Tasty Recipes for the Home Cook

Budget-Friendly Meals Fish / Seafood Light and Healthy Main Dish Pasta

Chopped Clam and Linguine in Wine Sauce

This quick and easy Chopped Clam and Linguine in Wine Sauce is a 20-minute meal. The sauce is flavored with white wine, clam juice, and butter. Keep this in mind the next time dinner needs to get on the table quickly.

Chopped Clams and Linguine in Wine Sauce

I used to eat whole belly clams when I was young. One of my parent’s friends had a huge backyard clambake every summer, and every year we would attend. I wholeheartedly participated in the consumption of freshly steamed clams dipped in hot melted butter. The little bivalves were tender, buttery, and tasted like the sea. Those were the good old days when I was oblivious to the world of biology.

Enter freshman year of high school.

I discovered that I loved science when I took Biology. There was so much to learn: cell division, microorganisms, plant life cycle, animal classification, cell structure, anatomy,  DNA, RNA, the circulatory system…the whole shebang.  I was fascinated. I was intrigued. I was mesmerized.

Chopped Clams and Linguine in Wine Sauce

My newfound love of science was not without its pitfalls. Along with it came the development of my germaphobic tendencies. It started with more frequent hand washing and avoidance of doorknobs. Throughout the years, it blossomed into other Howie Mandel-esque inclinations, which I will not bore you with today.


Freshman year was also the beginning of the end of my whole clam and mussel-eating days. Until then, I never thought about what I was eating when I ate a whole clam. The reality of it grossed me out. I’ll stop there and spare you the details.

I will, however, eat them in their non-whole-bodied forms. Fried clam strips, clam cakes, and stuffed quahogs are still on my list of loves.  As long as no “belly” is involved, it is okay. I also enjoy pasta with clam sauce, which brings us to today’s feature.

Chopped Clams and Linguine in Wine Sauce

The recipe starts with a quick sauté of olive oil, shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, and anchovy paste. I like to use anchovies in the base of my seafood recipes, as it adds a depth of flavor. The white wine sauce in this linguine pasta dish contains not only wine but also clam juice, butter, and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

I tested this recipe with both frozen uncooked clams and canned clams. To be honest, I prefer the canned ones. If you prefer fresh, make sure you rinse the clams off prior to adding them to the sauce, and be sure to cook them a couple of minutes longer.  Even though the ones I used indicated that they were washed, I found they can be gritty. I don’t have that problem with chopped clams from a can.

Chopped Clams and Linguine in Wine Sauce

Chopped Clams and Linguine in Wine Sauce


To sum up, this Chopped Clam and Linguine in Wine Sauce is a quick and simple meal that is great for a weeknight dinner when you have little time. It’s a light and healthy dish you can feel good about. Use high-fiber pasta or veggie pasta to bump up the nutrition. Enjoy!

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

  • Large skillet—this is a 12-inch stainless steel skillet and comes with a lid.
  • Kitchen tongs—for incorporating the pasta into the sauce. These have silicone tips and are great for nonstick surfaces.
  • Teak spatula—this one has high moisture resistance and is great for non-stick surfaces.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THESE RECIPES

Chopped Clam and Linguine in Wine Sauce

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 8 minutesCook time: 12 minutesTotal time: 20 minutesServings:4 Servings

Description

This quick and easy Chopped Clam and Linguine in Wine Sauce is a 20-minute meal. The sauce is flavored with white wine, clam juice, and butter. Keep this in mind the next time dinner needs to get on the table quickly.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cook linguine in generously salted boiling water according to package directions until al dente.
  2. Burst tomatoes slightly open by lightly smashing them with an unopened can of clams. Set tomatoes aside
  3. While linguine cooks, make sauce: Preheat a 12-inch skillet on medium heat. Add oil. Add shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, and anchovy paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes until the shallot is translucent. Stir in wine. Allow to boil for 30 seconds. Add clam juice, salt, black pepper, and tomatoes. Allow to come to a boil. Cover and reduce heat.
  4. If using chopped canned clams, add them after the tomatoes have simmered for 4 minutes. Simmer clams covered for one minute.
  5. If using fresh whole and shelled clams, add them after the tomatoes have simmered for 3 minutes. Simmer clams covered for 2-3 minutes.
  6. Add lemon juice and then butter, stirring to incorporate. Add cooked linguine to the sauce. Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning and lemon juice to taste. Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley.  Makes 2 to 4 servings.
Keywords:Clams and Linguine, weeknight dinner, Light and Healthy

Disclosure: This site contains paid advertising and affiliate links. In Good Flavor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.


