Moussaka is to the Greek what Lasagna is to Italians. A rich tomato meat sauce layered with eggplant instead of pasta sheets, and topped with a thick layer of béchamel sauce, this traditional Greek recipe takes time to assemble – but it’s well worth the effort!
This is serious comfort food – a low carb one at that!
Moussaka
As with all iconic dishes of the world, I imagine that every Greek family surely has their own version of Moussaka.
Well, I like to think they do. I have visions of Greek Mamas having heated debates about what makes a great moussaka, arguing over earth shattering things like:
beef or lamb?? (Traditionally lamb, equally delicious with beef!)
potatoes in place of eggplant? (Totally fine, eggplant is just more traditional)
blasphemy to bake rather than fry the eggplant? (Once layered up, you can’t tell if it’s baked rather than fried but your skinny jeans will thank you for it. Eggplant is a sponge for oil, my friends!)
Well, Greek Mamas might not have such a pragmatic view as the answers I’ve provided, but hopefully this recipe gets their nod of approval! It’s a traditional recipe sourced from a Greek cookbook called The Food And Cooking Of Greece which I found at my local library back in 2015.
Since this time, it has evolved a wee bit pursuant to other Greek cookbooks that have crossed my path, but the core of the recipe is still very much the original recipe.
How to make Moussaka
There’s 4 components to Moussaka:
cooking the eggplant;
the meat sauce, a rich Bolognese type sauce made with lamb or beef but with traditional Greek flavours of oregano and cinnamon;
thick béchamel sauce – thicker than used in Lasagna and things like Broccoli Gratin, it’s semi-set using eggs;
layering it all up, lasagna style.
Here’s a quick look at each of these components – or if you prefer, watch the recipe video below or skip straight to the recipe!
Eggplant for Moussaka
Traditionally, the eggplant slices are fried but there’s plenty of recipes (even from Greek cookbooks) that grill/broil, bake or BBQ the eggplant.
I’ve opted to bake here (like I do with Eggplant Parmigiana), but actually, the fastest and easiest way to cook the eggplant is on the BBQ. There’s a vast volume of eggplant here and it takes 3 trays. If you’ve got a 4 burner BBQ, you’ll get these thin slices of eggplant cooked within 5 minutes (and no salting required).
Why salt the eggplant? Two reasons: to extract excess liquid (otherwise you end up with watery moussaka), and historically also to remove any potential for bitterness (high heat of BBQ will avoid the need for this). These days however the latter is not really necessary, as any bitterness has been bred out of modern eggplants.
Meat Sauce for Moussaka
The meat sauce for Moussaka is traditionally made with lamb but it’s equally delicious with beef. I love the subtle hint of cinnamon and oregano in this – a nice reminder that it’s not to be confused with everybody’s favourite Bolognese!
But other than that, the cook method and ingredients in the Moussaka meat sauce is very much the same as Bolognese!
Oh wait – one big difference between Moussaka meat sauce and Bolognese – this is much thicker. Like with Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie. It needs to be, because otherwise it just runs everywhere when you cut into it. 🙂
Béchamel Sauce
This is not your everyday Béchamel sauce! Not like what we see in Lasagna and gratin dishes like this seafood pasta Gratin.
It’s made with eggs (which is not in usual Béchamel sauces) so it sets when it bakes. A necessity because Moussaka has a nice big thick layer of Béchamel Sauce, far thicker than I use in Lasagna. If it wasn’t set, it would just run everywhere!
Layering Up
The step photos below are pretty self explanatory I think! It’s no different to layering up a lasagna except we use eggplant in place of pasta sheets.
It’s topped with breadcrumbs for a great crunchy topping – because everybody loves a good crunchy topping!
Pop it into the oven to bake away, and THIS is what comes out…
I hate / love that part when you crack through the crunchy golden topping.
Hate it, because I just want to admire how great it looks (ok, I’m lying, I want *people* to admire it so I can bask in the glory, yes it’s totally childish but let me have that moment because do you KNOW how many pots and pans I dirtied MAKING THIS??!!!)
