These mussels in cream (moules à la crème) are incredibly easy to make, and make a delicious light seafood meal. It's the type of dish that feels fancy, yet it's both quick and economical. Great for any occasion.

bowl of mussels in cream with chunks of baguette above bowl.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

Growing up in a coastal area, and as part of a seafood-loving family, I was lucky enough to have fresh seafood fairly regularly. While some fish and things like scallops and lobster can of course be expensive, mussels are generally not. I often wonder why they are not more popular between their lower cost and fact they're so easy to cook.

Some countries do celebrate them a little more, most famously Belgium where moules frites is the national dish. And in France, too, you'll find mussels on the menu in various forms, such as mussels with white wine, with cider and these moules à la crème, with a cream sauce.

close overhead view of bowl of mussels in cream

Origins of moules à la crème

This dish is from Nortthern France, in particularly the Atlantic coast region of Brittany and Normany. This area is one of the main areas that mussels are farmed in France and have been since the 13th century.

The most classic French preparation is moules marinières which has been around for centuries and this is essentially a more modern variation adding cream. Exactly who came up with it is unclear, but it's a delicious and simple way to make the dish that bit more luscious and comforting.

bowls of mussels, cream, wine, butter, garlic with shallot, sprigs of thyme and parsely around.

Ingredients and variations

This dish uses only a handful of ingredients and so the real key is to use good quality ingredients. While I recommend as I have used here, you can make a couple slight variations.

Mussels - the key ingredient! Make sure your mussels are really fresh.
Shallots - these give a nice aromatic base. If you can't find shallots, you could use a little sweet onion instead.
Garlic - this, too, adds to the aromatic base.
Butter - you use this to cook the shallot and garlic to bring out their natural sweetness. While you could, to a point, use oil instead, butter is a better flavor match and gives added richness to the sauce.
White wine - this helps to steam the mussels and adds flavor. I recommend a dry wine for this - the classic choice is a Burgundy white with higher acidity and minerality, but a sauvignon blanc is also good. The alcohol evaporates in cooking, but if you want to avoid wine completely, you could use a stock such as a fish stock or vegetable instead.
Thyme, bay and parsley - these herbs add a gentle aromatic flavor, the first two as the mussels cook and the parsley at the end. If you don't have some of them, you can skip whatever you don't have, but they are worth adding if you can.
Crème fraîche - this adds a lovely creamy finish. You add this at the end off heat. This helps ensure it doesn't separate by getting too hot. Crème fraîche has a lovely balance of creamy and slight tartness, but if you can't source it, some heavy cream (double cream) and a squeeze of lemon juice is your next best option.

steaming mussels in pot with wine, shallots and sprigs of thyme.

Tips for cooking mussels

While easy to make, here are a few things you should remember when you cook mussels:

First, rinse the mussels in cold water before you cook them. Scrape off any loose bits of shell, barnacles as well as pulling off any hairy bits (the 'beard'). These can be tough to pull off as they are attached to the mussel inside, but do try.
Second, discard any broken mussels or ones already open. Sometimes the mussels open a little but they should close as you clean them or by pressing the two sides. If they don't close up, they shouldn't be used. I know it might seem sad to throw them away, but trust me you'll be happier for it.
Thirdly, use a pot with space for the mussels to open up. You will also need it to be a pot with a lid so they can steam properly. They will only take a few minutes to open up which is how you know they are cooked. A glass lid is helpful to be able to see, but not essential.
Lastly, as you serve them (and additionally any time you eat them), throw away any that aren't open or don't open easily when you try to open them.

As with other steamed mussels variations, you want to enjoy these soon after cooking before they cool. They don't work well to keep warm or reheat as the mussels can become dry or tough.

Since this dish has the lovely aromatic creamy sauce, I highly recommend serving it with some bread to mop up all the tastiness. A chunk of crusty baguette is perfect, but other relatively plain but tasty breads work as well.

side view of mussels in cream with split baguette and parsley behind bowl.

Mussels in cream is such a wonderfully easy and quick dish to make, yet the result is packed with flavor. It's creamy yet light, and a true escape to the seaside. Perfect to enjoy any excuse you can find.

Try these other favorite easy seafood dishes:

Swordfish with olives and capers
Sardinian fregola with clams
Tandoori shrimp (prawns)
Plus get more seafood recipes in the archives.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote