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.
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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
In a deep, large saute pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and then add the onion and garlic and cook for about 6 minutes.
Add the wine, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Add the mussels into the pan and cover for about 6 minutes until the mussels have opened up.
Remove from the heat. Garnish with parsley and serve!
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.
Mussels Marinara
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Mussels Marinara is made with mussels, white wine, diced tomato, onion, garlic and parsley.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups of chopped onions
- 1 cup of chopped canned tomatoes
- 2 cups white wine
- ¼ cup of thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, or as needed to garnish
- 5 pounds of fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Instructions
- In a deep, large saute pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and then add the onion and garlic and cook for about 6 minutes
- Add the wine, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil
- Add the mussels into the pan and cover for about 6 minutes until the mussels have opened up
- Remove from the heat and throw out the mussels that did not open
- Garnish with parsley and serve!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 390.2
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 380.7 mg
- Fat: 11.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.7 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 25.0 g
- Cholesterol: 55.5 mg
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
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