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In the summer, I think we eat steamed clams at least once a week. I highly recommend adding clams to your weekly menu too. They are quick, require only a handful of ingredients, and give you an excuse to open a bottle of wine and grab a loaf of french bread. Plus they are delicious and have a fine dining vibe. These simple steamed clams are served with spicy chile butter that is bursting with flavor. The fresh lemon, cilantro, and tomatoes make them perfect for summer. Make sure you have plenty of crusty bread on hand for soaking up the chile butter – you won’t want to leave any behind! You can serve these simple steamed clams in spicy chile butter as a main course or as an appetizer. They pair very nicely with steak.
Looking for more clam recipes? Try my simple steamed clams with white wine and garlic, linguine and clams, or my clams in a spicy red sauce. Also, if you like spicy garlic chile butter, you will love this shrimp recipe that also features spicy chile garlic butter.
Why you will Love these Simple Steamed Clams in Spicy Chile Butter
This dish is all about the spicy chile butter. It is one of my go-to sauce options for shellfish because it is so easy and delicious. All you need is garlic, Chile de Arbols, tomatoes, lemon, butter, and cilantro. Oh, and the wine. But that’s it. The heat from the garlic and chile pairs really well with fresh bright flavors from the lemon, tomatoes, and cilantro. You will want to soak up every last bit of it with your bread. It’s also a colorful dish which helps to enhance the dining experience.
Another great thing about this dish is that it has a fancy or gourmet feel to it. Don’t you love effortless but impressive dishes – I know I do. Because it’s fancy, I think it is a great dish for entertaining. You can serve it as an appetizer, a side, or even the main dish. Make sure to have a fresh baked baguette or ciabatta bread and a cold bottle of white wine. Weather permitting, this is a great summery dish for alfresco dining!
Ingredients for Simple Steamed Clams in Spicy Chile Butter
This recipe requires few ingredients – the clams are the most essential part so I’ve included a few notes on selecting the right type of clams, where to find them, and how to clean and store them. The Chile de Arbol peppers are also key.
How to buy, clean, and store your clams: Pick up fresh clams the day you plan to cook them. Look for littleneck clams, manila clams, or cherrystone clams. I usually use manila clams because they are my favorite. I get them for about $6 a pound at the big Asian grocery store in town – a great place to find fresh well priced seafood. Seafood markets are another good place to find fresh clams. Higher-end grocery stores like Whole Foods and Wegmans typically have them too. It is common to find 50-count bags of littleneck clams around us (generally 3 to 4 pounds). If you are lucky enough to live on the coast then you shouldn’t have any problem finding clams.
Chile de Arbol: This recipe calls for dried Chile de Arbol peppers. These smokey spicy peppers pack a lot of heat and pair really well with garlic. They are generally not too hard to find. Larger grocery stores stock them as well as Hispanic markets and other international grocery stores. You can find them pretty easily online as well. Here is an option from Amazon if you can’t find them locally. You can substitute red chili pepper flakes (try ½ to 1 teaspoon) for a spicy butter sauce but the flavor won’t be quite the same.
Lemon, Garlic, Cilantro, and Tomatoes: These are pretty straightforward but look for good quality – a large juicy lemon, garlic that is not sprouted or spotted, fresh cilantro, and local tomatoes.
Wine: Use a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Albarino. I cook with whatever we are drinking unless it is a really nice bottle – no need to use a whole cup of expensive wine for steaming clams.
Pairings for Simple Steamed Clams in Spicy Chile Butter
This dish should be paired with chilled white wine. I usually go with a Sauvignon Blanc. Its high acidity and citrus undertones pair well with the chile butter. Dry Spanish whites like Albarino or a Pinot Grigio would also work. You will also need lots of fresh bread for soaking up the chile butter.
Steamed Clams FAQ
It depends on the type of clams but with littleneck clams, you will probably get 3-4 pounds in a 50-count bag.
For an appetizer, the rule of thumb is around ½ pound of clams per person (roughly 6 or so clams). For an entree, you want at least 1 pound per person (though I often aim for more like 1.5 pounds per person).
Simple Steamed Clams in Spicy Chile Butter
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 to 4 servings 1x
- Category: Seafood
Description
This simple dish features clams in flavor-rich garlic chile butter. Fresh lemon, cilantro, and tomatoes make it perfect for summer. We eat this for dinner but you can also serve it as an appetizer. Don’t forget the crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 dried Chile de Arbol, stemmed and chopped
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3 to 4 pounds clams, littleneck, manila or cherrystone
- 2 to 3 smallish tomatoes, diced (you want about 1 cup)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- Crusty bread for serving and extra lemon
Instructions
- Heat oil in large pot equipped with a lid. Add garlic and chilies. Cook over medium-low for 2 minutes or until garlic becomes fragrant. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add clams and give the pot a stir. Cover and simmer until the clams open. This takes about 3 to 5 minutes for manila clams or 5 to 8 for the others. You don’t want to overcook them so check the pot often. You can usually hear them clicking against the pot’s side as they open.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the steamed clams to a serving bowl.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in butter, lemon juice, and half of the cilantro. Cook until the butter is melted.
- Pour the sauce over the clams and garnish with remaining cilantro and extra lemon wedges.
Keywords: steamed clams, chile butter
Kitchen Tools for Cooking and Serving Steamed Clams
You can steam clams in any large pot equipped with a lid. I usually use a stock pot (like the one shown below) or a dutch oven. A large slotted spoon is great for fishing clams and mussels out of the pot. Large low sided servings bowls are great for clams – you will want an extra one for the shells. Finally, a lemon juicer is a tool you will use again and again.
