Dairy Free Spaghetti alle Vongole
Few pasta dishes hit as hard as this coastal Italian classic — briny clams, garlicky white wine sauce, and perfectly cooked spaghetti all coming together in one stunning pan. The beauty here is that the dish is naturally built around olive oil rather than butter or cream, so the silky, glossy sauce you see pooling at the bottom of the pan comes entirely from the clam liquor, pasta water, and a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil. No swaps needed, no dairy to work around — it's just the dish as it was always meant to be made. The technique of finishing the spaghetti directly in the skillet with the cooking liquid is what makes the sauce cling to every strand instead of sliding off. A hit of red pepper flakes and six cloves of thinly sliced garlic give the broth real backbone, while a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley brightens everything at the end. Squeeze a lemon wedge over the top before serving and you've got a plate that tastes like a seaside trattoria without leaving your kitchen.
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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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