How to Make the Best Steamed Clams

Small, sweet clams are simply steamed in butter, garlic, white wine, and cream to create the best sauce for crusty bread dipping.

Two byproducts of my time at Market Street Grill are: 1) I met my husband, and 2) We adopted several of their recipes that have now become our own.

Our renditions of their famous clam chowder and their stuffed pasilla peppers will always be faves at our house. But these garlic butter steamed clams…oh, these clams.

Clams are one of my favorite types of shellfish, and these simple steamed clams are some of my favorite ways to enjoy these briny bivalves. 

Sometimes I love serving these up over linguine or fettuccine, but however you serve these clams, crusty slices of sourdough bread are a must! The cooking liquid is loaded with so many great flavors thanks to the savory chicken broth, white wine, lemon, and garlic, and of course the salty clams themselves.

What’s in This Recipe?

The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.

• Butter — Salted or unsalted may be used.
• Garlic — You need a whopping ¼ cup of minced garlic; take the time to mince fresh cloves for the best flavor.
• Green onion — Roughly chop both the white and green sections for maximum flavor.
• Small clams or cockles — Cockles are a bivalve cousin to the clam and can be tricky to find, so if you can’t find any opt for the smallest clams on offer.
• White wine — Ideally a dry white wine (nothing fancy, but one you’d drink).
• Chicken bouillon cubes — Or use actual chicken broth.
• Lemon juice — Adds brightness and acidity.
• Heavy cream — Swap with half and half for a less decadent sauce.
• Parsley — You need a final pop of freshness to balance out the buttery, garlicky flavors in the sauce.

How to Steam Clams

1. Clean the clams. Drop the bag of clams into a bowl of cold water and let soak for 5  minutes. Then, drain the bowl, refill it with water, and let the clams soak again. Do this 2-3 more times to ensure all of the grit is removed from the clam shells.
2. Saute the garlic and green onion. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat and sauté the garlic and green onion just until softened.
3. Steam the clams. Add the small clams and cook for 5 minutes before pouring in the white wine and chicken broth. Continue simmering just until the clams open up — that’s your sign to that they’re done!
4. Make the creamy sauce. Remove the clams from the heat, then stir in lemon juice, a little more butter, and the cream. Adding the cream OFF the heat ensures that it will not break or separate.

Heidi’s Tip: After you’ve soaked the clams, remove them from their bag and pick through for any half-open clams (you’ll want to discard those as they are no longer fresh and aren’t safe to eat).

FAQs

What to Serve with Steamed Clams

• Homemade Garlic Bread
• Lemon Fettuccine Alfredo
• Buttered Parmesan Noodles
• Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons
• Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan
• Garlic Fries

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.

4.27 from 507 votes

Garlic Butter Steamed Clams Recipe

Small, sweet clams are cooked in a garlicky white wine and cream sauce to create the best sauce for sourdough bread dipping.

Print SaveSaved!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword steamed clams

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Calories 294kcal

Ingredients 

½x1x2x3x

• 3 tablespoons butter , divided
• ¼ cup minced garlic
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• 2 pounds small clams or cockles (we love littleneck clams)
• 1 ½ cups white wine
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes + 1 ½ cups water (or replace with 1 ½ cups chicken broth)
• juice of ½ lemon
• ½ cup cream or half and half
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

• In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and green onion and cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.
• Add the cockles and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add the white wine and bouillon cubes with water or the chicken broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a rolling simmer and cook until the clams open up, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the cream and stir.
• Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. Serve with sourdough bread.

Notes

For a bit of heat, add some red pepper flakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 865IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1mg

More Clam Dishes You’ll Love

• Best Clam Dip
• Linguine con Vongole
• Clam Chowder
• Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.

As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.