I’ve been waiting to post this creamy white wine pasta sauce for a long time. Partly because it has evolved so much since I started making it and I was waiting for the perfect seafood dish to pair it with.
This recipe is a combination of my favorite mussels recipe, which is essentially steamed mussels in a creamy garlic butter sauce. Plus another simple pasta dish I frequently make with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese (essentially raw pesto ingredients, minus the pine nuts).
Combining the two simple concepts perfected the creamy, garlicky white wine sauce that was perfect for pasta and mussels.
How Do You Make a Creamy White Wine Pasta Sauce?
It all comes down to three simple ingredients. White wine, whipping cream, and Parmesan cheese. Without whipping cream and Parmesan cheese, the sauce is too thin and doesn’t have the same hearty flavor and texture you need. You can easily thicken whipping/heavy cream by simmering on the stovetop. You won’t get the right consistency with light cream or half and half. The cream is the vehicle, the wine, garlic, butter, and herbs bring all the flavor.
How to Cook Mussels in White Wine
If you’ve never made mussels before they are incredibly easy to make. You can simply steam mussels in a covered saucepan with white wine, garlic, butter, and herbs for about 5 minutes until they pop open. That’s all there is to it.
For this recipe, we’ll steam the mussels in wine, garlic and herbs, add the fully cooked pasta (linguine or spaghetti) along with whipping cream and Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until thickened and serve immediately. This will had a subtle creamy texture that’s delicious and not too heavy.
That’s really all there is to it. A perfect date night dinner without the gourmet effort (I’ve been fooling Patty to this day).
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- Mussels in red sauce
Mussels and Linguine with Garlic Butter & White Wine Pasta Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Mussels over pasta with light, yet creamy white wine sauce made with garlic, butter, fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, and cream. Tossed with linguine and simmered until creamy.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds mussels, rinsed
- 1 pound linguine or spaghetti
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Rinse the mussels and remove beards if necessary, discard any that do not fully close when rinsing (these are dead).
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and cook linguine until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in a large covered saucepan on medium-high heat. Cook garlic and shallots until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, basil, and red pepper flakes to the pan. Cover and simmer mussels in the white wine sauce until fully cooked and shells open up, about 5 minutes. Stir mussels to coat in the sauce.
- When linguine is finished, strain and stir into the mussels and white wine sauce. Now add cream and Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5-7 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally until the sauce slightly thickens. Serve topped with a pinch of fresh basil, more Parmesan cheese, and 6-7 mussels.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 603
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 625mg
- Fat: 23g
- Saturated Fat: 11.8g
- Carbohydrates: 54g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 35.3g
- Cholesterol: 117mg
Keywords: white wine pasta sauce, garlic butter sauce for pasta
Can I add chopped onion to this dish?
Absolutely
I made this recipe last night. I just followed the instructions. So easy. My husband enjoyed it.
Thank you so much. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
I hate typos, normally I don’t drink but tonight I mixed some ginger soda with wine…just a little is all I need…typo city.
Don’t even worry about it, Deborah. I’m drinking a beer and swaggering up some spicy shrimp tacos as we speak.
My husband is Italian, southside Chicago. I brought these mussels come from the market, he smiles and asks, “what are you making with those?” I said, “Well, I’m going to swagger into the kitchen and look up something, lovely.” So, here we are, it was divine.
I will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Made this tonight for dinner and it was AMAZING!! Was so easy and delicious! Will definitely be making this one again!
★★★★★
Thanks Jamie!
Tried this recipe the other day and it was absolutely fabulous! Instead of using parmesan cheese, I used a fresh 4 cheese combination! Definitely a keeper and I would highly recommend. Thank you so much for posting!
★★★★★
I made this for my fiancé as an anniversary dinner tonight and OMG. Not only was it incredibly affordable and SO easy, the flavors were spot on and exactly what I think of when I imagine perfect mussels. Took me right back to Rome and our engagement trip last year! Thanks for an amazing recipe, I will be making this over and over to impress dinner guests!
Perfetto ?? so glad you liked it, Bonnie.
Made this recipe with my boyfriend today and could not believe how good/easy/inexpensive this dish was! I mean…mindblowingly easy and delicious! All the ingredients were easy, the measurements were dead on for perfect flavoring, and we did used fully cooked mussels we bought frozen but we just let them simmer for a few minutes in the sauce and they were amazing! I’ll definitely be using this recip again and a few others from the site as well.
Love this dish, except the Parmesan cheese. A sin with seafood in my humble opinion ?
★★★★
Ahhh, Ben it’s the best part!
Made this tonight. Followed the recipe exactly. Measured everything carefully. It was delicious, but ended up as more of a soup than a sauce. The sauce would not thicken (and I was careful to really drain the pasta before adding). I suppose I could have used some cornstarch, but we just ate it in bowls. Still, would make it again.
★★★★
Try some dried bread crumbs. I had the same thing happen and I added a quarter cup of panko to the thin sauce and it made a big difference. I also added a minced shallot during the initial sauce boil. This is now my mother-in-law’s new favorite dish!
Here in Newfoundland, we get locally farmed mussels which are delicious but, I’m going to get some wild ones from “around the bay” (Newfinese for rural areas) and try it again just to see if there is a difference.
https://encounternewfoundland.com/newfinese-101-words-and-phrases-youre-likely-to-hear-on-the-rock/