Our moules frites recipe for Belgian steamed mussels with fries makes Belgium’s national dish and the first thing we’d eat after landing in Brussels, when we’d make a beeline for the seafood bistros in Sainte-Catherine, the former fish market district. We’d order big pots of juicy sweet mussels steamed in a creamy white wine sauce with crunchy fries, homemade mayo and crusty bread — all washed down with Belgian beer. This recipe makes those moules.
You’ll love this moules frites recipe for Belgian steamed mussels with fries if you’re fond of plump briny molluscs. And if you are, try our recipes for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill, and Champagne and oysters with pomegranate mignonette dressing. I adore mussels. They’re sustainable, they’re a super-food, and I have so many fond memories of tucking into big pots of moules with my love in Brussels.
Terence and I spent a fair bit of time in Belgium over the years, initially on holidays and later authoring a travel guide to Brussels Bruges Antwerp and Ghent for Lonely Planet, when we spent a month in a Brussels penthouse apartment rental with sweeping views of the city to write up the book. It was the perfect assignment for two fans of moules frites, Belgian beer, and gypsy jazz.
And if you celebrate Valentines Week this moules frite recipe makes a wonderful dish to share with your love. And if you do, we have more romantic meal ideas, recipes for breakfast in bed, romantic dinner recipes, and French dinner ideas. And if you’re a fan of mussels, do check back soon, as I’ll be sharing lots more mussels recipes, as mussels are delicious, affordable and sustainable.
Now before I tell you about our moules frites recipe, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo. You could buy a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; book a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or buy something on Amazon, such as one of the best new cookbooks or a cookbook for culinary travellers.
Looking for more cooking inspo? See our 28+ recipes to make in February and 31 most popular recipes of January, or browse our recipe archives, brimming with hundreds of recipes we’ve cooked, created and collected from around the world, from places we’ve lived, travelled and loved. And don’t forget: you can save your faves in an account by clicking on the heart on the right of posts. Let’s tell you about our Belgian moules frites recipe.
Moules Frites Recipe for Belgian Steamed Mussels with Fries
You’ll find mussel dishes all over Europe. While the French moules à la marinière (‘sailor’s mussels’) might be better known because of the sheer number of tourists to France, Belgium does mussels best. No argument. Belgian moules frites (‘mussels with fries’) is Belgium’s national dish, or at least Belgium’s most quintessential dish.
Belgian chefs are such masters at making mussels, it’s hard to find a bad pot of moules. While Place Sainte Catherine, once the location of a fish market and home to many seafood bistros, was our favourite spot for feasting on mussels and fries in Brussels, we savoured fantastic moules frites beyond the neighbourhood.
The seafood restaurants in other parts of Brussels were more creative when it came to the sauces the mussels were cooked in and I’ll share a few of our favourites over coming weeks. But I wanted to start with a classic Belgian moules frites recipe for mussels steamed in aromatics, white wine and cream, as they’re the mussels I became smitten with in Brussels.
Just a few tips to making our moules frites recipe for Belgian steamed mussels with potato fries.
Tips to Making this Moules Frites Recipe for Belgian Steamed Mussels with Fries
My moules frites recipe for Belgian steamed mussels with fries or potato chips to our fellow Australians and British readers makes a classic moules frites with just a few tweaks
Ingredients
I only have a few tips to making this Belgian moules frites recipe for steamed mussels with potato fries, as they’re easy to make and come together quickly, but let’s start with the key ingredient, the mussels.
Mussels
You want fresh live mussels in their shells for this moules frites recipe. I’ve been using 1kg packs of fresh live Sea Bounty Australian Blue Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), which hold around 28-36 mussels, depending on the size of the mussels in the pack, which easily feeds two people.
Sea Bounty mussels are sustainably farmed, harvested daily, and Aco Certified Organic. They’re also very affordable, sold for A$11 a pack at Australian supermarkets and fishmongers, but are often reduced at Coles Supermarket to A$8-10 a pack.
We were introduced to Sea Bounty mussels by Melbourne chef Ben Shewry of Attica many years ago and we went out on a Sea Bounty boat in Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay, and were lucky to sample the raw mussels just after they pulled out of the sea. They were as sublime as any oyster we’ve eaten. I’ll tell you more about that experience in our next mussels recipe post.
‘Frites’
We have recipes for hand-cut potato fries, shoestring fries and spicy potato wedges. As the mussels and the sauce require your attention, I recommend making your fries/potato chips before you start the mussels and keep them warm in an oven set to low.
I’ve been making Terence’s hand-cut potato fries in the air fryer to go with these mussels. If you’re an air fryer user, you’ll know how easy it is to cook fries in an air fryer. It’s virtually set and forget, apart from a shake mid-way, so they can be cooking while you make the mussels. Less greasy, they’re much healthier, and crunchier.
