These Grilled Clams in White Wine Sauce are the perfect summer seafood appetizer because the entire recipe is cooked outside on the grill. The clams open directly over the heat, then get tossed in a light, briny sauce made with white wine, butter, garlic, Fresno peppers, lemon, and fresh parsley. Serve them with toasted semolina bread or Cast Iron Focaccia Bread to soak up every bit of the sauce.
In my opinion, the best seafood recipes make a delicious broth for dipping bread, and this one is no different. If you love a good seafood broth to dip your favorite Italian bread, also check out our Mussels Fra Diavolo or Linguine with Clams!
A Quick Look at The Recipe
- ✅Recipe Name: Grilled Clams in White Wine Sauce
- ⏲️Ready in: 30 minutes
- 👪Makes: 2-4 servings
- 📋Main ingredients: littleneck or topneck clams, garlic, white wine.
- ⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: This is an easy way to make a simple grilled clams dish with minimal clean-up and a light briny sauce perfect for dipping bread!
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Why This Recipe
Grilled Clams in White Wine Sauce is the perfect summer seafood appetizer made entirely on the grill. It's an easy clean-up, made in less than 30 minutes, and you won't leave a single drop of sauce behind once you start dipping your bread.
Summer seafood should be quick, simple, and full of fresh flavor. Shellfish and quickly seared fish, like my Pan-Seared Vermilion Snapper, are ideal for hot days because they cook in minutes and don't require you to spend all night standing over the stove.
As good as the grilled clams are, the sauce is the real star of this recipe. The clam juices combine with white wine, butter, garlic, grilled lemon, and Fresno peppers to create a briny, buttery sauce with just the right amount of heat. The clams might as well be the garnish, lol. Serve it with plenty of toasted semolina bread because dipping it into that sauce is completely addictive.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Littleneck Clams: Littleneck clams are perfect on the grill because they're small, tender, and affordable. You can also substitute topneck clams, but they take a little longer to open.
- White wine: I use a crisp, bright, and dry wine like Sauvignon Blanc for white wine sauces with seafood, whether it's grilled clams or Steamed Mussels in White Wine.
- Fresno pepper: Fresno peppers add a medium heat and slight fruity flavor to the dish. It also adds a more pervasive heat as opposed to a sharper heat like crushed red pepper might add.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a fresh and herbaceous flavor to the olive oil and butter.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic adds a savory and aromatic flavor to the clams and broth. Shallots can be substituted for a milder flavor.
*Please see the recipe card for more information about the ingredients.
How to Make Grilled Clams in White Wine Sauce
If the seafood market did not already purge your clams, place them in a large bowl of cold, heavily salted water and soak for 30 minutes. Remove the clams from the water with a slotted spoon, leaving any sand behind in the bottom of the bowl. Scrub and rinse the shells under cold running water.
Step 1: Preheat the grill to medium heat, around 400-450℉. Once hot, place a large saucepan (big enough to hold the clams) on the grill. Then spread all of the clams onto the grates in a single layer. Slice a lemon in half and place it cut side down on the grill. Save this for serving.
Step 2: Add the butter and olive oil to the saucepan. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic, Fresno pepper, and whole parsley sprigs. Stir everything together, close the grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Check the garlic as it cooks to make sure it does not burn.
Step 3: Remove and discard the parsley sprigs. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon into the saucepan, pour in the white wine, and stir the sauce. Allow it to come to a gentle simmer.
Step 4: Close the grill and continue cooking the clams for another 3-4 minutes. Check them frequently and transfer each clam to the saucepan as soon as its shell opens. Use tongs and keep the clam as level as possible so its juices fall into the sauce rather than onto the grill.
Step 5: Gently toss the clams in the white wine sauce as you add them. Close the grill between checks so the remaining clams continue cooking. Carefully remove the pan from the grill once all the clams have opened and transferred. Discard any clams that remain closed after cooking.
Serve immediately with toasted semolina or Italian bread for dipping into the white wine sauce. Use the caramelized lemon to squeeze lemon juice over the final dish! Pair these with a bright mocktail like a Crisp Non Alcoholic Moscow Mule.
If you're serving these as an appetizer in the summer, you can add some simple ready-made appetizers to the spread like EASY Ricotta Bruschetta or Italian Green Bean Salad.
