and reserve it.
  6. Use the same saucepan, again add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add two of the remaining cloves of garlic, smashed, and cook until browned and aromatic.
  7. While that garlic is cooking, heat a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, cook the linguine just short of being done (about 1 minute less than what the package directs). You'll finish it in the clam cooking liquid.
  8. After your garlic has browned, remove it from the oil and discard it. Add the remaining two cloves of garlic, chopped, to the oil. Then add the remaining clams and the reserved cooking liquid. Be careful not to pour in any sediment that might have settled to the bottom.
  9. Cover the pan and cook until the clams open. Once they are open, remove them from the pan and place in a dish to stay warm. I put them in a metal bowl covered with aluminum foil.
  10. Add the butter and the cooked clams you removed from their shells to the saucepan and stir until melted.
  11. Bring the liquid to a boil and add the drained pasta and fresh herbs. Toss with tongs to combine and cook for a few minutes until the pasta is completely done and the sauce begins to thicken.
  12. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese if using. Add the cooked clams that are still in their shells to the top of the dish.
  13. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, about a tablespoon.

Notes

Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes you use depending on how much heat you like. It will spice up your dish if you go with a bigger pinch!

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© Lindsay Frank
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Recipes
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This Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe is so delicious and full of flavor with fresh clams and just a pinch of heat. Our new favorite pasta recipe!

This easily made 6 servings so it would be a nice dish to serve if you had company. I really like that the entire meal is in one pot. And it’s got amazing flavor with the red pepper flakes, clams, and EVOO. This is the perfect dish for a fancy meal like an anniversary dinner or Valentine’s Day celebration!

This Linguine and Clam Sauce Recipe is so delicious and full of flavor with fresh clams and just a pinch of heat. Our new favorite pasta recipe!

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About Lindsay Frank

Lindsay is the Owner/Editor and Content Creator at See Mom Click, a family travel and lifestyle blog based in Central Pennsylvania. She is a wife and mom of two kids and a handful of fur babies.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Audra O'Hara says

    I use olive oil for so many things! One of my favorite is homemade marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes from our garden. A good olive oil makes a lot of difference in taste.

    Reply

  5. Jennifer Figueroa says

    I like to make homemade Salad Dressing with Olive Oil. Thanks for educating us on the
    less in quality oils on the shelves.

    Reply

  9. Seyma Shabbir says

    My favorite use is for a eggplant salad. I grill the eggplant and then scoop out the eggplant and add chopped red onions, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, salt pepper and lemon.

    Reply

  15. Annamarie V says

    I love to put a little olive oil in a pan add some walnuts, broccoli and eggplant some really good seasoning and that is one of my favorite meals.

    Reply

  23. Laura Bowe says

    I use EVOO a lot and some of those ways are frying up onions and peppers to put on sandwiches or burgers, I love drizzling it over chicken and adding Italian spices.

    Reply

  24. Laurie Nykaza says

    I use olive oil in baking and also when I cook fish and many other items like coating the meats I cook and season.I make with it too. I use it 5 times a week

    Reply

  34. Jenny S says

    I feel like it’s mandatory when making anything Italian. All pastas. I use it to sauté veggies. I always have it on hand.

    Reply

  37. Fiona N says

    I love olive, and would use extra virgin olive oil daily to make salads, or making food for my little one
    Thank You

    Reply

  50. Starla says

    Well, naturally I use it on almost everything. I love making a homemade vinaigrette dressing and I love to cook my meat and veggies in it. Also, mixed with fresh herbs is great for bread dipping!

    Reply

  51. Jessica Whitehouse says

    My sister makes a vinegarette salad dressing for the holidays. It’s good for a cucumber and tomato salad.

    Reply

  52. Birdiebee says

    I use olive for almost everything but love to make a dips for dipping bread when having company over.

    Reply

  54. Belinda M says

    My favorite use for olive oil is adding it to vegetables that I am cooking. Green beans and a mixed vegetable bake are my two favorites.

    Reply

  55. Madonna says

    We only cook with olive oil and I use it for a ton of stuff such as herbal remedies. I always buy the giant bottle because we use so much.

    Reply

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