Mussels Marinara

These Mussels Marinara is made with mussels, white wine, diced tomato, onion, garlic and parsley and cooked to perfection.

Whenever I eat this dish, one of my favorite parts is dipping the bread in the sauce! The sauce is the essence of this dish! The trick to making the best mussels is to scrub and debeard them as efficiently as possible.

If you love this recipe, feel free to try my Butter Garlic Mussels in White Wine Cream Sauce and my Clams in White Wine.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Mussels Marinara
• Food safety

Ingredients

You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:

• Mussels
• Butter
• Garlic
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• White wine
• Thyme
• Parsley

See recipe card for Mussels Marinara quantities.

Instructions

Hint: Throw out the mussels that did not open.

Substitutions

• Mussels: I like to put my mussels in a bowl of cold salted water to irritate the mussels. After 30 minutes, I individually scrub and debeard each mussel.
• Butter: I used salted stick butter although you can use unsalted butter and control the salt level yourself. 
• Garlic: I would recommend using fresh garlic but minced garlic from a jar works as well. 
• Onions: I used white onions, although yellow works as well. 
• Diced tomatoes: You can use fresh tomatoes, but I cheated and used diced tomatoes from a can. You could also buy a can of San Marzano tomatoes and hand crush them. 
• White Wine: I would recommend a cheap dry white wine - definately not sweet wine. 
• Parsley: I love garnishing all my plates. The parsley also adds to the flavor of each mussel. I chopped them up and added them at the end for a touch of color and flavor. 

Variations

Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.

• Spicy - add chili pepper flakes in with the tomatoes for a spicy kick.

Check out this Spaghetti with Clams and White Wine.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.

I love using my Caraway pots, pans and baking sheets for best quality. Get yourself a discount by clicking here!

Storage

This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

These Mussels Marinara ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

Top tip

Make sure to cover so the mussels will fully open.

Print

Food safety

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.