Seafood pasta is one of my favorite ways to eat pasta, and this clam pasta is high on the list.
I was very happy when I discovered how easy it was to make seafood pasta. It sounds intimidating, but you will have a great dinner or date night meal ready in no time.
Prepping Clam Pasta
You’ll first want to de-sand your clams. You do this by putting them in a dish and covering them with cold water for 20 minutes. They will slowly spit out sand. You actually might see them do it if you look closely enough! At the end of 20 minutes, if you notice any have their mouths open try tapping them gently to see if they close it. If they don’t, they are dead. You’re going to want to throw them out.
Cooking the Clam Pasta
After that, all you have to do is saute some garlic and cook some pasta and the rest is easy! You’ll steam the clams in a buttery garlic sauce for about 5-7 minutes, remove the clams, add heavy cream, toss the sauce with pasta, and you’re done.
Use your favorite dry white wine for this recipe. Don’t worry, you’ll only have to use a little and you can save the rest for drinking!
Clams will tell you when they’re ready by opening their little mouths. If they haven’t opened their mouths after about 8 minutes, they’re probably not good to eat.
I’ve also doubled the number of clams I’ve used but kept everything else the same. It turned out fine, but the pasta sauce will end up being a little briney.
A Note on Storing the Clam Pasta
If you have leftovers, I like to remove the clams from their shells, chop them up, and recombine with the pasta. It freezes really well. I would try to eat refrigerated leftovers within 2 (maybe 3) days.
Looking for other seafood pasta recipes?
Try my scallop carbonara!
Clam Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb linguine
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 lbs littleneck clams
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- parmesan cheese, (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Fill a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cold water. Let the clams sit in the water for 20 minutes. This releases the sand from them.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions in a pot of salted water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Scrub the clams to remove any remaining sand. If there are any clams that have opened their mouths, tap them gently. If they don't close up, throw them away.
- In a large saute pan or pot, heat the butter and olive oil on medium-medium-low heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Pour in the wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the clams and cover with parsley. Cover with lid. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the clams have opened their mouths. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper over the clams. Remove any open clams from the pan and set aside. Keep checking every minute for more opened clams. Discard any clams that haven't opened after 8 minutes.
- Turn off heat and add the heavy cream. Add the pasta and toss to combine with sauce. Place pasta on plate with clams on top. Sprinkle remaining parsley and parmesan cheese.