Seafood Pasta Aglio e Olio (Print Version)

Italian pasta with shrimp, clams, garlic oil, chili flakes, lemon, and parsley for a flavorful taste.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 9 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
02 - 1 lb fresh clams, scrubbed and rinsed

→ Pasta

03 - 14 oz spaghetti

→ Aromatics & Flavorings

04 - 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
05 - 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
06 - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, to taste
07 - 1/2 cup dry white wine
08 - 1 lemon, zested and juiced
09 - 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

11 - Additional chopped parsley
12 - Lemon wedges

# How-To Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente, following package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and chili flakes; sauté about 1 minute until garlic is golden and aromatic without burning.
03 - Add shrimp to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes until just pink. Remove shrimp and set aside.
04 - Add clams and white wine to the skillet. Cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until clams open. Discard any unopened clams.
05 - Return shrimp to the skillet, add drained pasta, lemon zest, lemon juice, and most parsley. Toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed to create a silky sauce.
06 - Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with additional parsley and lemon wedges if desired.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It comes together in under 40 minutes, making it perfect for weeknight dinners when you want something that tastes like you spent hours cooking.
  • The briny sweetness of fresh clams and shrimp paired with golden garlic oil creates layers of flavor that feel elegant without demanding complicated techniques.
  • You get to taste the ocean in every bite, a simple reminder of why Mediterranean cooking feels so complete.
02 -
  • The moment a clam's shell opens is when you know it's ready—any that stay clamped shut are telling you they're not alive, so skip them without guilt.
  • Don't walk away from that garlic sizzling in oil; the difference between golden and burnt happens in thirty seconds, and burnt garlic ruins everything.
  • Pasta water is precious here—it's not just a thickener, it's what transforms a dish of separate ingredients into something that feels unified and creamy.
03 -
  • The quality of your olive oil matters more in this dish than almost any other, so this is the moment to invest in something you genuinely love.
  • Have everything prepped and ready before you start cooking—sliced garlic, deveined shrimp, cleaned clams—because once you're moving, there's no time to catch up.
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