An easy to make creamy white clam sauce recipe. It’s the perfect way to top off low carb keto zucchini noodles or any other healthier pasta option.
You’d think I’d have a spiralizer by now to make keto noodles, especially since I eat low carb and gluten free meals. It’s not like I don’t have the room either. I’ve got a large pantry closet off the kitchen and another shelved closed next to the pantry.
Well, I finally got one! And I don’t know why it took me so long to buy one of these kitchen gadgets. I seem to collect all kinds of kitchen appliances and tools.
I’ve been drooling over all the healthy low carb recipes using spiralized vegetable noodles and wondered how this “pasta” tasted. I wondered what all the fuss was about as everyone seems to raving over these spiraled vegetable noodles.
Now I’ve been a big fan of spaghetti squash for years so I was pretty sure that I would really like using other vegetables in place of pasta. I was right.
To test out the spiralized zucchini noodles, I made a white clam sauce recipe to test them out. The dish was fantastic! I can’t believe I didn’t invest in one of these spiralizers before. I could eat these zucchini noodles every day.
An inexpensive vegetable spiralizer for a beginner
I chose to start with a basic spiralizer made by SpiraLife that wouldn’t take up too much room on my counter or my cabinet space.
I really like the simplicity of this hand held spiralizer and it is very simple to clean using the included brush. This spiralizer is perfect for my needs and it made quick and easy zucchini zoodles.
It only took me about a minute to zoodle up these three zucchini squash. It does leave cone shaped ends, but I took those and sliced them up into small strands then threw those pieces in with the zoodles.
Ingredients to make the clam sauce
To make the white clam sauce recipe, I used the following ingredients:
- butter
- garlic
- clam meat
- heavy cream
- olive oil
- white cooking wine
- salt and pepper
I also used the following optional ingredients for garnishing:
- parsley
- parmesan
It’s a bit cold to be out clamming, so I used frozen clam meat in the sauce. I thawed the meat in the refrigerator for about 8 hours and then rinsed the clams with water to make sure they were thawed completely.
The clam meat was pre-cooked and shelled so I didn’t have to worry about any of that. And it does save prep time over using fresh clam meat.
How to make zoodles with white clam sauce
I like to prepare the zoodles first with the spiralizer and set them aside. If you aren’t familiar with preparing zoodles, I like using the method on All Natural Ideas for how to make zoodles.
To make the sauce, start out by melting butter in a pan over medium high heat. Then add garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
The clam meat is added in next and it’s stirred over the heat for another 2-3 minutes. Next, the white wine and olive oil are added and then the mix is brought to a boil.
This is then simmered until the liquid is reduced. The heavy cream is added next and the mixture is simmered until thickened.
Once the clams were heated and the sauce reduced, I poured it over the zucchini noodles. Then I heated the entire mixture over medium heat until the zucchini strands were heated.
But you can also prepare the zoodles ahead by stir frying in fat and then topping them off with sauce for each individual serving.
Chef notes on the dish
I’ve been trying to get more good fats into my diet so I added a good amount of extra virgin olive oil into the creamy white clam sauce. I also used butter to brown the garlic so it had a bit of fat from that as well.
This dish is definitely good enough to eat as is, but I love cheese so I sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese on top. Fresh grated is best, but I only had the stuff in the can.
I’d like to experiment with making more noodles out of low carb veggies. I think these thin spiralized vegetable noodles will be excellent in pasta type salads. What’s your favorite spiralized vegetable?
White Clam Sauce Recipe with Zucchini Noodles
Enjoy this low carb keto seafood dish! And be sure to let us know what you think of the sauce in the comment section below.
Creamy White Clam Sauce with Zoodles
Ingredients
- 3 zucchini spiralized into zoodles
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound clam meat I used thawed frozen clam meat
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3-4 tablespoons chopped parsley optional
- parmesan shredded, optional
Instructions
- Prepare noodles with spiralizer, place in large pot.
- Melt butter in sauce pan over medium high heat.
- Add garlic. Stir and cook about 2-3 minutes until tender.
- Stir in clam meat and continue stirring over heat for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the white wine and olive oil, bring to a boil.
- Simmer until the liquid is reduced, then add the heavy cream and simmer until then cream is thick.
- Mix in parsley if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pour sauce over zoodles and heat entire mixture in pot until the zucchini noodles are cooked heated.
- Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Toni | BoulderLocavore says
I have never loved Zucchini more than being able to spiralize it into noodles. This is such a fresh take on how to use them too! Love it.
Lisa says
I agree. Zucchini is the best. I can’t wait to try the yellow squash noodles or a combo of the two.
Valerie says
I love spiralized zucchini so much more than squash! I have one of the cheapie little Spiralizers and it works great but if you don’t have one, a vegetable peel works really well too. 🙂 I will make this recipe because I LOVE anything with clams.
Lisa says
I have a julienne tool that may have worked, but never tried. Never thought to use a veggie peeler. So easy with the spiralizer, though.
Stephanie says
This sounds delicious! I guess I need to finally get a spiralizer!
Lisa says
A spiralizer is so worth it!
Laura @MotherWouldKnow says
Lisa, Like you, I just got a spiralizer. (I went for the big one for a terrible reason – it was on super sale, but hopefully with all its attachments, the one I chose will be versatile and I’ll use it frequently.) I haven’t tried it out yet and your recipe is making me realize that I need to start using it. I love the idea of zucchini noodles, especially with clams and a sprinkling of cheese.
Lisa says
I’m sure I would have went for the bigger one if it was a great deal!
Ashley (QLCC) says
I had clams the other night at the grocery store, and put them back because I didn’t know what to do with them! Now I have to go back, this looks too tasty to pass up….
Lisa says
I actually had my bag of clams in the freezer for a while because I wasn’t sure what the best way to cook them one. This recipe is a modification of the recipe that was on the bag. I guess I should have paid better attention.
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
I have yet to try sprializing (and I even have the gadget needed to do so) but I really want to! Especially after seeing this fantastic recipe. I love a good white clam sauce and it would be perfect with these zucchini noodles!
Lisa says
Everyone should try spiralized veggies. They taste way better than I ever thought they could.
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
I’ve been telling myself I need a spiralizer for forever now! I know I’m late to the game, but I need to finally get one! This looks so good, and I completely agree about the cheese on top! 🙂
Lisa says
The spiralizer is so worth it. Not very expensive and so easy to use. So much better than using spaghetti squash in my opinion.