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Vintage-style plate of linguine with chopped clams in a buttery garlic-herb sauce, served with lemon wedges and bread.

Linguini with White Clam Sauce

Garlic should turn fragrant, never brown, before the clam liquid enters the pan. The finished linguine is lightly coated and briny, with just enough buttery sauce to demand a piece of bread.

By Betty Lou Gardner35 minUpdated 2026-08-25

This Linguine with White Clam Sauce is a classic Italian favorite that pairs tender clams with a light, buttery garlic sauce and plenty of fresh parsley! Simple ingredients come together quickly to create a flavorful pasta that's rich enough to feel special while still letting the delicate flavor of the clams shine through.

Betty Lou Gardner in a family archival photograph

Granny’s Kitchen Notes

From Betty Lou Gardner

I chop the parsley before I start anything else because it goes into the sauce at just the right moment. The garlic should smell good long before it starts turning brown. Save the best loaf of bread for this supper. The bowl is usually clean before the pasta plate is.

How to Make Linguine with White Clam Sauce

◆
Linguine cooking in a pot beside drained pasta and a cup of reserved pasta water in a vintage kitchen.
01

Cook the Linguine

Boil the pasta until just shy of al dente and reserve pasta water before draining.

Minced garlic cooking gently in melted butter and olive oil in a wide skillet.
02

Build the Garlic Butter Sauce

Melt butter and olive oil together and cook the garlic gently until fragrant and just beginning to turn golden.

Reserved clam liquid simmering with garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes in a wide skillet.
03

Add Clam Juice and Herbs

Simmer reserved clam liquid with oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and part of the parsley.

Chopped canned clams warming gently in the buttery garlic-herb sauce.
04

Finish with Clams

Add the clams and warm them only briefly so they stay tender.

Linguine tossed with chopped clams and a glossy garlic-herb sauce in a wide skillet.
05

Toss and Serve

Finish the linguine in the sauce with pasta water until glossy, then add the remaining parsley and serve immediately.

Vintage-style plate of linguine with chopped clams in a buttery garlic-herb sauce, served with lemon wedges and bread.

Linguini with White Clam Sauce

Garlic should turn fragrant, never brown, before the clam liquid enters the pan. The finished linguine is lightly coated and briny, with just enough buttery sauce to demand a piece of bread.

By Betty Lou Gardner

Prep10 minCook25 minTotal35 minDifficultyEasy
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Ingredients

Scale

Scaling note: Scaling is withheld until recipe-specific quantities, method safety, and instruction synchronization are verified.

Garnish

Instructions

  1. 16 oz linguine, salt
  2. ½ cup butter, ¼ cup olive oil, 4 garlic cloves
  3. ½ cup reserved clam liquid, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tbsp basil, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, ¼ cup parsley
  4. 3 cans clams

Nutrition (Approximate Per Serving)

Yield

6 servings — Serving size: About 1½ cups pasta

Some ingredients could not be modeled and may meaningfully change the totals. Treat these values as a rough estimate.

Calories
500
Carbohydrates
58 g
Protein
10.5 g
Fat
25.5 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
40 mg
Sodium
10 mg
Fiber
3 g
Total Sugars
2 g

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Betty Lou Gardner

Betty Lou Gardner

Betty Lou Gardner’s family recipes are preserved in Granny’s Recipe Box.

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