This may be my favorite “make it fast” dinner ever.
Or at least in the top five, but that is because I love, love, love, love mussels. LOVE THEM. They are so easy to make and they are so dang delicious. Don’t tell my other seafood recipes, especially my second favorite, which is my take on Julia Child’s filet of sole!)
What Are Mussels Exactly?
Mussels are a mollusk (like a clam or an oyster), super easy to make, and nice and affordable. And waiting for you right now at your local seafood store and/or grocery store, usually in a 2 pound mesh bag.
They taste a little sweet and a little like the ocean all at the same time, and are super tender.
You may see them on menus as PEI mussels, which means they come from Prince Edward Island (yay Canada!) but they are also farmed all the way along the East Coast of America down as far as Virginia.
Ingredients You Need for this recipe
Here’s How To Make This Mussels Recipe
(Scroll down for the handy complete printable recipe with nutrition info!)
STEP 1: Rinse 2 pounds of live mussels, discarding any with open or broken shells and pulling off any of the beards (strings coming out of the mussels).
STEP 2: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and sauté 2 large chopped carrots and one peeled and chopped sweet onion for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
STEP 3: Add mussels and a cup of white wine and cover until mussels are open, about 5 minutes. Remove mussels with slotted spoon into bowl and set aside. (Toss any that don’t open.)
STEP 4: Add blue cheese to pan and stir until melted.
STEP 5: Divide rice or pasta among plates (use plates with a bit of a lip to them so that you don’t have spillage issues!). Or if you want to go directly to culinary heaven, try these mussels over a bed of polenta with fresh corn…oh my goodness.
STEP 6: Top pasta or rice with mussels, and then pour sauce over all. It is going to look like a LOT, but trust me, it’s the right amount. Those shells take up a lot of room.
Make sure you have a bowl on the table so that folks can toss the empty shells into it as they go.
Mussels in Blue Cheese Sauce FAQ
They are widely available in supermarkets (and seafood shops of course), in a mesh bag. You want to keep them fresh and alive before you cook them up, so if you put the mesh bag in a plastic bag, make sure you leave the top of the bag open. Make sure you toss any that have broken or open shells before you cook them.
Yep! You can use an equal amount of clam juice (look for it where you buy canned tuna fish).
You can, if you are feeling especially generous – otherwise just let your lucky diners take them out of the shells as they eat (and put a big bowl in the middle of the table for the empties.
Pop it in the comments section and I will answer pronto!
The blue cheese sauce gives them just a little extra flavor. A pile of mussels sitting on a pile of just enough pasta or rice to soak up the world’s best sauce.
If you are a mussel lover, here is the recipe you have been waiting for all your life.
Blue cheese sauce forever!
OTHER MUSSELS RECIPES WE LOVE!
 Mussels are even more amazing when you add bacon and apple cider to the mix. |
 Use your roasting pan for making oven steamed mussels with white wine and bacon in this fast and easy recipe! |
 Mussels are even more amazing when you add apple cider to the mix. So the next time you are craving a seafood supper, give these cider mussels a try! |
 This recipe for weeknight mussels marinara pasta takes just a half hour from start to a delicious seafood supper on the table! |
Mussels in Blue Cheese Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
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Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This easy recipe for mussels in blue cheese sauce is packed with all kinds of flavor, and ready in a snap! The perfect seafood supper.
Ingredients
- 1 two-pound bag mussels
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
- 8 ounces rice or thin spaghetti (or whatever pasta you like), cooked and drained
Instructions
- Rinse mussels, discarding any with open or broken shells and pulling off any of the beards (strings coming out of the mussels).
- Melt butter in large skillet and sauté carrots and onions for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
- Add mussels and white wine and cover until mussels are open, about 5 minutes.
- Remove mussels with slotted spoon into bowl and set aside.
- Add blue cheese to pan and stir until melted.
- Divide pasta among plates (use plates with a bit of a lip to them so that you don’t have spillage issues!)
- Top pasta or rice with mussels, and then pour sauce over all. It is going to look like a LOT, but trust me, it’s the right amount. Those shells take up a lot of room. Make sure you have a bowl on the table so that folks can toss the empty shells into it as they go.
Notes
Mussels: Mussels generally come in two pound bags at your grocery store seafood counter. Buy them the same day you are going to cook them, and don’t keep the bag completely covered so they stay alive.
I buy delicious frozen mussels in garlic butter at Aldi for around $3. And I LOVE blue cheese & never would’ve thought to pair it with seafood. I’ll start with the purchased mussels & add the cheese – sounds delicious!
I have been meaning to check out the new Aldi by us, and now that I know they have frozen mussels I have a great reason to go! Thanks Martha! :)
Loved this recipe. I cooked it for a dinner party with a couple of friends. They loved it too. I added a clove of chopped garlic and served the mussels with rice, tomato, basil, & fetta salad & a green salad with dark rye sourdough bread. Rave reviews – simple and delicious.
★★★★★
Hi Lyn and thank you so much! Love your additions – and aren’t mussels the best? There is something about them that is just so deliciously festive!