Main Italian

Matt Preston’s 5-ingredient mussel and ’nduja pasta

Name: 5-ingredient mussel and ’nduja pasta recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 500g casarecce pasta (substitute fusilli); 2kg pot-ready mussels, drained (see recipe notes); 100g ’nduja (see recipe notes); 400g can baby roma tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes); 62.50 ml flat-leaf parsley leaves; Lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

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Matt Preston’s 5-ingredient mussel and ’nduja pasta — Alan Jensen

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by Matt Preston

delicious. senior editor

Aug 12, 2026

Matt Preston shares a fuss-free pasta sauce that’s ready by the time the pasta is done.

For fast pasta recipes like these, remember to undercook your pasta slightly (like two minutes less than the packet instructions), as you want it to suck up some of the pan juices when it gets tossed with the pasta sauce.

500g casarecce pasta (substitute fusilli)
2kg pot-ready mussels, drained (see recipe notes)
100g ’nduja (see recipe notes)
400g can baby roma tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
Lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

Method

1.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than packet instructions. Drain pasta and return to pan.
2.

Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add ⅓ cup (80ml) water and the mussels and cook, covered and shaking the pan occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until mussels open. Drain over a large bowl to catch the cooking water. Measure ¾ cup (180ml) cooking water and return to pan with the ’nduja. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until ’nduja is melted and warm.
3.

Meanwhile, remove the meat (and discard any beards) from all but the prettiest mussels. Set aside.
4.

Add tomatoes to pan with ’nduja and cook, stirring to help slightly break down the tomatoes, for 2 minutes, or until hot. Add drained pasta and mussel meat and toss to combine.
5.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve garnished with a few whole mussels and lemon wedges, if you like.

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Recipe Notes

Discard any mussels with broken shells, or those that won’t close after they’re given a sharp tap on the bench.

’Nduja is a spicy, spreadable Italian pork sausage. It’s available from specialty and Italian grocers. It’s quite hot, so use a little less if you don’t like too much spice.