This recipe for Clam Linguine is easy and impressive for tonight’s dinner. Hot cooked noodles are topped with a creamy clam sauce.

This was one of a dozen recipe that my Mom used to make us over and over again for dinner. I’m sure she cut it out of a magazine somewhere, and she held onto that recipe ever since. I copied Mom’s recipe for clam linguine because I always liked when that’s what was on the table for dinner. It’s a good pasta recipe, and it’s very simple to make.

Table of Contents

Ingredients needed:

salted butter
garlic
fresh parsley
half and half cream
all purpose flour
canned chopped clams
freshly squeezed lemon juice
linguine noodles

How to make Clam Linguine:

The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter until softened, then use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic and discard. Stir in the parsley.

Carefully whisk in the flour. Add half and half, clams and clam juice, and a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until hot and thickened.

Serve the creamy clam sauce over fresh cooked linguine noodles to make clam linguine!

Toss the hot pasta a bit with the clam sauce, and then spoon individual servings onto plates. Enjoy!

Canned Clams vs. Fresh Clams:

This recipe is made with canned clams. There’s no need to use fresh clams unless you happen to live in a location where fresh clams are easy to find. I made clam linguine before when we were in New England one summer because the local market had shells clams in their seafood department ready to go! But back in Arizona where we live most of the time, fresh clams are hard to come by. This clam linguine recipe will be good made either way.

The Best Classic Pasta Recipes:

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5 from 1 vote

Clam Linguine

This linguine has always been a favorite at our house.

Recipe Details

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 12

Total Time: 27

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: clam, linguine

Servings: servings

Calories: 762kcal

Author: RecipeGirl.com

Ingredients

¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter
5 medium garlic cloves, smashed
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1½ teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half and half cream
Three 7-ounce cans chopped clams (use the juice of 2½ cans)
freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
One 16-ounce package linguine noodles, cooked according to package instructions

Instructions

In large saucepan, melt the butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter until softened, then use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic and discard. Stir in the parsley.
Carefully whisk in the flour. Add the half and half, clams + juice, and a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice.
Cook, stirring, over medium heat until hot and thickened.
Serve over fresh cooked linguine noodles.

Notes

To smash the garlic, just set the garlic cloves on a cutting board and smash with the side of a large knife. If you like more garlic flavor, mince a couple of large cloves to keep in the sauce (and then you don't have to remove anything).
I've used fat-free half and half in this recipe with good results.
By all means, use fresh chopped clams if you have easy access to them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 762kcal, Carbohydrates: 96g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 105mg, Sodium: 1162mg, Potassium: 453mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1410IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 169mg, Iron: 5mg