A delicious and classic appetizer for Christmas Eve, the Italian Stuffed Baked Clams are so good and easy to make. These are topped with an easy lemon garlic sauce that can be made while the clams are baking.
Christmas Eve is so special to the Italians. We love to make all kinds of different seafood dishes like Fried Flounder Oreganata or Pistachio Crusted Fish.
Looking for more seafood appetizers? Try our Steamed Mussels in White Wine or Garlic Sage Seared Scallops.
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Christmas Eve
Baked Italian Stuffed Clams are a staple at my house and my in-laws' house every Christmas Eve along with a hefty tray of Mussels Fra Diavolo. On the one hand, my in-laws prefer the clam to stay intact, while my family prefers the clam to be chopped up and mixed with the breadcrumbs. I tend to side with my family on this, although my wife likes the clam to be intact.
Finding 7 fish to make on Christmas Eve can be daunting, but stuffed clams is an easy one to put on the menu. We have it on Our Feast of Seven Fishes Menu for Christmas Eve every year. They take less than 30 minutes to make, especially if you buy them already shucked. Just ask your fishmonger to give you the clams after he cleans and shucks them so you can fill them with your stuffing.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Clams. For stuffed baked clams, I like to pick a bigger clam like top neck clams for baked clams. I'll usually use little neck clams if I'm making something like linguine with clams or Linguine with Red Clam Sauce. Look below to learn more about purging the clams.
- Parmigiano. I know we usually don't do cheese with seafood, but we can make an exception for baked clams.
- Lemon. Finishing them with lemon or serving them with lemon gives them a little burst of a brighter flavor.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
Purging and Shucking the Clams
If you buy the clams in the shell, it's always a good idea to purge them first. If you're buying them from the grocery store, they're most likely purged already, but if you get them from a small market or go clamming yourself, you'll want to do a purge. You can also always ask the fishmonger if the clams are purged when you buy them.
To purge the clams, place them in a cold water bath with salt for 2-3 hours. Too much ice water can kill them. This will allow them to "suck" in the fresh water and filter out any of the sand. You might read about putting cornmeal in with them. That's all nonsense. It's just a cold water bath with salt.
After you remove the clams from the bath, rinse and scrub the clams of any debris to clean the shells. Use a shucking knife and slide it into the side of the clam with some force. Then twist the knife and pop them open. There are plenty of videos available on how to shuck clams, but if you want to save time and fingers, just have the store do it.
Make sure to clean out the shells next or if you get them pre-shucked, ask for some shells to stuff.
How to Make Italian Stuffed Baked Clams
Step 1: In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Mix together really well. Add more olive oil until the bread crumbs are just about sticking together.
Step 2: After shucking the clams, roughly chop them. Save the clam juice for later.
Step 3: Combine the clams with the breadcrumb mixture. Add clam juice a tablespoon at a time until the breadcrumb mixture is sticky but not wet.
Step 4: In a small frying pan, add butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Then add wine and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 5: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stuff the clams with about 1-2 tablespoon of stuffing depending on the size of the shells you are using. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of each clam once they are stuffed. Bake for 20 minutes. Drizzle the stuffed clams with the lemon garlic sauce.
Pro-Tips
- If you need to save time, just get the clams preshucked. It will be a little more expensive but if you only shuck clams once a year, you're going to be wasting a ton of time doing this when you're trying to prepare other meals for a holiday!
- Use a large clam, like top neck clams for baked clams. They have more meat and a bigger shell to stuff.
- If you're in doubt about the texture of the breadcrumbs and clams, just add more olive oil. You want the texture of slightly wet sand.
Serving Italian Stuffed Baked Clams
Serve them alongside your homemade shrimp cocktail and with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. There is nothing like seafood and white wine. Then you can serve a main dish of either Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Linguine or Lemon Garlic Broiled Flounder!
Baked clams are a great recipe to start kids on seafood. I know I was a picky eater growing up, but the stuffing is really flavorful, and although I wouldn't lie to my kid and say, "you won't taste any fish," it is objectively less fishy than other styles of seafood.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Purging clam is far and away the most important step. Skip the purge and you will be eating sandy clams. Soaking the clams allows the clams to release any sand and debris.
Yes, wherever you buy clams should shuck them for you. You'll want them to do this the day you make them so they are still fresh. Always save some of the clam juice for the recipe.
Stuffed clams are usually made of clams, breadcrumbs, olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Some people will add red bell peppers or canned clams.
More Christmas Eve Dishes
When you try our baked clams, tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice! Leave a comment or a review and let us know what you think! I'd love to hear feedback from you!
📖 Recipe
Italian Stuffed Baked Clams
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 shucking knife
- 1 small saucepan
Ingredients
- 12 Top neck clams
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon lemon
Lemon Garlic Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup white wine
Instructions
- Scrub the clams in running water of any sand or debris. Purge your clams by placing them in a cold salt water bath for 2-3 hours. Remove from the water and rinse and scrub with your hands to remove any remaining sand.
- If you didn't buy your clams already shucked, you'll have to shuck them now. Keep them on ice, slip your shucking knife in between the shell, and pop them open. If this is something you've never done before, I recommend buying them pre-shucked. Preheat the oven to 400°
- Combine breadcrumbs, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, garlic, and lemon. Chop the clams. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and mix until homogenous. Add clam juice a tablespoon at a time until the breadcrumb mixture is sticky but not wet.
- Stuff the clams with about 1-2 tablespoon of stuffing. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on each clam. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.
- In a small frying pan, add butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Then add wine and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the clams from the oven and drizzle with the lemon garlic butter sauce.
Notes
- Purging clams is extremely important. If not done, it will taste like you're eating sand. Make sure to rinse between steps to remove as much sand as possible.
- Shucking clams is also time consuming. You can skip both of these steps by asking for the clams to be shucked for you, which can be really helpful during the holidays, especially when you're cooking a bunch of different recipes.
- Use a large clam, like top neck clams for baked clams. They have more meat and a bigger shell to stuff.
- If you're in doubt about the texture of the breadcrumbs and clams, just add more olive oil. You want the texture of slightly wet sand.
Vinny
A mandatory app at every Christmas Eve party. This is my mom's recipe and she hopes you'll enjoy!