55 Comments

  1. Your pasta with clams is beautiful! Bill won't eat clams, mussels or oysters for the same reason—I try not to think of what I'm biting into 🙂

    1. Eleanor says:

      Don’t you purge your clams before you use them? We wash each clam and place it in a basin of salted water (about 1/3 cup of sea salt per gallon of water per dozen clams), then sprinkle about 1 cup of cornmeal over them. The cornmeal makes the clams slightly sweeter and cleans the grit out of them. We usually let them set overnight to purge. If you lead them longer , you might want to change the water. Never use a strainer to remove them from the water. Pick them out with your hands and you’ll see the clam grit and stomach debris that stays behind.

  2. This is the perfect summer pasta dish and it looks gorgeous, pinned!

  3. What a delicious looking summer pasta dish, Thao! And that addition of wine sauce sounds incredible! YUM!

  4. I have never been able to make the leap to clams. oysters or mussels. Still, I have an appreciation for the flavor they add to dishes. Your pasta dish looks wonderful.

    Velva

  5. Omg, this is too funny! I have to show this post to my hubby – I think you you both have something in common. He was a bio major in undergrad and went on to epidemiology and food safety – you can imagine what our dinners are like 😉 In any event, I LOVE clams, oysters, all those sorts. But hubs only refers to them as bivalves and/or filter feeders. That's ok, that means more for me because this dish looks and sounds divine! Just look at those colors! So beautiful! I wish I could lick the screen!

  6. That white wine sauce sounds so dreamy Thao!! It's soon going to be dinner time and this pasta is making me hungry already!

  7. This looks like my kind of dinner!! I am getting hungry just looking at this!

  8. Thank you, Liz. I'm glad to hear that Bill and I see eye to eye. I guess the bright side of his dislike of bivalves means that there is more for you to enjoy! Sometimes it is best not to think about what you are eating…like hot dogs. I easily got over the hot dog thing, but can't manage to get over the clams/mussels/oysters thing. 🙁

  9. Thank you Katalina, and thanks for the pin!

  10. Thank you, Anu. I do eat my fair share of chopped clams in summertime.

  11. I know what you mean, Velva. Even though I don't eat them whole, I love using them (with shells on) in dishes for presentation. I think they make everything look fancy and sophisticated.

  12. Thank you, Ami. I'm glad the pasta dish worked up your appetite!

  13. I'm so glad that this is your kind of thing, Cathleen!

  14. Oh wow! How funny! I think your husband and I can get along. With his background and job, I imagine your dinners with the hubby can get pretty interesting! 🙂

    I am a pain about expiration dates and shelf life (ask my husband). I make everyone write the date on everything after they open it if it needs to be refrigerated. And things need to immediately be thrown out if they are past expiration date. I'm thrilled that you like this dish. But if you are going to lick the screen, your husband and I would agree that you should wipe it with sanitizing wipes first. (haa haa!)

  15. Yup, these clams could be hard to work with, and once I totally screwed my dish because of them! So, I support you using the canned clams. With pasta, oil, garlic, parsley, and lemon, that's such a delicious meal! Good job, Thao!

  16. I've never been a huge fan of clams, but I think I would love this dish. All of the ingredients you have listed here sound incredible together!

