Linguine with canned clams is a wonderful dish to make when you’re craving clam sauce but don’t want to run to the store to buy fresh clams. Topped with homemade toasty breadcrumbs, this pasta is budget-friendly and takes about 30 minutes making it a perfect weeknight meal!
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There are so many times I crave linguine with clam sauce, and often they’re late at night!
For this reason, I always keep some canned clams in my pantry so I can easily toss together this super simple linguine with canned clams.
It’s similar in taste to the classic linguine alle vongole, but easier and more budget-friendly.
I love to top mine with homemade seasoned breadcrumbs which add wonderful texture and depth of flavor.
Bookmark this recipe because you’ll want to make this time and time again!
How to make the seasoned breadcrumbs (optional)
- Mince 1/2 clove of garlic and 3 tablespoons of Italian flat-leaf parsley. Pulse 5 slices of day-old bread in a food processor (or just use 1 cup of store-bought plain breadcrumbs) along with the garlic, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat a large pan to medium and add the breadcrumb ingredients to it.
- Stir frequently and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Set aside and serve with the pasta at the end.
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How to make linguine with canned clams
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Slice 7 cloves of garlic and mince 1/4 cup of flat-leaf Italian parsley. Cube 2 tablespoons of unsalted cold butter.
- Using 3 10-ounce cans of baby clams, separate the clams from their juice and reserve both. Note: You could certainly get by with 2 cans, but use 3 if you like a lot of clams!
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat a large pan to medium-low and add 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the garlic, and 5 tinned anchovy fillets.
- Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the garlic is golden and the anchovies have dissolved. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. At this point, add 1 pound of linguine to the salted boiling water and cook until 1 minute less than al dente.
- Add a 1/2 cup of dry white wine and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the wine reduces by about half.
- Add the reserved clam juice and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Add the baby clams to the pan and mix well. Simmer the sauce while waiting for the pasta.
- Add the linguine to the pan and mix with tongs or toss to emulsify the sauce.
- Cook the pasta with the sauce for 1 minute or until the pasta reaches al dente. If more sauce is needed, add a few ounces of reserved pasta water at a time until there is enough sauce. Note: I love it on the saucier side, but adjust it according to taste.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter and parsley. Mix well, then give it a taste test adjusting salt and pepper if needed. Serve in bowls with the optional seasoned breadcrumbs from above on the side. Enjoy!
Top tips
- Canned clams. Canned seafood is wonderful to keep on hand in your pantry. I typically keep several cans of baby clams, clam juice, sardines, oiled-packed tuna, and anchovies on hand for when I want to make a simple meal, like tuna pasta. I had enough clam juice from just the canned clams and didn’t need to open a can of clam juice, but if you want more you can certainly add it. I do prefer to use pasta water to make up the difference.
- Salt level. Clams and anchovies are pretty salty, as is the salted pasta water. For this reason, I did not need to add any additional salt to the recipe, besides the salt added to the breadcrumbs, but be sure to taste test and adjust to the salt level you prefer.
- Save your pasta water! As mentioned above and in most of my pasta recipes, it’s important to reserve your pasta water to help reconstitute the sauce. Never toss the pasta water until you’re done eating!
- The breadcrumbs. While the breadcrumbs are optional, I highly recommend using them! They bring wonderful texture and flavor to the canned clams with linguine!
More seafood recipes
Here are a few more of our favorite recipes using the fruits of the sea!
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Linguine with Canned Clams
Linguine with white clam sauce made from canned clams, garlic, and parsley and topped with homemade toasted garlic breadcrumbs.
Ingredients
For the seasoned breadcrumbs (optional)
- 5 slices day old bread (crust removed) or 1 cup store-bought plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons (45g) olive oil
- 1/2 clove garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
For the canned clam sauce
- 1 pound (454g) linguine
- 5 tablespoons (75g) extra virgin olive oil
- 7 cloves garlic sliced
- 5 anchovy fillets
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup (120g) dry white wine
- 3 10-ounce cans baby clams see notes below
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter cubed
- 2 cups (480g) reserved pasta water might not need all of it
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Instructions
For the seasoned breadcrumbs
- Pulse 5 slices of day-old bread in a food processor along with the garlic, parsley, salt, and olive oil.
- Heat a large pan to medium and add all of the breadcrumb ingredients to the pan. Stir frequently and cook until the breadcrumbs turn golden (about 5-7 minutes).
For the canned clam sauce
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Separate the canned baby clams from their juice, reserving both.
- Heat a large pan to medium-low heat and add the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and anchovies. Cook until the garlic is golden and the anchovies dissolve (about 3 minutes).
- Meanwhile, begin cooking the linguine until 1 minute less than al dente.
- Add the hot red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the white wine and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook the wine for 2-3 minutes or until it slightly reduces then add all of the reserved clam juice.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the baby clams to the pan. Mix well.
- Add the linguine to the pan. Toss or mix with tongs to emulsify the sauce. Cook the pasta with the sauce for 1 minute or until the pasta just reaches al dente. If more sauce is needed, add a couple of ounces of reserved pasta water at a time. The pasta should have plenty of sauce, so add enough pasta water.
