Instant Pot Belgian Mussels are pressure-cooked with shallots, garlic, and a bottle of Belgian beer, then finished with fresh parsley and heavy cream. It's a quick one-pot meal - only 3 minutes of pressure cooking. Slice up some French bread, pass around a few more Belgian beers, and enjoy the creamy broth.
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One of the highlights of my European vacation last year was Mussels in Brussels. (Mussels, not muscles. I didn't meet Jean-Claude Van Damme.) Mussels are quick and easy to make - the only time-consuming part is checking that they're still alive before you put them in the pot. (Yes, it's a little morbid, but you don't want a dead mussel in the pot. One bad one can ruin the whole batch.)
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
- Buying Mussels: arm-raised mussels are the only ones I can get locally, and they are usually pretty clean. But because one bad mussel can ruin the entire batch, I check them carefully.
My first check is at the seafood counter: I ask to sniff the bag before I buy it, and I want them to smell like nothing, or to have a clean, neutral, ocean scent. (If they smell bad, there's a bad mussel in there. See if you can get a different bag.) I ask for ice with the mussels, to protect them on the way home, and I make sure the bag isn't sealed - I don't want to suffocate the mussels.
At home, I check each mussel. I don't want any open mussels - dead mussels can't hold their shells closed, so they open up. That said, an open mussel isn't necessarily dead - if it closes up when I tap it a few times, it's good. Also, I tear out any beards hanging out of the mussels with my kitchen pliers. Then, I rinse them under cold running water for 2 minutes, and they're ready to cook. - Belgian beer: There are lots of fantastic Belgian beers, but for this recipe, I want a light, slightly sweet beer. My favorite are Belgian wheat beers, followed by Belgian ales. If you can't get Belgian beer, substitute a wheat beer (aka witbier). Or, to pull from the French-speaking part of Belgium, substitute 1 cup of white wine.
- Shallots and garlic: I prefer the taste of shallots with mussels, but you can use a finely minced onion instead. If you don't want the garlic, you can skip it - but I never do.
- Heavy cream: You want heavy cream for this recipe; we don't add much cream to the pot, so it needs to be thick. If you are really concerned about calories, skip the cream.
How to make Instant Pot Belgian Mussels in pictures
Sort, clean, and de-beard the mussels
Get rid of any mussels that aren't tightly closed.
Sauté the aromatics
Sauté the shallots and garlic in butter using Sauté mode until the shallots soften.
Beer and Mussels into the pot
Pour in the beer and let it simmer for a minute, then add the cleaned mussels.
Pressure cook for 3 minutes with a quick release
Pressure Cooking time!
Stir in the cream and parsley
Drizzle the cream over the mussels, then sprinkle with the parsley, and stir to coat everything with cream. Serve everything in the pot with crusty bread and enjoy!
Instant Pot Belgian Mussels Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Belgian Mussels are pressure-cooked with shallots, garlic, and a bottle of Belgian beer, then finished with fresh parsley and heavy cream.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot, minced (about ½ cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Belgian wheat beer or blonde ale
- 2 pounds mussels, cleaned, de-bearded, and sorted
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley
- Crusty bread for serving (A French baguette is perfect)
Instructions
- Sort, clean, and de-beard the mussels: Discard any mussels that are not tightly closed, or that have broken shells. If the mussel is open, tap it a few times. If it closes, it is fresh; otherwise, discard it. De-beard any mussels by prying the beard out with a pair of kitchen pliers or levering out with the back end of a paring knife. Rinse the mussels under cold running water for 2 minutes, then drain.
- Sauté the shallots and garlic: Melt the butter in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode-high (or medium-high heat in a stovetop PC). When the butter stops foaming, add the shallots and garlic, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the shallots soften, about 3 minutes.
- Beer and Mussels into the pot: Pour in the beer, bring to a simmer, and let simmer for 1 minute. Add the cleaned mussels.
- Pressure cook for 3 minutes with quick release: Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. (In an Instant Pot, use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook-custom mode set to 3 minutes). Quick release immediately when the cooking time is over.
- Stir in the cream and the parsley, then serve with the broth: Unlock the lid, opening it away from you to avoid the hot steam. Drizzle the cream over the mussels, then sprinkle with the minced parsley, and gently stir to coat everything. Scoop the mussels out of the pot into two large serving bowls, then pour the liquid in the pot over the mussels. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread for dipping, and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pound of mussels
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 13.7 g
- Sodium: 666.3 mg
- Fat: 25.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.7 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Cholesterol: 95.9 mg
Frequently Asked Questions
- Don't the mussels get rubbery after 3 minutes under pressure? In my testing, 3 minutes is the right time for perfectly cooked mussels, opening all of them in the pot, if you use 1 cup of liquid (aka beer). Make sure to quick release the pressure immediately, though, because they will overcook if you leave them sealed in the pot.
- Can I make this recipe with frozen mussels? No, you need fresh mussels for this to work.
- Can I make this recipe ahead of time? No, this recipe does not keep. I discard any leftovers if I have any. (I don't usually have any - I can eat two pounds of mussels by myself.)
- What if I don't have an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker? This recipe is easy to do on the stovetop. Use a dutch oven with a lid, and instead of pressure cooking, cover the pot and let the mussels steam until they all open up, shaking occasionally, roughly 5 minutes.
Scaling up or down
This recipe can be doubled, in an 8-quart Instant Pot (or a 7.5-quart wide Instant Pot) But! Don't double the beer - use only 1 bottle - more beer will take longer to come up to pressure, and overcook the mussels. You can halve everything and it will fit in a 3-quart or 4-quart Instant Pot.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Belgian Mussels
The best part of any mussels recipe is the broth, so serve with a sliced loaf of French bread to soak up the juices. (Soft dinner rolls are also good, because they will soak up a lot of broth.)
And, of course, serve Belgian beer on the side.
Related Posts
I've got a few other Belgian recipes from my trip, like Instant Pot Waterzooi (Flemish chicken and vegetable stew with cream sauce) and Instant Pot Flemish Beef Stew (with gingerbread and ale). If you want some other mussels recipes, try my Instant Pot Mussels, Indoor Clambake, or Mussels with Spanish Chorizo.
If you're looking for something else, here is my index of Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes.
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