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Tender, canned clams are combined with delicious carbonara sauce in this simple, yet amazingly delicious Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce that’s perfect for any night of the week!

Yes. I said canned clams. You should trust me on this one. Because I’m picky. You didn’t know that I’m a picky eater? Or at least I was a picky eater. There are a few things I still don’t eat. But canned clams are no longer one of those things.

Why should I cook with canned clams?

First and foremost, the convenience of canned clams tops all the reasons. I mean, I can’t imagine shucking some oysters just to make this recipe. For a good hot pot or a New England boiled dinner, yes. This dish? No. Just not worth the effort.

There’s a range of clam products out there for you to choose from. You can select whole, baby, chopped, and even smoked or clam juice. For this recipe, I used Bar Harbor chopped clams. They’re the best canned clams I’ve eaten. They are tender and delicious. I’ve never had a chewy batch in all the cans I’ve eaten. They truly are perfectly tender for this linguine with carbonara clam sauce.

Did I mention that they’re already cooked? Yes. The clams are cooked in the canning process. This ensures that the clams are safe to eat but it also prevents them from getting overcooked. Since they’re cooked in the canning process there’s no need to pre-cook them before canning. You just need to heat and eat these tender clams.

What is carbonara?

Carbonara is a sauce made with a hard cheese, usually Romano or Parmigiano, eggs, pork, and pepper. The traditional recipe does not call for cream. Then again, the traditional recipe for alfredo doesn’t call for cream either. Just sayin.

As with most peasant style Italian recipes, the origination is not easy to trace. This simple sauce recipe might come from the Lazio region of Italy. For me, that’s like the knee region of the leg that is Italy. However, the name carbonara doesn’t appear anywhere in print until the 1950s. But some Italians claim they were calling it carbonara before World War II.

Typically, the pasta gets cooked, and the pork gets fried. The eggs and cheese combine with black pepper. When the pasta is al dente, it gets tossed in a serving bowl with the egg and cheese mixture. This cooks the eggs without risk of curdling them. To make the sauce creamy spoonfuls of pasta water are added. The starch in the water along with the fats in the cheese and egg make a silky, smooth sauce that is rich and delicious.

I’ve made carbonara quite a few times. For me, the trick is to be quick. Once the eggs and cheese are introduced to the pasta you must toss it quickly. If you’re adding pasta water, toss the pasta quickly after each addition. I usually use anywhere from a quarter to a half of a cup of pasta water.

That’s why you shouldn’t throw it out! It makes the sauce so deliciously rich. And it helps the sauce stick to the pasta! The starch in the water is an amazing thing. Especially in carbonara.

Traditional recipes for carbonara have no cream in them. However, to ensure you get that creamy and rich sauce for your pasta, I’ve included cream in my recipe. To make carbonara or alfredo without cream is a skill that requires lots of practice. If you add the cream, you don’t really need to practice. You will have a nice, creamy sauce.

What does Linguine with Carbonara Clam sauce taste like?

Clammy! Not only are there clams in the sauce, but the pasta is cooked in clam juice and water. I know it sounds weird, but make sure to cook the pasta with clam juice. It adds a layer of flavor in the pasta that really heightens the clam flavor. Plus, if you use the pasta water to make the sauce creamy it will add more clam flavor there, too.

The garlic has a light flavor. Starting the aromatics in a cold pan allows them to soften and not brown too much. When garlic browns it tends to be bitter. Which is not a flavor you want with the sweet clams and salty Parmesan cheese in this Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce.

Linguine is the perfect pasta for carbonara. It has a large surface area which cooks the eggs quickly without curdling them. If you don’t have linguine, then use fettucine or spaghetti. I wouldn’t use angel hair or capellini. Those don’t have a large surface area and the sauce might not come out right. I know, because I’ve done that. I wound up having to use way more pasta water than anticipated.

Yes, you can use a short pasta. That would be fun. Maybe the next recipe I make will use penne or rigatoni. I have made a ravioli carbonara. That recipe was fun and delicious. And one of the first recipes for carbonara I made. So, don’t just me by the photos. They were horrible back then.

Just look at that bowl! I mean, seriously. Look at the bowl. I miss it. It was one of my favorite prop bowls, but alas it was broken into a hundred pieces when it fell out of the cabinet. I was heartbroken. I’m still trying to find an equal replacement, but I haven’t yet. At least not one that costs a small fortune. Maybe I’ll try to make one.

Okay, those orange bits are part of the clam. Don’t freak out and think I added carrots or something. They happened to have some orange bits in the can. They’re perfectly normal! Don’t freak out. And they taste perfect tender and delicious like all the other clams in the can.

You can see the shimmer on the linguine. That’s the creamy carbonara sauce. You can see the flecks of fresh black pepper in this Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce. Use as much or as little as you want. We like ours a little peppery, so I used quite a bit. I think it’s a huge difference when it’s freshly ground as opposed to pre-ground. So, use freshly ground if you can.

Satisfying Seafood Recipes

• Fried Fish Fillets from That Recipe
• Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips from Jen Around the World
• Linguine with Carbonara Clam Sauce from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Salmon with Fusilli and Pesto from Palatable Pastime
• Skillet Shrimp Scampi from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Smoked Salmon Quiche from Art of Natural Living

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