Spaghetti alle Vongole
Clams in their own briny liquor, white wine, garlic, chilli, parsley.
Ingredients
- 400 g Spaghetti
- 1000 g Clams
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 150 ml White wine
- 60 ml Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp Parsley
- 40 g Salt
- ½ tsp Red pepper flakes (optional)
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Soak the clams in cold salted water 15 minutes, then scrub and drain.
- Slice the garlic thin. Chop the parsley.
- Warm the oil with garlic and chilli in a wide skillet over medium until pale gold.
- Add the clams and wine. Cover and steam until the shells open, 3–4 minutes.
- Lift the clams out. Discard any that stayed shut. Reserve the briny pan liquor.
- Drop the spaghetti and cook one minute shy of al dente (firm to the bite).
- Reserve a mugful of pasta water, then drain the spaghetti.
- Tip the spaghetti into the skillet with the clam liquor. Finish cooking in it for 2 minutes.
- Return the clams to the pan with the parsley and toss off heat until glossy.
- Plate at once — no cheese.
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About Spaghetti alle Vongole
Spaghetti alle vongole is a Neapolitan classic and one of the purest expressions of Italian seafood cooking — clams, garlic, chili, white wine, and parsley, with the pasta finished in the clams' own briny liquor. There's no cream and no cheese here; the sauce is nothing more than the salty juice the clams release when they steam open, emulsified with olive oil into a light, glossy coating. That clam liquor is the whole dish, which is why it's carefully reserved after the shells open and the pasta is cooked through in it rather than in plain water.
The result tastes of the sea — briny, garlicky, with a whisper of chili heat and the freshness of parsley — over spaghetti that carries a faint saline richness in every strand. Finishing the pasta two minutes shy of al dente and letting it drink up the clam liquor in the skillet is the technique that ties sauce and noodle together into one thing. It's traditionally served bianco, without tomato, as a first course or a light main, ideally with a glass of the same crisp white that went into the pan. Serve it the moment the clams and pasta come together, while everything is hot and the sauce still clings.
Spaghetti alle Vongole: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Spaghetti alle Vongole?
A serving has about 750 calories — 50.4g protein, 86.8g carbs, 17.9g fat, 3.6g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 50.4g of protein, roughly 27% of its calories.
Is Spaghetti alle Vongole gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Spaghetti. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
How long does Spaghetti alle Vongole take to make?
About 25 minutes start to finish, but only around 10 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Spaghetti alle Vongole?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out red pepper flakes — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Spaghetti alle Vongole make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.