Spaghetti Alle Vongole Spaghetti With Clams

Published Apr 13, 2020 Updated Oct 24, 2024

Spaghetti Alle Vongole Recipe

What is spaghetti alle vongole? If you have been to Italy or dine out at authentic Italian restaurants, it’s very likely that you have tried or seen this iconic Italian pasta dish. Vongole means clams in Italian, so it literally means spaghetti with clams. The pasta of choice is spaghetti and the fresh clams are cooked with olive oil, butter, garlic, white wine and Italian parsley. This Italian clam pasta is one of my favorite pasta recipes. It’s absolutely delicious, bursting with the natural briny sweetness of fresh clams, with the garlic, butter, wine and herb sauce. For more seafood pasta recipes, check out my Shrimp and Spinach Pasta!

Recipe Ingredients

I love clams and this recipe calls for all my favorite ingredients below:

Extra-virgin olive oil. Unsalted butter. Garlic. Clams. You can use fresh Manila clams or little neck clams.

White wine. Italian parsley.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.

How To Make Spaghetti Alle Vongole

Eating out at Italian restaurants, this clam spaghetti could be $20 and above per serving. However, this pasta dish is actually very easy to make at home and homemade spaghetti with clams cost you less than $5 per serving. To make the pasta, first, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Save some pasta water for cooking. Next, heat up a skillet with olive oil and butter, saute the clams and add white wine and pasta water. Add the spaghetti into the clam sauce, stir to combine well and serve immediately.

Cooking Tips On The Best Spaghetti With Clams

To make the best and authentic spaghetti alle vongole just like how it’s served in Italy, here are my cooking tips:

Do not overcook the spaghetti pasta. Each strand of the pasta noodle should have a firm bite in the center. The pasta will be added to the sauce so they will be cooked twice. The texture should be al dente when it’s served. Do not overcook the clams. As soon as the clam shells are open, they are cooked. If the clam shells don’t open at the same time, pick them out as soon as they are open. When they are all cooked, return them back into the skillet before adding the pasta. Discard any clams that are not open as they are probably stale or dead, and might have a foul smell. Use a fruity white wine to make the clam sauce. If you can’t take alcohol, you may skip it and use water or chicken broth.

What To Serve With Spaghetti Alle Vongole

Serve this clam pasta with your favorite glass of white wine. For a restaurant-style Italian meal at home, I recommend the following recipes. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.