Creamy Steamed Mussels Soup made with white wine, garlic, and herbs is an elegant amuse bouche served in a shot glass. It's the perfect taster to delight guests at a dinner party.

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❓Why this is the best recipe
- It's the perfect size - This delicious appetizer is the perfect amuse bouche. Guests eat the juicy steamed mussels and knock back the delicious soup but still have room for the next course.
- It's beautiful - Serving small appetizers in shot glasses is one of my favorite ways to delight guests. And seafood lovers will love the drama of the perfectly steamed mussels perched on top.
- It's easy yet elevated - The elegant taste and appearance of this amuse bouche recipe will please hosts who like to show off and impress their guests. But it's actually a lot easier to make than you might think!
📖 Ingredients List
For the steamed mussels
- Fresh mussels - we need live mussels for this mussels soup. Buy them as fresh as possible, and keep them chilled in the fridge until needed. Never store live mussels in tap water, as this will kill them. Live mussels will have their shells closed. If they are open, tap them gently on a surface, and if they do not close, they are dead, and need to be discarded.
- Dry white wine - this adds depth to the flavorful broth that the steamed mussels are cooked in and forms a seafood stock, which becomes the base of the mussels soup.
- Vegetable stock - If you have any fish stock, you can use this instead. But vegetable stock is fine as we just need a bit of extra cooking liquid. Do not use meat stock or chicken broth, it can overpower the delicate shellfish taste.
- Fresh parsley - we want to add as much flavor to the soup as possible, and fresh herbs are an easy way to do this.
- Bay leaves - Adding a bay leaf or two to soup, stocks, stews, and sauces is an excellent way to add depth of flavor.
- Peppercorns - Whole peppercorns are great to have in the pantry to add to stews and stocks. You can use pink or black peppercorns.
- Star anise - This delicious dried spice adds a very subtle, warm licorice flavor to the mussel soup.
For the mussels soup
- Butter - I cook with unsalted butter that has at least 82% fat content and ideally comes from grass-fed cows for the best flavor.
- Cooking oil - Use a neutral oil like corn oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil to avoid interfering with the mussels flavor. For this reason, I do not use olive oil as it can have a strong taste.
- Shallot - Shallots are sweeter than onions and have a more delicate flavor. You can use onion if you prefer.
- Garlic - mussels and garlic are a classic flavor combination, and this amuse-bouche soup is especially delicious when you add a hefty kick of garlic.
- Cooking liquid - The reserved liquid from steaming the mussels gives the soup its delicious shellfish flavor.
- Cream - Once the mussels are cooked, we make the quick soup with the cooking liquid and some extra ingredients. Cream adds such rich decadence. Use a high-fat cream, like double cream or heavy cream.
- Lemon - A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end lifts all the flavors and enhances the dish.
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full quantities and step-by-step directions on how to make steamed mussels soup amuse bouche.
👩🏼🍳 How to make this recipe
How to steam mussels in wine
Clean the mussels first by rinsing them in cold running water and gently scrubbing the shells. Discard any mussels with cracked or damaged shells. Tap open mussels on a surface, and if they do not close, it means they are dead, so discard them, too.
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, and when it is hot, tip in the cleaned mussels, wine, and vegetable stock. It will sizzle and come to a boil rapidly. Quickly add the lemon, herbs, and spices and put the lid on straight away.
After 2-3 minutes, remove the lid and check the mussels are all open. Strain the mussels and herbs through a fine mesh sieve, collecting the liquid in a bowl. Discard any unopened mussels, and keep the rest in a separate bowl covered with foil to keep warm.
🌟 Top Tip
Place a piece of muslin cloth over the sieve to catch any grit from the mussels as you drain them and strain off the liquid.
How to make mussels soup
Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, and then saute the diced shallot and garlic cloves until translucent. Add the cooking liquid back into the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce by half, then add the cream and reduce by a third.
Sieve the creamy mussels soup again, then return to the saucepan over low heat, squeeze in the lemon, and whisk in some cubes of cold butter. Pour into shot glasses and serve topped with the cooked mussels.
🌟 Top Tip
You can pause after steaming the mussels and refrigerate them. Then, later, when you make the soup, stir them through at the end to gently warm through before serving.
