Love Greek Moussaka but find it a little heavy? Try my slimmed down Moussaka Recipe which is lighter in calories, incredibly delicious and still tastes authentic.
Prep Time45 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: Beef Moussaka, Greek Moussaka, Moussaka, Slimming World Moussaka
Lightly spray a pan or casserole with olive oil or low calorie cooking spray. Add the onions and garlic for cook over low heat, stirring, for five minutes.
Add the minced beef, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon. Brown the meat for a few minutes until nicely coloured.
Stir in the salt, sweetener (I used Sukrin Gold), thyme, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf.
Add the tomato puree (paste), passata, soy, fish and Worcestershire sauces.
Stir in the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and all the liquid has cooked down.
Discard the bay leaf. Taste the sauce and season with salt (if needed) and pepper.
Prepare the aubergine (eggplant)
While the meat sauce is bubbling away, slice the aubergine either widthways as I have done or in rounds. The slices need to be about 1 cm thick or a little thinner. Season with salt and spray with a little olive oil or low calorie cooking spray such as Fry light.
Pan fry the aubergine on a griddle pan for 3-4 minutes per side. Alternatively heat the grill (broiler) to high. Place the slices on a baking tray and cook for 8-10 minutes per side until soft – watch they don’t burn! Set the aubergine aside on paper towels while you make the topping.
Make the topping
Heat the low calorie spread (such a s Flora Light) in a pan and then add the flour to make a paste (roux).
Stir in the Greek yoghurt and feta cheese. Mix until the sauce is well blended and smooth.
Take the pan off the heat and add the beaten eggs, mixing quickly so they don’t scrabble. Season well with salt, pepper and a pinch freshly grated nutmeg.
Assemble the moussaka
Preheat the oven to 180C/350. Add a layer of meat sauce over an ovenproof baking dish (measuring at least 30x19cm /10 cup capacity) and pack it down.
Add a little of the sauce and layer with the aubergine slices.
Repeat with another layer of meat, a little sauce and more aubergine.
Top with the remaining cheese sauce and scatter with the grated Parmesan.
Bake for 45 minutes then leave the moussaka to rest for at least 15 minutes or longer.
Cut into slices and serve with a green salad on the side.
Video
Notes
Tips for the Best Moussaka ever!
You can prepare the meat sauce up to a day in advance. Make sure the sauce is thick - you don’t want a watery sauce to ruin your moussaka.
Season the cheese sauce. Even though feta cheese can add plenty of flavour you still need to season the sauce with a little salt and pepper and some freshly grated nutmeg.
Make sure the aubergine slices (or any vegetable you use) are soft before layering into the dish.
If you want to use potatoes or squash instead of/with aubergines then spray with olive oil, season well with salt and pepper, spread in a single layer on a baking sheets and cook in a 180c /350F oven for 30 minutes or until they are soft if pricked with a fork.
Always rest the cooked moussaka for 15-20 minutes before slicing. It needs this time to cool down slightly and be firm enough to slice.
Moussaka keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge and tastes even better as leftovers! Reheat in the microwave until hot all the way through before serving.
Weight Watchers InfoYou could also replace the feta cheese with fat free cottage cheese which is FREE. Make sure to season the sauce well as cottage cheese won’t add the flavour feta cheese will.There’s 9 SmartPoints per slice for those following Weight Watchers, less if you use cottage cheese instead of feta.
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Please note I am not affiliated in any way with Slimming World or Weight Watchers. Syn values and SmartPoints are based on online calculators.
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Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.