Moussaka recipe: layers of eggplant, potatoes, and a spiced meat sauce nestled in between. Comfort food, Greek-style!
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What is Moussaka
The epitome of Greek comfort food, moussaka is basically a hearty eggplant casserole with a juicy, flavor-packed meat sauce. Topping the meat is either a rich bechamel sauce– a French influence that was introduced later–or, as in today’s Moussaka recipe, a cheese-based topping.
The variations in moussaka recipes go beyond the topping. Some recipes even call for layers of other vegetables like zucchini squash; but more commonly, a layer of thinly sliced potatoes. And of course, I have a vegetarian moussaka option, if that’s what you’re looking for!
Other Mediterranean countries have moussaka variations as well. Egyptian moussaka– adapted from our Greek neighbors– has fried eggplant with minced beef, all smothered in red sauce (no additional topping.) And there is a vegan moussaka, one with eggplant and green peppers as in this Turkish-inspired eggplant dish.
But today, my mind went to the moussaka I had a few years ago in a small family-owned restaurant on the Greek Island of Patmos. So after reviewing several recipes, I came up with today’s mousska.
My clever husband made this observation: moussaka to the Greeks is like shepherd’s pie to the Americans! Just like shepherd’s pie, moussaka is a satisfying casserole that is a meal in itself. You can simply add a side salad and call it dinner.
Here is the step-by-step for today’s moussaka recipe:
(Video and Printable Recipe Below)
Spread the eggplant slices in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Let set for 30 minutes to “sweat out” its bitterness.
Pat the eggplant slices dry and assemble in one layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Place the baking sheet on the top oven rack and broil briefly, turning over so that both sides of the eggplant are softened and golden brown (do not worry if parts of the eggplant are slightly charred, but watch carefully so it doesn’t burn). Remove from the oven and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions on medium heat until they turn slightly golden brown, stirring regularly (about 5 minutes). Now add the ground lamb. Cook the lamb until fully browned, tossing regularly. Drain the lamb from any excess fat and return back to the skillet. Now add the dried oregano, ground cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and hot paprika. Stir to coat the meat with the spices. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the canned tomatoes, sugar and broth. Simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the meantime, boil the sliced potatoes in plenty of water until they are completely soft and easily breakable (about 5-7 minutes). Drain the water and set the potatoes aside briefly.
To prepare the cheese topping, whisk the Greek yogurt with the eggs and flour. Add the ricotta and feta cheese and whisk again to combine.
When ready, lightly oil a 9 1/2″ x 13″ oven-safe baking pan. Layer the eggplant slices on the bottom. Add the meat sauce and spread to cover the eggplant. Layer the potato slices to cover the meat sauce and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Finally spread the cheese topping to thinly cover the potatoes.
Bake in the 350 F degree-heated oven for 45 minutes. If you need to, transfer the baking pan to the top rack and broil briefly so that the top of the moussaka gains a nice golden brown color (watch carefully). Remove from the heat and let sit 5-7 minutes before cutting through into squares to serve. Enjoy!
Moussaka: Eggplant Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 pieces 1x
Description
Greek Moussaka is a tasty, hearty eggplant casserole. Layers of eggplant, potatoes, and a spiced meat sauce nestled in between.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch-thick slices, end slices discarded
- Salt
- Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb ground lamb (or beef)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp paprika or hot paprika
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 14 oz can diced tomato
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup hot beef broth
- 2 large russet potatoes, peeled, very thinly sliced lengthwise
- water
- 4 tbsp dried bread crumbs
Cheese Topping
- 3/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 tbsp allpurpose flour
- 1/2 cup reduced fat ricotta (cream cheese would work if you prefer)
- 3 oz crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Spread the eggplant slices in one layer and sprinkle with salt. Let set for 30 minutes to “sweat out” its bitterness.
- Pat the eggplant slices dry and assemble in one layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Place the baking sheet on the top oven rack and broil briefly, turning over so that both sides of the eggplant are softened and golden brown (do not worry if parts of the eggplant are slightly charred, but watch carefully so it doesn’t burn). Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Cook the onions on medium heat until they turn slightly golden brown, stirring regularly (about 5 minutes). Now add the ground lamb. Cook the lamb until fully browned, tossing regularly. Drain the lamb from any excess fat and return back to the skillet. Now add the dried oregano, ground cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and hot paprika. Stir to coat the meat with the spices. Add the wine and boil for 1 minute to reduce. Stir in the canned tomatoes, sugar and broth. Simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In the meantime, boil the sliced potatoes in plenty of water until they are completely soft and easily breakable (about 5-7 minutes). Drain the water and set the potatoes aside briefly.
