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Mussels

Mussels are edible bivalves commonly steamed, boiled, grilled, or added to soups and seafood dishes.

Mussels — illustrative ingredient image

About Mussels

Mussels are edible bivalve molluscs with hinged shells and soft interiors. The term usually refers to whole shellfish, although mussels may also be sold shucked. They are used in steaming liquids, soups, stews, pasta, rice dishes, and mixed seafood preparations, where their juices can add a savoury marine character.

Once cooked, mussel flesh is tender and moist, with a marine, briny flavour that varies by mussel, growing environment, and preparation. Steaming or brief boiling generally preserves a plump texture, while prolonged cooking can make the flesh firmer and chewier.

Mussels vary in shell colour, size, and flesh appearance. They may be sold live, chilled, frozen, canned, or already shelled. Whole mussels are commonly steamed, boiled, grilled, or baked; cooking opens the shells, while freezing and canning can produce a firmer texture and a flavour influenced by the packing medium.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where mussels appears

8 linked foods

Find foods to recognise by country and type. Recipes and products vary; these are recorded ingredient connections.

Showing 1–8 of 8

Main dishes

Sides

Soups

Rice dishes

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for mussels

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

mussels

English

moules cuites

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

moules glazurées

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Mussels, purchased cooked

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Mussels, raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Mussels nutrition & diet

Mussels nutritional value

Mussels, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the stated food form.

Calories
74kcal
Protein
12.1g
Carbs
2.5g
Fat
1.8g

Reference values apply to the named food form, not every preparation, variety or brand. CoFID 2021 food code 16-497. Carbohydrate follows the dataset’s available-carbohydrate convention. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/.

Portions & preparation

Clarify the mussel species and count only the edible cooked or raw flesh, not shells. Steaming, boiling, grilling, smoking, canning, and marinating create different reference forms; broths, sauces, butter, batter, and mixed seafood dishes should be recorded separately from plain mussels.

Compare the right form: Match references to the identified mussel species and edible flesh, distinguishing shell-on servings from shucked, cooked, canned, smoked, or marinated forms.

Diet considerations

Mussels are animal-derived bivalve seafood. Shell-on steaming may remain simple, whereas grilling sauces, butter, cream, meat stock, egg coatings, cereal breading, or pasta alter compatibility. Canned and marinated products also require their packing ingredients to be checked; carbohydrate patterns depend mainly on accompaniments and portion.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Typically incompatible
  • Vegetarian
    Typically incompatible
  • Pescatarian
    Typically compatible
  • Keto
    May be compatible
  • Paleo
    May be compatible
  • Low-carb
    May be compatible
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Typically incompatible
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Typically incompatible
The ingredient profile identifies an animal-derived food or derivative.
Vegetarian · Typically incompatible
The profile identifies animal flesh, seafood or a derivative excluded by a vegetarian diet.
Pescatarian · Typically compatible
Seafood fits this pescatarian definition. Added meat-based stock or other ingredients would need checking separately.
Keto · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Paleo · May be compatible
May fit a paleo pattern, depending on the cut or form, processing and added ingredients.
Low-carb · May be compatible
The plain form may fit a carbohydrate-restricted diet. Check the portion, added sugar, coatings and sauces against the nutrition values above.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Typically incompatible
This profile identifies shellfish, which does not meet the kosher fish criteria.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: UK Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID), 2021 — Mussels, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .