Linguine with Clam Sauce: 20-Minute Meal

This Linguine with Clam Sauce is a quick, easy dinner recipe that's perfect for busy evenings -- and it's ready in just 20 minutes! With simple ingredients liked chopped canned clams, white wine, olive oil, butter, garlic, and parsley, it's a flavorful and affordable, restaurant-quality dish. Serve each bowl of pasta with a loaf of crusty bread and a green salad for the ultimate weeknight meal!

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

As opposed to a tomato-based red clam sauce, this linguine with clam sauce recipe features a white sauce made from white wine, butter, olive oil, clam juice, and plenty of garlic (no tomatoes in the mix!). It's an easy meal that takes advantage of convenient canned clams, so there's hardly any prep work necessary. You don't have to fuss with the shells, and you can keep the ingredients stashed in your pantry. It's such a great way to get a delicious dinner on the table quickly -- even on your busiest nights!

This pasta dish is also a nice way to introduce children to shellfish and seafood. The chopped clams are very small and almost undetectable amidst the buttery garlic sauce. It's even easy to serve the noodles without any of the clams on the plate, so your kids really just think they're eating plain pasta in a flavorful sauce. It doesn't have a fishy, overpowering clam taste, but instead tastes like grown-up buttered noodles. Top each bowl with some Parmesan cheese, parsley, lemon wedges, or crushed red pepper flakes and everyone will love it!

Ingredients

• Linguine: a close relative of fettuccine, this pasta includes long, flat strands, but is thinner and narrower than fettuccine. Linguine, which means “little tongues” in Italian, originated in the Liguria region of Italy. Throughout this area, the air is fragrant with salty ocean breezes and the aroma of delicious food cooking. It's a natural companion for clam sauce, but you can substitute with another pasta shape of your choice. Good options also include spaghetti, fettuccine, or angel hair.
• Clams: use two cans of chopped clams for a quick and easy protein option. Make sure that you reserve the juice that the clams are packed in, since this is the flavorful foundation for your white clam sauce.
• White wine: pick a dry white wine that's a good quality for drinking, such as Sauvignon Blanc, pinot grigio, or Chardonnay. For an alcohol-free substitute, use chicken broth or extra clam juice instead.
• Onion and garlic: for savory flavor.
• Worcestershire sauce: adds salty umami flavor.
• Parsley: fresh is best for a bright touch of flavor and color.

How to Make Linguine with Clam Sauce

It’s funny where recipe ideas come from. This particular dinner was inspired by my obstetrician, who suggested the dish as a great way to enjoy clams, which happen to be a rich source of iron. Who knew?! I have always liked clams (typically of the fried variety), but they don’t exactly make it onto my weekly grocery list. Until now! This dinner turned out to be a winner with the entire family – it’s fast, it requires only a few ingredients, and it’s delicious!

1. Cook the linguine just until barely al dente, then drain.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil and butter until the onion starts to soften, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the reserved canned clam juice, white wine, and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the flame and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the cooked linguine, chopped clams, and parsley. Toss to combine.
6. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste.
7. Cook for about 5 more minutes.
8. Serve the pasta and garnish with desired toppings.

What to Serve with Linguine with Clams in White Wine Sauce

Here are some easy sides that go well with linguine and white clam sauce:

• Garlic bread, homemade focaccia, breadsticks, or a crusty loaf of no-knead Dutch oven bread
• Green salad with red wine vinaigrette or a classic Caesar salad
• Parmesan roasted cauliflower
• Roasted broccoli or asparagus
• Parmesan roasted yellow squash
• Sauteed asparagus
• Roasted root vegetables
• 2-ingredient Italian sugar snap peas
• Oven roasted Brussels sprouts
• Brown sugar glazed carrots
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
• Fennel salad with apples and creamy cider dressing

Storage

Leftover linguine with clam sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat, just until warmed through. You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave for about 1 minute.

I do not recommend freezing this dish. The pasta will have a mushy, gummy texture when thawed.

Recipe Variations

• Possible substitutions for the linguine include fettuccine, spaghetti, or angel hair pasta.
• For an alcohol-free dish, use extra clam juice or chicken broth instead of the white wine.
• Double all of the ingredients if you're serving a larger family.

Tips for the Best Linguine with Clam Sauce Recipe

• Don't forget to reserve the clam juice from the canned clams -- don't pour it down the drain! This is a critical ingredient for the white clam sauce.
• Boil the pasta in a large pot of well-salted water. This is your opportunity to season the linguine itself.
• Cook the pasta just until it's barely al dente -- tender, but with a firm bite. The linguine will continue to cook in the sauce for a few more minutes, so you don't want it to be overdone, mushy, or gummy.
• Use a dry white wine (not a sweet wine) that's a good quality for drinking, such as sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or chardonnay.
• With just a few simple ingredients, it's important to use high-quality options. I prefer fresh parsley and fresh garlic cloves, rather than dried parsley flakes or garlic powder.
• Garnish each serving with grated Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil, fresh lemon wedges or lemon juice, or spicy red-pepper flakes for extra flavor.

More Pasta Recipes to Try

• Easy Spaghetti Carbonara (in just 20 minutes)
• Penne alla Vodka
• Shells and Cheese
• White Cheddar, Broccoli, and Bacon Pasta Bake
• Pesto Tortellini with Pancetta and Broccoli
• Baked Ziti with Sausage
• Salmon Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce
• Cajun Shrimp Pasta
• Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

This recipe was originally published in September, 2013. The photos were updated in January, 2022.