Want a super flavorful recipe for steamed mussels? This one starts with spicy Italian sausage and a garlicky wine and tomato broth. The mussels are added at the last minute to steam open. This wine and garlic mussels with sausage is an outstanding meal and great with a crust of bread to soak up the juices.
OH-MA-GAWD! Don’t you just want to climb into the bowl and bathe in it? Fresh steamed mussels, spicy italian sausage in a wine-infused tomato broth. I don’t know if there’s anything better! Best of all, this dish is a one-pot wonder that comes together in minutes. Really!
I cook and shoot most of my posts during the day, because the “light” is better. Consequently, lunch around here tends to be “top notch” And when Emily and Scott are around, they are more than happy to pitch in to “bounce” the light or adjust a prop because they know what’s coming.
That was the case with these mussels. Emily was home and as my anointed assistant for the day, she helped me remove the casings from the sausages and break them into bite sized chunks. We browned them and added plenty of thinly sliced garlic and shallots.
Some crushed tomatoes and white wine made a savory broth.
And then came the mussels. I scrubbed them, removed the beards and toss out a few that refused to close when I handled them, but that was ok — better safe than sorry, right?
I added the mussels to the simmering pot and literally 5 minutes later — TA-DAAAA!!! Lunch! Actually, it was about 15 minutes later when we finally settled in to this steaming pot — I had to take a few pictures for you!
See how the steamed mussels open up? That’s how you know they’re done. If a mussels remains shut after steaming, set it aside. You don’t want to eat unopened mussels.
This easy steamed mussels recipe is meaty, savory and delicious. The wine and tomato spiked broth is slightly spicy thanks to the Italian sausage and great for dunking with a piece of garlic bread.
What to serve with wine and garlic mussels and sausage:
- Garlic Bread or Soft Parmesan Dinner Rolls
- Green Leaf Salad or Grated Cucumber Salad
- A bib and napkins.
More easy seafood recipes:
- Easy Asian Glazed Salmon
- Sweet Corn and Crabmeat Salad
- Baked Salmon Pesto
- Florida Stone Crabs with Mustard Sauce
- Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Bourbon Glaze
- Skillet Cajun Jambalaya
- Caribbean Mahi Mahi
- Classic Oyster Stew
- Hogfish Adriatic
- Cilantro Lime Swordfish Kebabs
Wine and Garlic Mussels with Sausage
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 pound mild or spicy italian sausage your choice
- 1 1/2 pounds mussels scrubbed and debearded
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 2 large cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons basil chopped fresh
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped fresh
serve with
- 4 slices crusty bread garlic bread or cooked pasta
instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven. While it’s heating, break apart the italian sausage into bite size pieces. Add them to the hot oil and cook for 4-5 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- Add the shallots and garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes until softened. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes and white wine and heat to boiling. Cook for 3-5 minutes until most of the alcohol has cooked off. Add the mussels to the pot and gently stir them into the tomato sauce. Cover tightly with the lid and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the mussels open up.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle on the basil and parsley. Serve with crusty bread or toasted garlic bread to sop up the juices, or serve over cooked spaghetti.
We made this the other night as my 13 yo son LOVES mussels, and I have wanted to try de-bearding and cooking with them. I was searching for a recipe to mimic a dish we had at Henry’s at The Waterfront in Huntington Beach, CA and found this one. I totally misread the recipe and used 1.5 lbs of sausage! OMG, It was still very good, but you mainly tasted sausage and not mussels. We will definitely try this again – with less sausage next time!! Or maybe chorizo or try some other wines (I used a Pinot Grigio for the sauce). Or try it over some bucatini pasta. Anyway, it was very good (both my son and father liked it!). Thanks for sharing the recipe, and I look forward to trying it again with less sausage, haha. My son already asked if we could make mussels again next weekend. Oh, and I’m saving all the shells to make my own seafood stock, so score on that!
yes, that’s a LOT of sausage, but I’ve never heard anyone complain about too much sausage either…. LOL! Great thought on making stock with the shells! Waste not, want not!
Wow- that looks amazing! I never would’ve thought to combine these flavors but it sounds delicious! It’s also gorgeous!
Thank you! It’s simple to make and really good!
OMG any leftovers? I’m sure these are amazing!
Glad you like, Nola!