👩🏼🍳 Chef's Tips & Serving suggestions
- Overcooked mussels can be very rubbery, so only steam them very briefly just until the shells open.
- Mussels are bivalve filter feeders, so can be gritty. Make sure you wash them first in cold water and sieve the cooking liquid through muslin.
- You could replace the white wine with vermouth or a de-alcoholized white wine.
- Serve this amuse bouche with the steamed mussel on top already loosened from the foot within the mussel shell so that they do not need a fork. Guests can knock it back like a shot, followed by the soup. It's fun and a perfect bridge course at a dinner party.
- If you have leftover mussels, you can enjoy them as chef's perks or give extra to guests.
If you love serving a seafood amuse bouche for dinner parties, try my 20 minute crab bisque or some fresh oysters.
🍷 Wine pairing for steamed mussels
Serve a creamy oaked Chardonnay with mussels in white wine and cream soup. Read more of my food and wine pairing tips to always make good pairings and elevate your dinner parties and home entertaining in style.
❄️ Storage & Freezing
Store live mussels in the fridge, in a bowl, or in an unsealed container with a piece of damp kitchen paper on top. They need air to breathe, so do not store mussels in an airtight container, and do not store them in fresh water, as this will kill them. Live mussels will keep in the fridge for 2-5 days but are best enjoyed as fresh as possible (within 2 days).
It is possible to make this recipe ahead of time and reheat it. Store steamed mussels soup recipe in an airtight container with the mussels in the soup. To reheat, add the liquid only to a saucepan and bring it to steaming point. Then add the mussels and stir through until hot. Do not boil. This recipe does not freeze well.
🥣 Equipment
You will need a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid to steam the mussels. Drain them into a fine-mesh sieve lined with muslin cloth and reserve the white wine and mussels broth in a large bowl.
Serve mussels soup amuse bouche in tall shot glasses or small bowls. I use shot glasses with a 2oz or 50ml capacity.
❓Recipe FAQ
Live mussels will have their shells tightly clamped shut. Tap any open mussels on a surface, and if they do not pull their shells shut, they are dead and need to be discarded.
If the mussels are still clamped closed after cooking, do not eat them.
🍽 Related seafood recipes
Looking for other recipes like this mussels amuse bouche? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Creamy Steamed Mussels Soup Amuse Bouche
Equipment
- 1 Large saucepan Must have a tight-fitting lid
- 1 Sieve Add muslin cloth to help remove grit
- 8 shot glasses Or small bowls for serving
Ingredients
Steamed mussels
- 250 grams (8 oz) Live mussels allow more than needed as some might be dead
- 250 ml (0.85 cups) White wine
- 150 ml Vegetable stock /broth
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 stalks Parsley
- ½ Lemon
- 2 Star anise
- 1 teaspoon Whole peppercorns
Mussels soup
- 1 tablespoon Butter plus extra to finish
- 1 teaspoon Cooking oil
- 1 Shallot
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 350 ml Reserved cooking liquid Sieve to remove any grit
- 350 ml Cream (heavy cream or double cream)
- ½ Lemon
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Steamed mussels
- Clean the mussels in cold running water and discard any that remain open or have cracked or damaged shells.
- Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and wait for it to get hot before pouring in the mussels, wine, and stock. Add the bay leaves, parsley, star anise, peppercorns, and lemon, and add a tight-fitting lid immediately.
- Steam the mussels for a few minutes until they are all open, then strain them through a sieve, retaining the cooking liquid in a bowl underneath.
- Place the mussels in a bowl covered with foil.
Mussels soup
- Return the saucepan to the stovetop over medium heat and add the butter and oil.
- Saute the diced shallot and garlic until translucent, then add the reserved cooking water. Reduce the volume by half over high heat.
- Pour in the cream and reduce the volume by one third over high heat. Sieve the mussels soup to remove the shallot and garlic and return to the saucepan over low heat.
- Whisk in another tablespoon of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pour into shot glasses to serve.
- Top each amuse bouche with a mussel, and loosen it from its foot first to make it easier fo guests to eat from the shell.
Notes
- Overcooked mussels can be very rubbery, so only steam them very briefly just until the shells open.
- Mussels are bivalve filter feeders, so can be gritty. Make sure you sieve the cooking liquid and the soup well.
- You could replace the white wine with vermouth or a de-alcoholized white wine.
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