Love it, because when you crack through that golden top and the white bechamel sauce bursts out, you scoop up a big piece and you see all the amazing layers….. the soft eggplant melding together with that rich meat sauce….
It’s a little bit of food heaven, right there.
Totally worth every single pot and pan. – Nagi x
PS If you’re thinking about all the washing up, double it and that’s about how much mess I created when I made this for the recipe video!!!
More tasty Greek flavours
Moussaka recipe
Watch how to make it
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Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Lasagna)
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 1 kg / 2 lb eggplant (aubergines) , 0.75cm / 0.3″ thick slices
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil
Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , diced (brown, white, yellow)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1.4 lb / 700 g ground beef or lamb (mince) (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup red wine , dry (optional)
- 14 oz /400g crushed tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth/stock (Note 2)
- 1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled (or 1 tsp powder)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 tsp sugar (any)
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or 1 stick, use whole)
- 3/4 tsp salt
Bechamel Sauce
- 4 tbsp (60g) butter
- 5 tbsp plain flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk (any fat %)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated (optional)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (or Kefalotiri Cheese) (Note 3)
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/4 tsp Vegeta, vegetable or chicken stock powder (or salt) (Note 4)
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Topping
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 5)
Instructions
Eggplant (Note 6)
- Place eggplant slightly overlapping in a large colander. Sprinkle with some salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
- Leave to sweat for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make Meat Sauce and Béchamel Sauce.
- Preheat oven to 240C/450F.
- Pat eggplant dry – make sure to do this well, otherwise it’s too salty. Lay on parchment paper lined trays (you might need 3 trays, work in batches), brush with oil.
- Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned and softened . Remove and set aside to cool slightly.
Meat Sauce
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot over high heat, then cook the garlic and onion for 2 minutes.
- Add the beef or lamb and cook until it changes from pink to brown, breaking it up as you go.
- Add wine, cook for 1.5 minutes or until alcohol smell is gone.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes, or until reduced to a thick sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
- Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Stirring constantly, slowly add the milk. Then stir regularly for 3 to 5 minutes or until it thickens so that it thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon (see video / step photos).
- Remove from the stove and whisk in cheese, nutmeg, Vegeta/stock powder (or salt) and pepper.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then whisk the eggs in. Cover with lid until required.
Assemble
- Lower oven to 180C/350F (all oven types).
- Place half the eggplant in the bottom of a baking dish (I used my 26cm/9″ Lodge skillet), then top with all the Filling.
- Top with remaining eggplant, then pour over the Béchamel Sauce, sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2015, completely overhauled in March 2019 with new photos, step photos, recipe video and most important (of course), addition of a Life of Dozer section!
Life of Dozer
In recent weeks, Dozer’s been slinking back inside mere minutes after getting his daily big juicy bone. Initially, I scolded him, thinking he had buried it and that I’d have to deal with muddy paw prints through the house when he decided to dig it up for snack time.
But his furry paws were completely clean.
Puzzled, I wondered what was going on.
Then I saw THIS: Dozer looking anxiously up into the pine tree at a MAGPIE that had stolen his bone.
They must’ve been swooping down and stealing it from right between his paws. I think they’re working in teams and sharing the prize.
Dozer’s being bullied by Magpies!!!! 😂😂😂
Fabulous. I didn’t change a thing. This is the second time I have made it in 2 weeks.
Goes very well with a greek salad.
This was excellent, and my husband agrees. 🙂 It is full of flavor (particularly the meat sauce — I used ground beef). I followed the recipe exactly as written here, however, I did double the amount of cinnamon. The only things I would do differently next time are make a bit more eggplant than I did and maybe add a bit of salt to the bechamel sauce. Also, mine was a bit “soupy” when served after being taken out of the oven and then left to sit for 10 minutes, but it still tasted wonderful, and it thickened up a lot after sitting in the refrigerator. We’re looking forward to having the leftovers tonight. 🙂 This is a wonderful recipe and very full of flavor. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious! I was making pumpkin soup, family spaghetti sauce recipe and this st the same time, so I felt this took longer than anticipated but it was delicious!
