Pasta with Clams and White Wine Sauce

Want an easy, restaurant-quality pasta dinner in under 30 minutes? This Pasta with Clams and White Wine Sauce is rich and flavorful, and perfect for busy weeknight dinners and special occasion dinners alike.

If you love ordering Spaghetti alle Vongole, or pasta with clams and white wine sauce, at your favorite Italian restaurant, you will love how easy it is to make at home!

And, I dare say, it tastes even better when you make it at home from scratch.

🍝 A versatile, restaurant-quality pasta recipe

Also known as Spahetti alle Vongole, this pasta dish is similar to what you might find at your favorite Italian restaurant. I absolutely love making this restaurant quality pasta dish at home for so many reasons.

• To save time and money, this recipe calls for canned clams with their juices, instead of fresh clams in their shells. Canned clams are just as delicious, and the cans are shelf stable for a long time, so you can easily keep a can of clams in your pantry for a quick and easy dinner for super busy weeknights.
  
• Because canned clams are already cooked, you can make this dinner from start to finish in about 20 minutes. Definitely in 30 minutes or less.
  
• The sauce is super simple yet full of big yummy flavors.
  
• We all know you can save a LOT of money buy cooking at home instead of eating at restaurants. That holds true especially for seafood dishes like this one, which could easily run between $14 and $20 per plate at a restaurant. You can make four servings of this dish for around or under $10 total.

This seafood pasta recipe is SO quick and easy that I have even made this for a fast lunch while working from home. It really is THAT fast and simple to make!

🧄 Ingredient notes

Spaghetti - You can use spaghetti or any other long, thin noodle, such as linguine.

Clams - This recipe calls for canned clams in their juices. You can, of course, use fresh clams. If you do that, be sure to properly prep your clams and adjust the cooking times accordingly.

White wine - Use a dry white wine for the sauce, such as a Pinot Gris or a stainless steel (unoaked) Chardonnay. You can also substitute chicken broth if you don't want to cook with wine.

✅ Easy step-by-step instructions

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta cooks, make the sauce.

Add the oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the garlic has softened a bit and is fragrant.

Lower the heat the medium. After the heat has reduced, slowly pour in the white wine and cook for about 2 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half.

Stir in the clams in their juices and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the cooked pasta to the pot along with the butter, lemon juice, and half of the parsley.

Just before serving, drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top and garnish with remaining parsley.

🥘 Kitchen tools and equipment

For this recipe, you just need a few basic kitchen tools:

Large pot - You'll need a large pot to boil water and cook the pasta.

Large skillet- Use a large skillet to make the sauce and eventually to toss the pasta with the sauce.

❓Recipe FAQs

🥗 What to serve with spaghetti with clams and white wine sauce

I love serving this spaghetti with a big old salad and some crusty bread. It's great with Garlic Rosemary Foccacia or Garlic Parmesan Knots.

Then add a side of Air Fryer Broccoli, Mushroom Marsala, or Garlic Lemon Asparagus for healthy veggies.

Round the meal off with a yummy citrus-forward dessert, like these Mini Lime Tarts or Lemon Crinkle Cookies.

🥂 Best wine pairings for pasta with clams

Pair this pasta dish the way you would other seafood pasta dishes (like the photo above): with a crisp white wine. I love this spaghetti and clams dinner with a glass of unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, a dry Riesling, or an Albariño.

🍤 More seafood pasta recipes

If you adore seafood like I do, you'll love these other seafood pasta recipes as well! Try Tuna Pasta with Capers and White Wine Sauce, Crab and Corn Fettuccine, Shrimp Scampi Linguine or Seared Scallops with Pasta.