15 Minute Drunken Mussels Pasta

Quick, easy, and good- this 15 minute drunken mussels pasta recipe is full of garlic, white wine, and red pepper flavor- suited to spaghetti or linguine!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Good 15 Minute Drunken Mussels Pasta

We were always afraid of cooking mussels.

They are tricky- there are all sorts of things to do (like scrub them well, remove sand, take off their little “beards”)- and we're always afraid of cooking a bad mussel and basically killing everyone.

Yea- we're totally neurotic like that.

But really- it is SO easy to cook mussels, and this drunken mussels pasta is SO good!

(and if you're insane like us, you can TOTALLY use pre-cleaned and pre-cooked frozen mussels! Yay for a safe and awesome shortcut. Of course, fresh always tastes best- but let's be real- we don't all live near the ocean or have time to clean shellfish for a light and good dinner!)

This dish couldn't be more simple- toss in a pan with some butter, wine, garlic, peppers and top with fresh cilantro- and you have an elegant, romantic meal!

Isn't this suited to date night? So romantic- and it looks impressive and gourmet but doesn't take any fancy skills or equipment!

A few answers

What can we do to add more Heat and flavor to these Mussels?

We like to add red pepper flakes, chili, lemon zest or an extra squeeze of lemon juice to add some heat and acid to the dish!

Can we add tomato sauce?

If you want to add more body then yes you can add some tomato sauce and a little extra virgin olive oil to thin.

How do we add some richness to the Sauce?

If you want some cream or heavy cream to add more richness to the sauce and thicken it up.

What else can we add to our Seafood PAsta?

You can add some sauteed mushrooms, chili, a bit of white wine, or some fresh basil to add more flavor!

Try these other seafood dishes next:

Drunken Mussels Pasta Recipe

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded (frozen ok too- do not pre-thaw)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tsp garlic paste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 cup spaghetti or linguine, cooked al dente

Method

1. Heat butter in a pan on medium high heat, add mussels.
2. If frozen- add immediately to pan and cook from frozen (add another 5 minutes to cook time).
3. Add garlic, lemon and wine, as well as bell pepper.
4. Stir well and cook on medium high heat until mussels open naturally.
5. Discard mussels that don't open on their own.
6. Add pasta and toss in sauce to coat evenly.
7. Garnish with cilantro and plate.
8. Add fresh grated parmesan, if desired.