TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
- What it is: Plump, fresh mussels steamed in a garlic and white wine sauce with a splash of heavy cream—a stunningly simple dish with a rich, slurpable broth.
- Why you’ll love it: An incredibly impressive, restaurant-worthy meal that’s ready in just 30 minutes—making it perfect for busy weeknights or relaxed weekends alike.
- How to make it: Simply cook the onion and garlic in butter, steam the mussels with white wine and a half-lemon until they open, then lower the heat to gently stir in the heavy cream.
Jump To
I have been making versions of this recipe for as long as The One and I have been together. That’s more than 32 years, if you’re counting.) There was the bare-bones version with just wine, onions, and bay leaves. There was the time I gussied up the mussels with cream, and it found its way into the food pages of the Los Angeles Times.
Sometimes I add Portuguese chouriço to the pot, similar to my clams and sausage cataplana. That’s the version The One demanded I make all summer in 2007 when he was kicking back in the Springs out in East Hampton and on his Jackson Pollock kick.
But I keep coming back to this version—wine, onion, garlic, cream, and sometimes parsley. Sometimes cilantro. Sometimes thyme. But every time, fantastic.
Chow,
Featured Review
This recipe is absolutely fabulous, I made it as an appetizer for a dinner party last night; there was not one mussel left, and everyone was drinking the sauce from their bowls! I followed the recipe and it came out perfect. Thank you!
Carol
Why Our Testers Loved This
These mussels brought back memories for one of our senior testers, Linda Pacchiano, who said, “This took me back to a time in Brussels when I had the most amazing plate of moules frites.” Angie Zoobkoff wrote that they were easy to make and on the table within 30 minutes.
Perhaps the biggest compliment was from The One, who just last week said, “I beg your forgiveness in advance,” and then tipped back the bowl with the creamy broth and slurped every last drop. High praise indeed.
Notes on ingredients
- Mussels—Make sure to find the freshest mussels you can. It makes all the difference in the world.
- Heavy Cream—Adds, well, a creamy consistency and taste to the ah-mazing broth. You can use light cream, but stop there. Half and half or milk just doesn’t have the brio needed for this dish.
- White Wine—Like Julia Child always said, “Cook with wine good enough to drink.” I always tip in the same wine we’ll drink with the dish.
Variations & shortcuts
Change up the booze
Reader Lana Tysoski made a swap that floored me. She used 3/4 cup of white wine plus 1/4 cup of Pernod, an anise-flavored liqueur. The compound anethole, which gives Pernod its licorice flavor, actually enhances the natural sweetness of shellfish like mussels. It also balances the brininess of the creamy broth. Brilliant.
Step-by-step instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat. Toss in the onion and garlic and cook until soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon half and toss it in, letting it sear a bit.
- Add the mussels and wine, cover, and steam until most are open.
- Lower the heat to a simmer, pour in the cream, cover, and steam until all the mussels open.
- Spritz with chopped herbs and serve with toasted, buttered bread and lemon slices.
Common Questions
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Buying 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of mussels per person for a main-course serving is perfect.
Farm-raised mussels are significantly cleaner and just as flavorful as wild mussels. The most common type is the black-colored “blue mussel,” but green-shelled New Zealand mussels are popular, too.
Ask your fishmonger for rope-grown mussels if you can find them, as they tend to be even less gritty. Rope-growing mussels is a technique used by many mussel farmers. In late spring, when mussels begin to spawn and the sea temperatures rise, farmers drop old ropes into the water, which buoys keep afloat. The larvae naturally settle onto the rope surface and grow. It usually takes one to two years for them to reach maturity.
It’s simple, really. First, toss out any mussels that are cracked or don’t close when you tap them on the counter. Place the mussels in a colander and rinse them under cold water. Scrub the shells to remove any mud using a brush (not the one you use to wash dishes!). Rinse again.
To debeard mussels, grab hold of any stringy threads poking out from the mussel. Pull downward toward the hinge of the shells. This takes some muscle (pun intended). Rinse the mussels one more time, and you’re good to go.
It depends on whether your mussels are a main or a starter. It’s they’re a main, consider this crisp apple and cabbage slaw or this bean and pea salad with a creamy dressing to kick off the meal.
If your mussels are a starter, I’d go full-on seafood for the main, such as these pan-seared lemon bass fillets, baked fish and chips, or spicy garlic-cumin Indian shrimp.
Pro tips & troubleshooting
- To keep your mussels fresh, scoop ice cubes into two large zip-top bags. Lay one bag on the bottom of a large bowl. Add the mussels and top with the second bag of ice. It’s best to cook the mussels the day you bought them.
- After you add the cream, heat the broth on low. Boiling the liquid can cause it to separate.
- The One and I lay out only soup spoons with this dish. We eat the mussels the way we were taught by a French friend: Use an empty mussel shell as pincers to pluck the plump meat from the shells. Have plenty of napkins on hand!
More Oceanic Mussels Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this mussels recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Featured Review
This recipe was amazing! I omitted the lemon and added green onions when sautéing the onion and garlic. I also used 3/4 cup white wine and 1/4 cup Pernod.
Lana
Mussels in a Creamy White Wine Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (2 oz) butter
- 1 (8 oz) yellow onion, cut in half and sliced into 1/2-inch half moons
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 lemon
- 4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro or thyme leaves), chopped
- Thick slices of toasted, butterd bread, for serving
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Toss in the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pot and drop in the lemon, too.
- Raise the heat to high, scoop in the mussels, pour in the wine, and cover tightly. Steam the mussels until most of them open, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low, pour in the heavy cream, and add a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
- Let the sauce lazily burble until all the mussels are open, 2 to 3 minutes more. Toss the stubborn sons-of-bivalves that refuse to open.
- Crown the mussels with parsley. Serve alongside a basket of toasted bread and lemon wedges.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Did you know only 68% of the recipes we test make it onto the site? This recipe survived our rigorous blind testing process by multiple home cooks. It earned the Leite’s Culinaria stamp of approval—and the testers’ reviews below prove it.
This recipe for mussels in a creamy white wine garlic sauce took me back to a time in Brussels when I had the most amazing plate of moules frites. The recipe produced pretty much the identical dish (minus the frites) with perfectly balanced flavors and a richness that comes from just a few simple ingredients.
Be sure to purchase the best mussels you can find from a reliable source. We were fortunate to find fresh mussels from Maine, which were very clean with almost no beards. Plan on about a pound person with plenty of crusty baguette slices for dipping.
These mussels in a creamy white wine garlic sauce were a treat! They were easy to make and on the table within 30 minutes of starting.
Do take care to make sure the heat is very low before adding the cream, as it can split easily. We served with plenty of crusty bread for sopping up the delicious sauce.
This recipe was amazing! I omitted the lemon and added green onions when sautéing the onion and garlic. I also used 3/4 cup white wine and 1/4 cup of Pernod.
Lana, I LOVE your Pernod swap—so much so that I’ve added it to the “Variations” section of the recipe post! It’s such a classic bistro move that really plays up the natural sweetness of the mussels. Adding green onions to the sauté was a smart move, too, since they give a lovely, fresh lilt alongside the more savory yellow onion. I’m so glad the recipe was such a success.
Since you clearly appreciate a good sauce, you’ll definitely want to have a loaf of No-Knead Artisan Bread on hand next time to sop up every last drop of that Pernod-infused cream!