Absolutely delicious! We used 500g of lamb mince and 500g beef mince. We cooked the eggplant in the air fryer over 3 shelves and added a layer of potato’s to the base. The panko is a game changer with some much needed texture and crunch, we also added Parmesan on top layer.
fantastic!
INCREDIBLE. My favourite ever meal. Takes me a long time but incredibly worth it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe Nagi! xxx
I find the eggplant salting step to be completely unecessary. As you stated, bitterness is no longer an issue and if you bake them properly you are doing a much better job of getting rid of that excess water. The salt process is not as effective as the baking at that and you don’t have to be concerned with properly rinsing off all the salt and then completely drying off the water you just put on them! I brush them with olive oil, put them in a 400⁰F oven and after about 15 minutes, shut the oven off and let them finish and cool down in there. Beautiful results.
I make eggplant parmesean often but had never heard of his dish until I had it in a high end resort….found this recipe and made it this evening for my husband and I. This was even better than the meal we had had in the 5 star restaurant…I had read a lot of the comments before hand and went off of those…I did double…used the wine, omitted the broth entirely, used half lamb and half beef, drained fat…amazing!
My eggplant hating kids LOVE this recipe. Yes it uses a lot of dishes and takes a while but soooo good. Have made several times and delicious everytime. Lamb best but Woolies only have 500g pack so just make adjustments (more or less meat).
Hi Nagi, we just live your recipes !!!
Just one thing I get confused with is the amount of ingredients eg: 0.67 egg and 416.67 ml and 83.33 wine etc. In the moussaka use beef stock and beef bouillon.
Cheers and many thanks Nadia
Excellent recipe! I have made it several times. Grilling the eggplant has been a huge time saver and healthier option. I also use more meat (1 kG.) and omit the stock. Delicious!
Wowee this was divine! Cooked it exactly as per the instructions and it was perfection. Such an impressive dish to make for guests and not that hard. I didn’t have red wine so I left that out and omitted the veg stock in the béchamel and did salt instead. Super super good. I’ll cut my eggplants a little thicker next time but overall this recipe is perfection and such a keeper.
Excellent recipe! Grilling the eggplant is a game changer and makes prep so much easier and faster.
Huge success with this moussaka. I made the eggplant yesterday and completed the filling and bechamel tonight. Easy, low carb(ish) and delicious. Highly recommended and on high rotation from now on.
What size pan would you recommend if doubling? Can’t wait to make!
Cynthia, I suggest a fairly deep 9 x 13 pan, such as a lasagna pan. It took me a while to find it, but Nagi says she uses a 9″ round skillet for 1x the recipe. That’s 63.5 square inches, times two is 127 square inches. A 9 x 13 pan is only 117 square inches, but I think it’s about as close as you’re going to get.
I made this tonight again. I don’t add stock but a vegetable stock cube to both the meat and bechamel
I have always used cornflour for my white sauce so continued doing so. I always make in the microwave
The addition in the panko crumbs (first time) make this dish really special
Oh, and I didn’t add egg to the bechemal either maybe next time
Delicious and as always a huge hit
Made per recipe and it was just perfection in a casserole dish! Great recipe!
Second go as first was delicious but too much liquid. Omitted wine (didn’t have any red) and stock this time. Will reheat as last time but it took over an hour to heat thru, not 25 mins.
Panko is genius; the bechamel as a whole is a gem! The spiced meat sauce absolutely needs the stick of cinnamon, & I agree with elderly Greek woman that 1C broth is too much. Skip it and instead dissolve your bouillon in the wine. Also, drink some wine. And for the love of Pete SKIM THE FAT FROM YOUR MEAT. This tastes absolutely amazing. Thank you!!
Delicious recipe. I made with 500g of lamb mince and 250 of beef. Also added a layer of potatoes i cut into 1cm thick slices and fried. The bechamel was so good with the panko. But I used every pot in the house.
This is soooo good. IMHO What moussaka is supposed to taste like. Not a complaint, but the prep time is way more than 40 minutes if you are doing it all by yourself. Next time I’ll make an even larger batch, and it will take more time, but well worth it.