Mom’s Moussaka Recipe

My mom’s moussaka is one of my favorite recipes of hers. It’s full of roasted eggplant, with a spiced meat and tomato sauce and topped with a creamy cheese sauce. Eat it over rice for a warming and delicious meal.

You might also like these slow cooker gyro lamb recipe.

While I usually post low carb and healthy recipes on this blog, it’s also the home of my favorite recipes that I got from my mother. I lost her much too early in life and she was a wonderful cook. Plus I grew up in a big family where food is a big part of our celebrations.

Anyway, this is my mom’s moussaka recipe and even though I am not Greek but this moussaka has all the flavors that I associate with the Greek dish. And is pure comfort food to me so I just love it.

This moussaka has spiced meat sauce, roasted eggplant and a creamy béchamel sauce. Even my husband who doesn’t like eggplant likes my mom’s moussaka. I had to make sure to keep this digital copy along with some of my other favorite recipes of mom’s. See below for more.

Recipe ingredients.

The recipe ingredients I used to make this moussaka are eggplant, butter, onion, ground beef, garlic, oregano, basil, cinnamon, tomato sauce, flour, milk, eggs, cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs and of course salt, black pepper and olive oil. Some Greek restaurants put potatoes in their moussaka but this is the way my mom made it so this is how I made it – without potatoes.

There are not many substitutions you can make with this recipe. If you are gluten free and do not want to use flour or bread crumbs you can check out this recipe for stuffed eggplant with cauliflower cream sauce instead of the béchamel.

You could also use ground turkey instead of the ground beef it you wanted to but you could also just use a lean ground beef too. Some Greek moussaka recipes use ground lamb instead of beef. Ground lamb is very hard for me to find and I think the ground beef is just fine.

Lastly some people use nutmeg instead of cinnamon in their meat sauce. I like the flavor of cinnamon but if you prefer to use ground nutmeg you can substitute it.

How to make mom’s moussaka recipe.

Step 1: Get out baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Slice the eggplant into ½ inch slices and lay on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and spray the tops with more cooking spray. You could also use olive oil if you wish. The eggplant acts like a sponge so if using olive oil use sparingly.

Note I used a rather large eggplant. You want to have enough slices of eggplant to make 2 layers. Also you may have to use two baking trays if it doesn’t all fit on one.

Step 2: Set pan under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until browned. Turn over and do the other side. When finished take them out and let cool. Also preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 3: To make the meat sauce, get out a pot and heat to medium heat. Add the butter and onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Then add the ground beef and garlic and saute until the meat has browned. Drain off the excess grease if there is a lot.

Step 4: Add the tomato sauce and spices (oregano, basil, cinnamon, salt and pepper) and mix well. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes then take off the heat and set aside.

Step 5: To make the béchamel sauce get out another pot and heat to medium heat. Add the butter and when melted, add the flour, salt and black pepper. Mix well and cook for a minute or two. Then slowly add the milk and whisk to combine. Stir while the mixture starts to simmer and thicken, then take off the heat.

Step 6: In a bowl whisk the eggs and then add a bit of hot cream sauce to the eggs and whisk together until well mixed. Then add this mixture to the pan of cream sauce. Whisk together to make the béchamel sauce and set aside.

Step 7: To put the moussaka together, get out a large casserole or baking dish. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add half of the eggplant slices to the bottom and space out evenly. Then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of parmesan and cheddar cheese over the eggplant.

Step 8: Add 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs to the meat sauce and mix well. Then spoon all of the sauce over the eggplant slices. Sprinkle 2 more tablespoons of both the parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese over the sauce.

Step 9: Add the rest of the eggplant slices for the next layer and then pour the béchamel sauce over the whole casserole. Sprinkle the rest of the cheddar and parmesan cheese on top.

Step 10: Place the moussaka in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. You can also place it under the broiler for a few minutes if it’s not brown enough after 40 minutes in the oven. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

My mom used to make moussaka for special occasions or Sunday dinner. All my brothers and sisters would come over for a big Sunday dinner and this moussaka definitely feeds a crowd. We would eat it over rice with turmeric in it to give it a lovely yellow color.

Store leftover moussaka in an airtight container. You can also freeze portions of this for another day. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

More of my favorite recipes from my mom.

These are a few of my other favorite recipes I learned from my mom. The lasagna is a very popular recipe on this blog!

• the best lasagna (this lasagna also feed a crowd)
• pepper steak stir fry
• green bean stew over rice
• Texas sheet cake
• green olive veggie dip
• ground turkey chili
• shortcut Lebanese meat pies and spinach pies

I hope you give my mom’s moussaka recipe a try even if eggplant is not one of your favorite vegetables. It’s a most delicious recipe and would be great for feeding a crowd or a Sunday dinner. Moussaka is pure comfort food to me and it makes for a hearty and tasty meal. Enjoy!