These fleshy, dressed mussels are pretty as a picture and almost look too good to eat! ‘Mejillones a la Vinagreta’ Mussels in Vinaigrette are best served cold with a an equally cold beer in hand. You will find these bright and briny mouthfuls sitting proudly in a dish or tray on top of most bar tops up and down Spain. I love to order these when we are in Northern Spain, and in particular Galicia. Plump and juicy mussels are steamed in white wine, cooled and then topped with sweet peppers and tomatoes and dressed in tangy vinegar – Mussels in Vinaigrette. Each mussel gets fully coated in it’s very own fabulous red, white and green dressing. These mussels are so quick, easy and cheap to make. They are a perfect make-ahead pass around cocktail party appetizer that even come with their own unique silverware included!

Mussels in Vinaigrette

Mussels in Vinaigrette

  • Cook Time: 20 min to cook 2 hrs to chill
  • Persons: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy

  • Ingredients
  • 3 lbs fresh mussels
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup of white wine
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1/2 green pepper
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1 tomato
  • 4 tbsp wine vinegar (I use sherry)
  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tpsp salt
  • Handful fresh parsley
  1. Instructions
  2. Start by preparing the mussels. Discard any with broken shells.
  3. Should you find any that are open then tap them. If they close the mussel is good. If the mussel stays open then discard it.
  4. Pull off any attached beards and scrub off any barnacles.
  5. Place the white wine and bay leaves in a large pot and bring to the boil.
  6. Add all the mussels and place lid on top of pan.
  7. Steam on medium/high heat until all are open. Around 5 minutes. 
  8. Remove from heat and allow the mussels to cool.
  9. Meanwhile wash tomatoes, peppers and parsley and peel the onion.
  10. Finely dice the onion.
  11. Remove the seeds from the peppers and tomatoes and are finely dice.
  12. Finely chop a handful of fresh parsley.
  13. Combine all vegetables and parsley in bowl along with oil, vinegar and salt. 
  14. Now drain the liquid from the mussels and remove one half shell from each mussel.
  15. Spoon the marinade over each mussel and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
  16. Enjoy!

Top Tips

  • This makes the most delicious pasta salad dressing! Simply remove the fleshy mussels from their shells, mix in with the vinaigrette and toss into some cooked pasta. You will need to add more salt and some generous grinds of black pepper.
  • If you like things spicy then add a couple of dashes of hot pepper sauce to the vinaigrette and mix well before placing in top of each mussel.
  • Are you looking for another fabulously easy and tasty mussel dish? Look no further than ‘Mejillones a la Marinera’ Mussels in Sailor’s Sauce.

Mussels in Vinaigrette – Mejillones a la Vinagreta

Mussels in Vinaigrette ‘Mejillones a la Vinagreta’ are the best way to get the party started when served cold and equally cold beer in hand. Plump and juicy mussels briny from the sea are dressed with bright, sweet peppers and tomatoes and tangy wine vinegar. Serve them on a large tray to up the wow factor.