Celery Free Spaghetti alle Vongole
Few pasta dishes hit as hard as this Italian coastal classic — briny clams, silky olive oil, white wine, and a kick of red pepper flakes all tangled up in perfectly cooked spaghetti. The sauce isn't really a sauce at all; it builds itself from the clam liquor, wine, and a splash of starchy pasta water, coating every strand in something deeply savory and oceanic. Garlic sliced thin and coaxed slowly in olive oil gives the base a mellow sweetness that balances the heat from the pepper flakes beautifully. The whole dish comes together in one skillet, which means less cleanup and more time at the table. For anyone navigating a celery-free lifestyle, this recipe is a natural fit — the ingredient list is clean and focused, with no hidden aromatics or mirepoix-style additions that could sneak celery into the mix. A squeeze of lemon at the end brightens everything and makes the clams taste even more like the sea. This is the kind of weeknight dinner that feels like a special occasion without asking much of you at all.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 2 lb littleneck clams (about 24 clams), scrubbed
- 1 lb spaghetti
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup dry white wine (such as pinot grigio or vermentino)
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- salt
For serving
- lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the scrubbed clams in a large bowl of cold salted water and let them soak for 30 minutes to purge any sand. Drain and rinse well.
- 2
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until 2 minutes shy of al dente — the pasta should still have a firm, chalky center. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the spaghetti.
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