Pro-Tips
- Most seafood markets and supermarkets purge clams before you get them, so this step can typically be skipped. It's still a good idea to scrub and rinse them before grilling.
- Inspect the clams before placing them on the grill. Discard any with cracked or broken shells. If a clam is open, gently tap it against the counter and discard it if the shell does not close.
- Clams open up at their own rate. Only transfer opened clams to the saucepan to make sure you're using only fresh, live clams.
- Keep each opened clam level as you move it with the tongs. This helps preserve the flavorful clam juice inside the shell so it ends up in the white wine sauce instead of falling through the grill grates.
- Clams overcook quickly. Remove the saucepan from the grill as soon as all the clams have opened.
- Discard any unopened clams. Don't force them open, as the clam inside was likely already dead before you put it on the grill.
FAQs about Grilled Clams
Yes, but then they wouldn't be grilled clams. You could make steamed clams in the sauce similar to how you cook clams when you're making linguine with clams or Linguine with Red Clam Sauce.
Start by purging clams in a bowl of salted ice water for 30 minutes. Then remove, scrub, and rinse them. They're ready to be placed right on the grill.
All of the clams should be opened in about 10 minutes, while some may open as soon as 5 or 6 minutes. Transfer them to your saucepan as soon as they open.
Serving Suggestions for Grilled Clams
Grilled clams in white wine sauce should be served with simple appetizers. Recipes that can be made quickly or ahead of time! Try it with some of these simple recipes!
More Easy Summer Recipes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
Save this Recipe So You Don't Forget it
I mean c'mon we all know you're gonna forget!
Grilled Clams with White Wine Sauce
Equipment
- 1 grill
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- 50 littleneck clams
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Fresno peppers, chopped
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, extra chopped for garnish
- 2 lemons
- 1 cup white wine
Instructions
- If your clams were not already purged by the seafood market, place them in a large bowl of cold, heavily salted water and soak for 30 minutes. Remove the clams from the water with a slotted spoon, leaving any sand behind in the bottom of the bowl. Scrub and rinse the shells under cold running water.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat, around 400-450℉. Once hot, place a large saucepan (big enough to hold the clams) on the grill. Then spread all of the clams onto the grates in a single layer. Slice a lemon in half and place it cut side down on the grill. Save this for serving.
- Add the butter and olive oil to the saucepan. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic, Fresno pepper, and whole parsley sprigs. Stir everything together, close the grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Check the garlic as it cooks to make sure it does not burn.
- Remove and discard the parsley sprigs. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon into the saucepan, pour in the white wine, and stir the sauce. Allow it to come to a gentle simmer.
- Close the grill and continue cooking the clams for another 3-4 minutes. Check them frequently and transfer each clam to the saucepan as soon as its shell opens. Use tongs and keep the clam as level as possible so its juices fall into the sauce rather than onto the grill.
- Gently toss the clams in the white wine sauce as you add them. Close the grill between checks so the remaining clams continue cooking. Carefully remove the pan from the grill once all of the clams have been opened and transferred. Discard any clams that remain closed after cooking.
- Serve immediately with toasted semolina or Italian bread for dipping into the white wine sauce.
Video
Notes
- Most seafood markets and supermarkets purge clams before you get them, so this step can typically be skipped. It's still a good idea to scrub and rinse them before grilling.
- Inspect the clams before placing them on the grill. Discard any with cracked or broken shells. If a clam is open, gently tap it against the counter and discard it if the shell does not close.
- Clams open up at their own rate. Only transfer opened clams to the saucepan to make sure you're using only fresh, live clams.
- Keep each opened clam level as you move it with the tongs. This helps preserve the flavorful clam juice inside the shell so it ends up in the white wine sauce instead of falling through the grill grates.
- Clams overcook quickly. Remove the saucepan from the grill as soon as all the clams have opened.
- Discard any unopened clams. Don't force them open, as the clam inside was likely already dead before you put it on the grill.
Vinny DelGiudice says
This is one of my favorite summer seafood recipes because I can cook the entire recipe on the grill and serve it right then and there fresh! This one is always a crowd pleaser, even if the crowd is just me and my wife.