- Turn the heat off and add the butter and parsley. Mix well then taste test. Adjust salt and pepper levels if required. Serve in bowls along with the seasoned breadcrumbs on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- Three 10-ounce cans of baby clams will leave you with approximately 18 ounces of clam juice. If needed, use extra store-bought clam juice or more pasta water to make up the difference.
- No extra salt was added to the clam sauce due to the inherent saltiness of the clams, anchovies, and pasta water. Adjust according to taste right before serving.
- The extra reserved pasta water can loosen up the sauce if it dries out while waiting for guests to be seated. Use a few ounces at a time.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 706kcal | Carbohydrates: 86.3g | Protein: 31.9g | Fat: 27.6g | Saturated Fat: 6.8g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 625mg | Potassium: 632mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 22mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I would love to try this recipe, but I do not like anchovies. Is there something I can use in place of them?
Hi Annette, you can omit the anchovies and it will still be great.
My husband and I love this linguini with canned clams. Best we’ve ever had. I made one little change because I had no white wine so I used Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider (I will continue to use it since it worked so well). I’ve already made it several times and it has now become our Christmas Eve dinner. So happy I found Sip & Feast with your delicious recipes and videos. I enjoy your family too.
We’re so happy to hear that, Kathy!
Delicious 😋
Cozy, crusty bread with garlic and butter.
Loved it!
Outstanding! Honestly I’ve tried so many “4 star” recipes for clam sauce… it’s your great palette that added anchovies and balanced all the ingredients together.
This being New Year’s Eve , I’m making fresh pasta to honor this epic “ Sugo Vongole “
Bravo!!!
Made this tonight and it was a hit! I only had 2 cans of chopped clams so I added one pound of shrimp that I cooked before making the the sauce, 12 ounces of linguine and added sliced Spanish green olives with clams.
One of the best clam sauce pasta recipe! Thank you so much for the fantastic explanation of how to make this dish! Can’t wait to do it! God bless
This is such a delicious recipe, and easy to make. I’ve made it multiple times- came back for the recipe again today because my 23 year old son is visiting and this is one of his favorite meals. I can’t wait for dinner to arrive!! (The breadcrumbs are a must, in my opinion.)
So glad you enjoyed, Tonya!
I needed a quick Sunday family meal with all the Christmas happenings, so the pasta with clam sauce was this Sunday dinner pick. Served it with roasted asparagus. Everyone lapped it up. It had a nice flavor profile and I like the facts that the ingredients can be at the ready right from the pantry.
I already received my copies of Sip & Feast cookbook via Porchlight, so thank u Tara.
Family is still talking about previous Sunday’s short rib ragu, so anyone looking for a knockout dinner you gotta give it a try.
We’re glad Porchlight worked out for you, Marilyn, and so happy you enjoyed this recipe and the ragu!
Great flavor! I’m guilty of some substitutions…
1) Instead of wine I used 1/2 cup of clam juice and the juice of one small lemon.
2) instead of anchovies I used three dashes of fish sauce.
I also nearly doubled the butter, which I added before pasta and clams to check emulsification, added about 1/3 – 1/2 c of pasta water to help thicken the sauce and used a full bunch of chopped parsley.
Glad you enjoyed, Tom!
Hi
I will try this, but I have ( becel olive oil) margarine
Can I substitute instead if butter.
If so, 2 tbsp. Margarine also ?
At the end you added some oil ?
Looks delicious, I will try it amd update you.
Thanks
Hi Teresa, you can just use olive oil. We wouldn’t recommend using a butter substitute.
Any chance I can make this the day before serving? Will be one of several dishes for Christmas Eve and I’m trying to prep as much as possible. Thank you!
You can have all the ingredients prepped ahead of time, but this particular dish isn’t one we’d recommend making a day in advance. It will be better made the day of.
Very good pantry staple recipe. Tasty, nice pasta texture, I made it exactly as written. I did not need any of the pasta water as the wine and reserved clam juice made the sauce wet enough. The sauce did not emulsify as described, but perhaps my stove is not set as hot as the chef’s. So, the sauce was thinner than expected, but still tasted very good.
I enjoyed the video as the intrusions were minimal.
Pasta water will help thicken the sauce because of the released starches. Next time try adding about 1/3cup even if the sauce seems wet enough.
This is the recipe that my son first decided we should try. We use this recipe at least every other month. Living in the great NW (and not on the west coast) we don’t often get good live clams so make do with canned clams. We adore this recipe. On another note, UPS delivered your cookbook to us on Saturday and we have read it cover to cover. It is awesome. There are so many recipes we are going to try. We will be keeping it close to the kitchen and it will probably get greasy and icky, but the recipes are more than worth that. I have tossed many cookbooks that didn’t live up to what we needed, but yours will be cherished for a long time. Love the comments and the notes that are very helpful. Recipes are easy to follow and most use items we can actually get. Thank you for an excellent book. Merry Christmas!
We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and thanks so much for buying the book! Wishing you a Merry Christmas!
For being such a classic dish, has never been on my radar! So yummy, easy, buttery, and garlicky! A permanent fixture to my cupboard!