Skip to content
FriendsPantry

French

Moules marinières

Non-vegetarian

Mussels steamed open in white wine with shallots, garlic, butter and parsley, served in their own fragrant broth with bread for dunking.

Moules marinières is a French main course from France, ready in about 30 minutes and made with mussels and dry white wine. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of moules marinières, mussels in white wine broth
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor / Wikimedia Commons · CC0-1.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Total
30 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
273

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the mussels (opens in a new tab) well, pulling off any beards. Discard any with broken shells, or any open ones that don't close when tapped.

    • 15 min

    Food safety: Only cook live mussels; discard broken or open ones that don't close.

  2. Step 2

    In a large pot, melt the butter (opens in a new tab) and soften the shallots (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) with the thyme (opens in a new tab) and bay without browning.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Turn up the heat, add the wine and bring to the boil. Tip in the mussels (opens in a new tab), cover tightly and cook, shaking the pot, until the shells have opened.

    • 5 min
    • high heat

    Food safety: Discard any mussels that stay closed after cooking.

  4. Step 4

    Add the pepper (opens in a new tab) and parsley (opens in a new tab), toss and serve in deep bowls with the broth and bread.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
France · Commonly attributedEaten all along the French Atlantic and Channel coasts and in Belgium.Also popular in BelgiumMore food from France
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method
Steamed
Taste
savoury, fresh, buttery, garlicky
Diet
Pescatarian · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot
Cook more with
Mussels · Dry white wine · Butter · Shallot · Garlic · Thyme (fresh)
Techniques
Boiling · Steaming

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter
  • Contains: Molluscsfrom mussels
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • May contain: Sesamefrom crusty bread / baguette
  • Contains: Sulphitesfrom dry white wine

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

273 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 251 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 33%
  • Carbohydrate 21%
  • Fat 46%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy273 kcal109 kcal
Protein18.8 g7.5 g
Carbohydrate12 g4.8 g
Net carbohydrate11 g4.4 g
Sugars2.4 g1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1 g0.4 g
Fat11.5 g4.6 g
Saturated fat5.8 g2.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol64 mg25 mg
Sodium502 mg200 mg
Salt equivalent1.3 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
634 mg
Calcium
66 mg
Iron
6.7 mg
Magnesium
65 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
157 µg
Vitamin C
20 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
18 µg
Folate (DFE)
77 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: crusty bread / baguette.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Mussels release salty liquor, so no extra salt is needed.

Common mistakes

  • Overcooking — mussels are done the moment they open.

Serve with

  • Serve with frites for Belgian-style moules-frites.

Storage

  • Best eaten immediately.

Variations

  • Moules à la crème (France): Stir a few spoonfuls of crème fraîche into the broth at the end.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like