- To prepare the cheese topping, whisk the Greek yogurt with the eggs and flour. Add the ricotta and feta cheese and whisk again to combine.
- When ready, lightly oil a 9 1/2″ x 13″ oven-safe baking pan. Layer the eggplant slices on the bottom. Add the meat sauce and spread to cover the eggplant. Layer the potato slices to cover the meat sauce and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Finally spread the cheese topping to thinly cover the potatoes.
- Bake in the 350 F degree-heated oven for 45 minutes. If you need to, transfer the baking pan to the top rack and broil briefly so that the top of the moussaka gains a nice golden brown color (watch carefully).
- Remove from the heat and let sit 5-7 minutes before cutting through into squares to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Prepare ahead note: you can prepare and cook the eggplant, meat sauce, and potatoes (steps 1-5) the day before or even a couple days in advance. Place each in its own tightly-shut container and store in the fridge. The day you are ready to serve the moussaka, bring the ingredients to room temperature. Prepare the cheese topping, then assemble the moussaka in an oven-safe dish and bake (steps 6-9).
- Recommended for this recipe: Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil. SAVE! Try our Greek Olive Oil Bundle.
- Recommended for this recipe: Sweet paprika and nutmeg. SAVE! Try our ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle or Create your own 6-pack or 3-pack from our all-natural or organic spice collections.
- Category: Entree
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Greek
Keywords: Moussaka, Greek Moussaka, Eggplant Casserole, Greek Eggplant Casserole, Moussaka Recipe
More recipes to try
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I just made this tonight and was so thrilled with the results! Such great flavor! I was concerned about no bechamel sauce but it was much tastier and definitely healthier. My picky Armenian husband from the Middle East praised it and asked me to make it again. So glad I found your site, will be excited to try your other recipes!
I did add more than what your recipe called for in terms of the spices, but followed everything else to the t.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe!! 🙂
I made this yesterday, and it was fabulous. Used a layer of yellow squash instead of potatoes for a lower carb version, but pretty much followed the rest of the instructions (though I added zataar seasoning to the eggplant when I broiled it, and did add garlic to the meat sauce, which turned out great with ground lamb) – I will be making this again, hopefully for the dinner parties we once again will be having sometime in the next year or two.
★★★★★
Yum! Thanks for sharing your adaptations, Dianne!
I thought this was a great recipe. It took me longer to make than the suggested time, but I was very methodical; I’d hate to make a mistake after all the planning. Next time I will be able to get through it a bit more quickly, but this recipe definitely takes some time to be some correctly. I made a few tweaks just to suit my eaters, (who generally prefer the Turkish style) but it still turned out great. Thanks for the recipe. A keeper!
★★★★★
Thank you, Rebecca!
Can I do this recipe and just omit the meat?
Hi, Kaitlyn! I actually have a Vegetarian Moussaka I think you’d love: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/moussaka-recipe-eggplant-casserole/.
I dont have ricotta or cream cheese…any other suggestions?
Hi, Regina! Cream cheese would work, as well!
I couldn’t believe there was no garlic in this recipe.! All others use quite a bit. Also using diced tomatoes is unusual and does not provide the depth of flavor and consistency of traditional moussaka. Crushed tomatoes or tomato purée are a much more satisfying. I also missed the bechamel sauce a lot! Won’t make again even tho it’s a healthier option.
★★★
Thanks for sharing, Marlene. We have another vegetarian option where we use the bechamel sauce: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/vegetarian-moussaka-recipe/
Made this last night. I’ve only ever made moussaka w bechamel sauce before but a version that precedes the French influence sounded intriguing to me. Really delicious! I might go with full fat yogurt and ricotta next time because the calorie count was lower than I expected. Used gluten free flour, but I bet you could skip the flour altogether if grain-free is your thing. Love this site, btw!
Thanks for sharing, Laura!
Do yourself a favor and NEVER use anything “fat free”….You’re probably making this for a special occasion and you should INDULGE!!!!
