Mussels steamed in buttery lemon garlic are the perfect starter or light meal. Serve them up for your next date night!
Lemon garlic butter mussels are so easy to make and taste amazing. Chewy and tender, they go great with a fresh spinach salad and crunchy French baguette. Definitely finish the meal with a slice of homemade caramel cheesecake and snuggle up to your favorite person.
Mussels
Mussels Steamed with Lemon Garlic Butter
Click the button above to save this recipe!
Lemon Garlic Mussels Ingredients
- Mussels – There are approximately 20 – 25 mussels in a pound which will result in about 4 ounces of meat per pound. Assuming each person will eat about 1 pound of mussels, you can calculate how many pounds you will need!
- Butter – this is one of the stars of the show, so use a good salted or unsalted butter
- Garlic – minced or pressed
- Onion Powder – powder adds the flavor throughout the butter without the pieces
- Chicken Stock – again, choose a good homemade chicken stock or store bought stock, as the flavor will come through
- Lemon – medium sized, juiced
- Salt and Pepper – to taste. This will depend on whether your butter and stock were salted or unsalted.
How Do You Make Mussels (Step-by-step)
⭐ First, prepare mussels by rinsing, inspecting, and removing beard then set aside.
⭐ Next, simmer butter, garlic, and onion powder then add chicken stock and lemon juice and bring back to a simmer.
⭐ Then, pour butter and stock mix into a heat proof container and bring the now empty pan up to high heat.
⭐ Finally, add mussels to the very hot pan, pour butter and stock mix over mussels and cover, reducing heat and cooking until mussels open.
Preparation
How can you tell if mussels are bad?
You can tell they are bad if they are open before cooking. However, if you tap the shell and it closes, it is fine to continue to prepare.
Can you make mussels ahead of time?
This dish is best when served immediately after cooking.
Storage and leftovers
How long are they good for?
Fresh mussels should be eaten within 1 – 2 days. Cooked mussels stored in the refrigerator should be eaten within 1 – 2 days, and frozen mussels within one month.
Can I freeze them?
You can freeze live mussels by placing the live mussels in a plastic freezer bag and store for no more than three months. To defrost, place the bag in the refrigerator and slowly thaw.
They can also be frozen after cooking. Allow to cool then store in an airtight, freezer safe container. They are best consumed within 2 – 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
Is it healthy to eat mussels?
Mussels are very healthy, as they are a low calorie, high protein food. Mussels have unsaturated fats so are a healthy fat to enjoy as well, and are low in dietary cholesterol.
They can be good for weight loss, as they are a fairly nutrient dense food (you get good nutrition per calorie). Mussels are low in calories and carbohydrates, as well as high in protein.
They may also be good for high blood pressure as they are full of Omega 3 fatty acids, an important nutrient for heart (and brain) health.
Can I eat mussels while pregnant?
Mussels and other shellfish are usually okay in pregnancy, as they are low in mercury, high in protein, and full of nutrients. However, you should always check with your physician with any questions.
Do mussels feel pain?
Mussels (probably) do not feel pain, as they do not have a central nervous system. Bivalves, like mussels and clams, have no brain, so no pathways in which to transmit pain signals.
Complete the meal with our serving suggestions
I love to serve these as a snack or appetizer, but if you’re going to make them a full meal, try your mussels alongside some crispy roasted red potatoes, easy beer bread (for sopping up all that delicious broth), and zucchini noodles or sauteed veggies!
More awesome seafood recipes
More delicious recipes with lemon
- Lemon butter artichokes
- Fresh lemon pie
- Lemon cake mix cookies
- See our collection of favorite bloggers lemon recipes all our lemon recipes!
Tools we love
- Garlic press – Need fresh minced or sliced garlic, but don’t want to peel or chop your garlic? This garlic press is the bessssssst. We’ve had ours for as long as I can remember (maybe a wedding present?), and I use it several times a week!
- Calphalon everyday pan – This is a 12? two handled pan that you will use pretty much every day. Which, of course is why it’s called an everyday pan. I have this one and the Le Creuset version. I use a whole lot of pots and pans in my line of work (apologies to my husband, the dishwasher!) and these are by far my most frequently used pans.
Get our FREE Easy Casseroles Ebook!
Follow us below!Use #mamalovesfood on Instagram!
How To Make Steamed Mussels with Lemon And Garlic
Mussels (Lemon Garlic Steamed)
Ingredients
- 5 pounds mussels
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- the juice of one lemon medium sized
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and inspect mussels individually, discarding any that are open or have cracked shells. Remove the beard (short pieces of "hair" sticking out of the shell) if necessary. (Just give it a good tug and wiggle).
- Set mussels aside and in a large pan or pot, on the stove top bring butter, garlic, and onion powder to a gentle simmer until garlic becomes fragrant. Add chicken stock and lemon juice, then bring back to a simmer.
- Pour butter and stock mix into a heat proof container and bring the now empty pan up to high heat.
- Add mussels to the very hot pan, pour butter and stock mix over mussels and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 - 7 minutes (stirring or giving the pan a shake occasionally) until mussels have opened.
- Enjoy! Preferably with some no knead beer bread or crunchy french bread!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Mussels Steamed with Lemon Garlic Butter
Click the button above to save this recipe!
Original text:
Mussels are supposedly an aphrodisiac. I have no idea if that’s true, but after having recently been cleared to eat shellfish again after two decades of abstention I’m looking for any excuse to put it on the menu. So I immediately came up with a mussels recipe and wanted to share with you, because everyone should know how to cook mussels!
This March will mark 16 years (SIXTEEN!) with my husband, and to say our lives are not what we pictured they would be (in the best possible way), an understatement of serious proportions. We’re still each other’s favorite people though – which is what counts, right? So, occasionally I try to surprise him with a special meal.
I made the mussels while he was with the kids coaching flag football. My plan was to feed the littles some spaghetti and meatballs, then ship them off to bed. When all was quiet, hubby and I would dig into a couple big bowls of mussels and watch a movie together.
But like they say, the best laid plans… as it turned out, when the gang walked into the kitchen and saw me making something they’ve never had that smelled delicious – everyone wanted to try!
And what kind of mom would I be if I denied letting my children try a new and interesting food? So we all ended up sitting together and making quick work of these really really yummy Lemon Garlic Steamed Mussels.
Thhhhhen after bellies were filled, we shipped them off to bed and enjoyed some alone time in front of the tube.
Even though our romantic dinner didn’t go down as planned, it was still a really nice evening. With five kids you learn pretty quickly to roll with the punches and this one was pretty easy. A great meal with my family and some cuddle time with my husband will never be considered a fail.
This was originally published as a sponsored post for Clever Girls.
2.3.16
Chrisy says
You’re so right, this is totally a fun and different date food (and still an adventure for the family to try, too!) I’ll have to add it to our menu this year 😀
Dana DeVolk says
Just give me a baguette and I’m good. WOW.
Katerina @ diethood .com says
WOW!! My husband would LOVE this!! Can’t wait for date night!!
Katie says
It’s so hard for me to cook these right, but this makes it easier! Thanks for sharing.
Valerie says
These mussels sound so easy to make! I have a friend that loves mussels that will want to see this recipe.
Sara says
These were so delicious and I felt like a super gourmet cook when I made them 🙂