  17. While I love clams, I have never tried the belly… and I'm not in a hurry to either! So we are totally in the same boat on that one! I am loving this dish, Thao! Clams and linguine in the silky, white wine butter sauce sounds so good! I LOVE that you added anchovies! I am a huuuuge fan of them and I bet it adds such a lovely note of flavor! Yum! This dish rocks, girlfriend! Light and delicious! Cheers! <3

  18. This looks amazing! I've never tried clams and pasta together, but it definitely sounds like a winning combination 😀

  19. My dad LOVES clams so I would totally make this for him! And I think that I would even LOVE clams after trying this 😉 Thanks for sharing! 😀

  20. Thanks, Ben. Having gritty sand in your mouth tends to ruin the dish. The canned stuff is perfect every time. 🙂

  21. Thanks, Sam. I am delighted that someones who does not like clam would eat this! 🙂

  22. Take your time on the clam bellies,Chey! You are not missing out. Stick to the anchovies!! Thanks always for your sweet words 🙂

  23. Thank you, Justine. And thank you for stopping by!

  24. Thank you, Kennedy! You are so sweet—I'm sure your dad would agree. 🙂

  25. I love clams and linguine with clams. Of course, wine makes everything better! I am fascinated by science, but totally don't understand most of it. I am fairly certain that I don't want to know any more about the biology of the food I eat! Thanks for NOT sharing that information! 🙂

  26. I agee—wine does make everything better! I'm glad to hear you like science too, Rachelle! And yes, getting into the anatomy of our food would not have been a good idea. Some things are definitely best kept to ourselves. 🙂

  27. I agree, the idea of the clams may not be tempting. But it is sooooo good.
    I am off to the South of Italy soon. And these kind of dishes are like heaven on earth over there .
    Thanks for sharing…This recipe is like a teaser for my holiday!! 🙂

  28. Haha! Sometimes knowledge is not good! This pasta dish looks terrific!

  29. This is such a gorgeous dish, Thao! In both presentation and flavor I'm sure! I haven't had a clam pasta in what feels like ages. I need to rectify that 🙂

  30. Hello Thao! This is so my kind of pasta! Simple with seafood and lovely fresh flavours. My husband is allergic so I'll just wait until he's out and make a big bowl of this all for me!!

  31. I'm glad I can help work up your appetite! Have fun and eat well on your Italy holiday! You must bet getting so excited! I'm looking forward to hearing the details.

  32. You are so right, Julie! Sometimes ignorance is bliss. 🙂

  33. Thank you so much, Dana! Yes, you really need to do something about that. I hope you'll get yourself some clams and pasta soon! 🙂

  34. Simple and fresh will never fail you, in my opinion. I'm sorry your husband is allergic, but I'm glad that you would enjoy this, Helen.

  35. Love the looks of this fresh, simple pasta dish! Looks delicious, Thao!

  36. I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog today. This looks delicious! So simple and fresh.

  37. OH. MY. GOD. This pasta is so so gorgeous and vibrant and full of flavors and so yum! There is so much to love bout this simple yet exotic pasta dish! Lovely share, Thao! 🙂

  38. Thank you so much, Dani! I'm glad you stopped by.

  39. Thank you, Anu! I'm so pleased that you like this dish! I like that it is not a heavy tasting pasta, and the tomatoes lightens it up even more.

  40. Oh my this looks and sounds delicious. It is nice to know you actually prefer the canned clams. That makes things a lot easier!

  41. This sounds so incredibly delicious! Love the anchovy paste in there, such a powerful and great ingredient.

  42. Thank you, Carlee. I was kind of surprised that I preferred the canned ones myself!

  43. Thank you, Nicole. Anchovies are such a wonderful secret ingredient.

  44. This pasta looks amazing, Thao! I love how simple and fresh it is and the colors are just beautiful!

  45. I love clams in pasta! Your recipe looks so good!!

  46. I used to make a linguini in clam sauce recipe that we loved. Problem was it had two whole sticks of butter (and my husband and I could polish it off alone). I have missed it and will have to give this much healthier version a try!

  47. Oh Yum! Please make it one more time for me, Inger! That clam sauce sounds like a once in a blue moon indulgence I'm missing out on. With all that butter, it's got to be spectacular.

  48. What a fantastic dish with such flavor. Hope you are having a great day and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

  49. Debora says:

    flavor good but ended up with a lot of sauce. Not sure if the answer is more pasta or cooking longer?

    1. Hi Debora. Yes, if you feel that there is too much sauce, add a little more of the pasta. Cooking the pasta longer will just make it softer. I think adding more pasta is a better option. The other alternative is to serve the dish with some crusty bread to sop up the extra sauce 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

7 + one =

You may also like...