★★★★
Thanks for sharing 🙂
This moussaka recipe is THE BEST I have ever made. I made this for my family yesterday, a dreary Sunday afternoon. Any moussaka recipe requires several steps to make, so no shortcuts. Choose a day when you have time to make this recipe, step by step as Suzy has thoroughly provided. I followed everything exactly, no substitutions. The sauce is the best “bechamel” sauce I ever had and quite honestly was a bit apprehensive of Suzy’s sauce recipe. The sauce is much lower in calories and carbs and was outstanding. Also broiling the eggplant was quicker than stove top while maintaining the delicious flavor of the eggplant.
Thank you Suzy. You have a talent for the mediterranean kitchen.!!
★★★★★
Eilene, I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I had LOTS of eggplants from my garden so I made a double batch. But then I didn’t have enough greek yogurt and feta cheese so made a sauce with what I had, added 3/4 c parmesan, 8 oz cream cheese, an additional egg and about 1/2 cup of half and half. The cheese sauce bubbled up nicely and browned beautifully and, of course with all those lovely spices, the mince and gorgeous eggplant, it was delish. Thanks for an inspirational recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing!
A real Mussaka needs to be made with Bechamel. Why do American’s always use Ricotta as a substitute. That’s a different dish.
Hi there. To answer, let me share a bit of what’s written up in the post, in case you did not see it.
“The epitome of Greek comfort food, moussaka is basically a hearty eggplant casserole with a juicy, flavor-packed meat sauce. Topping the meat is either a rich bechamel sauce– a French influence that was introduced later–or, as in today’s Moussaka recipe, a cheese-based topping.The variations in moussaka recipes go beyond the topping. Some recipes even call for layers of other vegetables like zucchini squash; but more commonly, a layer of thinly sliced potatoes.”
This came out really well. Easily made and tasty as well.
★★★★★
Glad to hear it!
Amazing! I forgot to add red wine and sugar, but it still turned out fabulous! Also, i forgot to buy greek yogurt so used sour cream instead, the consistency was pretty wrong and got almost burned after 30min in the oven, but again, when mixed into the dish it didn’t bother me at all and was super delicious. A lovely upgrade from the so called musaka my family prepared which was basically rows of potato and minced meat with onion that was poured over with egg and milk I believe and would turn out very bland. Thank you for this recipe, i’ll definitely try this again and actually follow the recipe. 😂
★★★★★
So glad! Thanks so much, Olga!
Love this recipe,the flavour is so authentic and I also prepared in advance night before and was fabulous but I have to be honest I replace the topping with a bechamel style one since that’s my personal preference
★★★★★
Thanks so much for sharing, Trish!
This sounds delish, but I don’t eat lamb. Would it work with ground chicken or turkey? Or …would you be willing to create a vegetarian version? (I have two vegetarians in my family.)
Hi Susan, you can certainly try ground chicken here. And if you’re looking for vegetarian eggplant dishes, there are plenty here on the blog. One close to a vegetarian mussaka is this Turkish eggplant dish with tomato and green peppers: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/fried-eggplant-recipe-with-green-peppers-tomato/
And here is another popular Greek eggplant recipe that’s vegetarian: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/braised-eggplant-recipe-greek-style/
I’ve made this dish twice now and it’s absolutely delicious! I find ground lamb much tastier than beef. The only adjustment I made was to omit the sugar in the tomato/meat sauce. Not sure if that makes any difference, just goes against my cooking principles LOL! It’s rare to find such great recipes that you can actually follow and get a good result. Super web site, excellent recipes all around. I have recommended it to friends, including my Greek friends! Thanks so much.
Thanks so much, Judy! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and that it met your expectations! Omitting the sugar is just fine, if that’s what you prefer. It’s a balance thing and may not be as noticeable.
Recipe is wonderful, however watching the video…(trying) to watch the video is ridiculous…6 Ads before I finally just gave up on watching!
★★★★
Hey Pam, I think you may have ended up watching through the video player under “my latest videos,” which plays several videos separated by ads. But thank you for alerting us. I will send this feedback along
You can easily turn this into a dairy based dish for Shabbat.
Thanks for sharing!
This tastes so good but is involved and hard to make with my two year old supervisor 😘 I do plan to make the dish again, though wish comfort food like this could be kosher style! I would serve it for Shabbat dinner. Absolutely delicious.
★★★★★
Oh I so remember the years when my kiddos were little 🙂 Thanks for giving this one a try! Glad you enjoyed it.
I am cooking for someone who is gluten free. Could I substitute cornstarch or gluten free flour?
If you have a gluten free flour that you use regularly, that should work. But i have not personally tried this with a gluten free flour. I have hard Bob’s Red Mill has a GF 1 to 1 flour that works well.