One thing you can still enjoy readily in the Paleo lifestyle is seafood. Mussels can make a crazy-healthy dinner, and the best part is that most traditional and tasty recipes for mussels are already naturally paleo without any adjustments necessary. You can do them curry-style, marinara, spicy, garlicky, buttery—there are dozens of ways, and all of them are delicious.
1. Mussel Omelet With Sweet Potato Fries
This recipe makes a full meal that would work as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The mussels add a beachy, sophisticated flavor to this omelet, which is topped with a homemade aioli (recipe included) and seasoned with fresh chopped tarragon and black pepper.
Photo: Cooking In Sens
This is a smoked haddock, salmon, and mussel soup that’s beautiful and full of flavor. You can turn it paleo by simply using coconut milk in place of the cow’s milk, and I love the flavors you’ll get by doing that! Filling and nutritious, this is your new favorite soup.
3. Tapas Style Steamed Mussels
These mussels look super fancy, but they’re so simple that I can hardly call this a recipe! It’s all in the garnish, which you obviously can eat, too. The onion and garlic flavors and seaside aromas of this dish will transport you right to the Mediterranean coast.
This dish is Whole 30 approved, but you won’t feel deprived when you bite into these soft mussels with red curry paste, fish sauce, fresh basil, coconut milk, and spiralized zucchini noodles. Get your vegetables in with your protein, people!
This budget-friendly stew is made with white fish fillets, garlic, olive oil, lemon, tomatoes, white wine, shrimp, mussels, fish stock, and other fantastic flavors and nourishing ingredients. The presentation is beautiful and the taste is out of this world.
Photo: Stupid Easy Paleo
6. Mussels With Bacon in Lemon-Coconut Broth
This easy recipe is insanely delicious, in part because it has bacon (pancetta, actually) and the flavors infuse throughout the dish for a fantastic overlay and coconut milk, garlicky goodness underneath. And mussels, of course. Can’t forget those.
This steamy and fragrant mussel soup is packed with grass-fed butter, celery, onion, bell pepper, portobello mushrooms, tomato flavors, beef broth, and more. Let it fill you up warm and toasty on a chilly night, when you can pretend you’re actually at the beach.
Here’s a simple mussels in coconut broth recipe that’s dairy-free without any adjustments. It’s rich and creamy without weighing you down, and the ginger flavors are bright and fantastic. Find a paleo green curry paste, or just make your own.
Cioppino is an Italian seafood soup, and this one gets fancy without getting difficult. Celery, carrot, and parsnip keep it hearty and rich in vegetables, while dry wine, tomatoes, sage, red chili flakes, and garlic add bursts of flavor that blend together perfectly.
Photo: Lau Sunday Cooks
10. Marinated Mussels Sprinkled With Pomegranate
This is one of the most beautiful mussel dishes I’ve ever seen, and with unique ingredients like orange zest, pomegranate, and minced vegetables. A perfect tapas dish, this could be served as an appetizer or snack to friends and family and shared among everyone.
This blogger touts the recipe as being especially kid-friendly in its originating home, so rest assured this at least isn’t too spicy for kids, if you can get them to eat mussels. It’s creamy with coconut milk, umami with tomatoes, and full of garlic and curry flavors.
This shrimp, mussels, and cabbage slaw full of interesting flavors like fennel and capers, which complement and enhance the natural flavors of the shrimp and mussels. Nigella is a perfect spice addition, but it’s optional, and you’ll find the other fantastic seasonings perfectly sufficient.
This dish conjures up images and tastes of Spain with its flavors of jalapeno, lime, coconut, cilantro, oregano, tomatoes, and more. These couldn’t be easier, as the method is as simple as putting everything in a pot and cooking it until it’s ready.
Photo: Five Men Making sh*t
The great thing about mussels is that despite their fancy feel, the best ways to cook them are some of the simplest preparations that exist in cooking. In this recipe, you’re just going to saute the garlic, onion, and peppers, throw everything else into the pot, and cook until the mussels are finished, which takes just 5 minutes.
If you thought the last recipe was easy, wait until you try this one. These mussels are steamed up super simple in Thai curry paste, the juice of one lime, and a cup of coconut milk. That’s all you need—seriously. And the bright green color is so pretty!
16. Mussels With Chorizo and Red Chilies
While I’m sure these are great with sourdough bread as suggested, you definitely can skip that, or use a paleo substitute if you like the idea. The important thing here is the bright and buttery, spicy red chili flavors with the meaty chorizo sausage and the lovely flavors of the white wine.
While many of these recipes have a few of the same basic ingredients, it’s the slight differences in the ingredient list and technique that make them so different. This one has strong flavors of ginger and spice from cayenne for a more Thai-style flavor.
Photo: The Healthy Maven
This “fake out meal” will have your guests impressed with your cooking skills and presentation, while YOU will be impressed by how little time, effort, and skills are actually involved in making this. I’d serve this curry dish with some sweet potato fries for extra color and flavor on your plate.
I highly recommend using the optional tomato puree or sauce in this recipe, because it really boosts the flavor in an awesome way. With plenty of onion, red pepper flakes, thyme, and white wine, you know this one’s going to be good just by glancing down the ingredient list.
20. Mussels With Garlic Butter
This truly authentic Spanish mussels recipe is buttery and delicious, with white wine, lemon, basil, garlic, and plenty of butter. You really can’t go wrong with that combination, and if you don’t believe me, you’ll just have to try it for yourself, won’t you?
21. Chorizo and Caramelized Onion Mussels
I love caramelized onions, and Vidalia onions are the perfect choice. The red wine and onion in this recipe will make your house smell like heaven while the mussels are cooking, and the chorizo helps make this a solid, filling, and nourishing meal, perhaps more than many of the other recipes on this list
Photo: Little Cooking Tips
22. Garlic Butter Broiled Mussels
This recipe is super simple, and needs only mussels, garlic, butter, salt/pepper, and parsley. The buttery garlic that “sauces” the mussels while baking is just heavenly, and will turn any mussels skeptic into an instant fan. Butter and garlic are magic, I’m telling you.
23. Mussels, Bacon, and Apple in Parchment
This method will fool your dinner guests into thinking you’re a professional French-trained chef. Cooking in parchment paper holds in flavors and lets food cook in its own juices, especially foods low in fat. The secret is the steam, and that’s why this mussel dish with bacon and apple is so flavorful.
This recipe is a two-in-one with a milder and a spicier way to prepare mussels. One is a white wine sauce with fennel and shallots, while the other is a Fra Diablo dish, which is hot and spicy with plenty of crushed red pepper flakes. Try one, or try them both!
25. Coconut Curry Mussels, Take Two
Here’s another version of the coconut curry dishes we’ve been looking at with mussels. This one uses fish sauce for an especially intense flavor, with plenty of ginger and lime juice. I love the color of the green curry against the blue-black mussel shells.