Wine and Cream
You want a decent dry white wine. I’ve been using an Australian chardonnay, which I think is a perfect match. Don’t get too hung up about the amount of wine: use whatever you have left in the bottle in the fridge.
By the same token, add more of less cream. Our moules frites recipe makes quite a lot of sauce, and that’s what the bread is for, to mop up the sauce you’re left with in the pot after you eat the mussels.
It’s worth noting that if you’re not a fan of creamy sauces, you could skip the cream entirely. Our recipe makes my favourite version of moules frites, with a wine and cream sauce, but Terence used to order moules frites with a sauce of aromatics and wine, no cream.
Herbs and Spices
When it comes to herbs, classic Belgian moules frites recipes call for bay leaves and parsley at the very least or a bouquet garni, a sachet of mixed dried herbs that includes parsley, bay leaves and thyme.
Here in Australia, I’ve been buying Hoyts Bouquet Garni, which includes four sachets of herbs, including parsley, bay leaves, thyme, sage, and marjoram.
I also use two pieces of star anise for even more flavour and aroma, and fresh parsley, added in two stages.
Mayonnaise
The good seafood bistros in Belgium serve moules frites with a dish of house-made mayonnaise for dipping the fried chips into. You could also use homemade mayonnaise or use a good quality creamy mayonnaise. We use the Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise or Hellmann’s mayonnaise.
Step-By-Step Process
Our moules frites recipe for Belgian steamed mussels with fries is a cinch to make and comes together quickly, that I guarantee you that after you’ve made this dish a few times that you’ll never look at a recipe again. But here’s a quick step-by-step overview. Don’t need one? Scroll straight to the recipe.
Prep the Mussels
Transfer the mussels to a larger colander and use a clean scrubbing brush or the rough scourer side of a new kitchen sponge to clean the mussels under running tape water, scrubbing off any remnants of seaweed or dirt, and removing the beards. The Sea Bounty mussels I’ve been using are cleaned during processing when they’re packaged and need very little scrubbing.
Cook the Aromatics
In a large heavy pot over low heat, melt the butter, add the extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, celery, bouquet garni, and star anise, and stir to combine. Cook low and slow, stirring occasionally until soft and fragrant, around 6-8 minutes or so depending on the pot you use.
Create the Sauce
Add the wine, stir, cover with the lid, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil, to burn off the alcohol. Add half the cream, stir, cover, and cook until bubbling to reduce the sauce.
Steam the Mussels
Again, working quickly, remove the lid, add the mussels, stir, and return the lid again, leaving the heat on high so the sauce can continue to reduce and the heat cook the mussels for 3 minutes or so or until they open.
Finish the Dish
Remove the lid, add the remaining cream, sprinkle on half the parsley, and stir through. Note, that if you’re not a fan of creamy sauces, you could skip the additional cream.
Serve the Moules Frites
Use a large serving spoon to transfer the mussels to bowls, pour the creamy sauce over the mussels, shower with more parsley, grind on some cracked black pepper, and serve with fries, mayonnaise, and crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.
Moules Frites Recipe for Belgian Steamed Mussels with Fries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg fresh mussels - live mussels, drained, scrubbed and debearded
- 25 g butter - unsalted
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion - finely diced
- 1 garlic clove - minced
- 2 celery ribs - finely sliced
- 1 bouquet garni - sachet of mixed dried herbs, such as parsley, bay leaves, thyme, sage, and marjoram
- 2 star anise
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 200 ml cooking cream - or thickened cream, divided
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley - finely chopped, divided
- ½ tsp ground cracked black pepper - or to taste
Instructions
- Prep the mussels: transfer the mussels to a larger colander and use a clean scrubbing brush or the rough scourer side of a new kitchen sponge to clean the mussels under running tape water, scrubbing off any remnants of seaweed or dirt, and removing the beards.
- Cook the aromatics: in a large heavy pot over low heat, melt the butter, add the extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, celery, bouquet garni, and star anise, and stir to combine. Cook low and slow, stirring occasionally until soft and fragrant, around 6-8 minutes or so depending on the pot you use.
- Create the sauce: Add the wine, stir, cover with the lid, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil, to burn off the alcohol. Add half the cream, stir, cover, and cook until bubbling to reduce the sauce.
- Steam the mussels: Again, working quickly, remove the lid, add the mussels, stir, and return the lid again, leaving the heat on high so the sauce can continue to reduce and the heat cook the mussels for 3 minutes or so or until they open.
- Finish: remove the lid, add the remaining cream, sprinkle on half the parsley, and stir through.
- Serve: Use a large serving spoon to transfer the mussels to bowls, pour the creamy sauce over the mussels, shower with more parsley, grind on some cracked black pepper, and serve with fries, mayonnaise, and crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make our moules frites recipe for Belgian steamed mussels with fries as we’d love to know how it turns out for you. And please do share your own recipe tweaks.
