The ultimate makeover: Moussaka
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The ultimate makeover: Moussaka

A light and healthy, but rich-tasting Greek-style dish

Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 5 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, wide sauté pan. Tip in the onion and garlic, then fry for 6-8 mins until turning golden. Add the carrots and fry for 2 mins more. Stir the meat into the pan, breaking it up as you stir. Cook and stir over a high heat until the meat is no longer pink. Pour in the wine and briefly cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the cinnamon and allspice. Tip in the tomatoes, tomato purée and 1 tbsp water (mixed with any juices left in the can), then stir to break up the tomatoes. Season with some pepper, add all the oregano and half the parsley, cover, then simmer on a low heat for 50 mins, stirring occasionally. Season to taste. Mix in the remaining parsley. Can be done a day ahead and refrigerated overnight.
  2. While the meat cooks (unless you are doing this a day ahead) prepare the aubergines. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 6. Brush a little of the remaining oil onto 2 large baking sheets. Mix the rest of the oil with the lemon juice. Slice the aubergines into 1cm thick lengthways slices, then lay them on the oiled baking sheets. Brush with the oil and lemon mix, then season with pepper. Bake for 20-25 mins until soft, then set aside. Lower oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
  3. Spread 2 big spoonfuls of the meat mixture on the bottom of an ovenproof dish (about 28 x 20 x 6cm deep). Lay the aubergine slices on top, slightly overlapping. Spoon the rest of the meat mixture on top. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Slacken the cornflour with a little of the yogurt, stir in the rest of the yogurt, then mix this into the eggs with half the cheese. Season with pepper. Pour and spread this over the meat to cover it. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, a little cinnamon and a grating of pepper. Bake for 50 mins-1 hr until bubbling and golden.
  4. Leave moussaka to settle for 8-10 mins, then scatter over some chopped parsley and cut into squares. Serve with a salad of tomato, red onion and rocket.
Try

MAKING IT HEALTHIER

A serving of classic moussaka contains 820 kcals, 58g fat (24g of which is sat fat) and 1.06g salt. My version contains 325 kcals, 15g fat (5g sat fat) and 0.65g salt.

PER SERVING

325 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 19g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 6g, sugar 14g, salt 0.65 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2009.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo carole

    07 May 2009

    carole commented on this recipe

    It looks nice but Moussaka is Lamb not beef.

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  • Binder photo Teessiderang

    07 May 2009

    Teessiderang rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    She is using the beef instead of lamb as it is only 5% fat. This is a reduced fat and lower calorie version of the traditional "lamb moussaka" which is loaded with fat and calories.

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  • Binder photo smithers

    09 May 2009

    smithers commented on this recipe

    it sounds great - can't wait to try it!

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  • Binder photo schizopear

    10 May 2009

    schizopear commented on this recipe

    i was going to make this moussaka for dinner as my boyfriend complains that i cook too many unhealthy dinners, however, having read through the recipe i don't really see how it is any healthier than my normal (admittedly not very authentic) moussaka recipe! i am now intrigued as to what a 'proper', unhealthy moussaka tastes like!

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  • Binder photo Caroline

    14 May 2009

    Caroline rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    It was nice, but took soooooooo long to cook. There are other reasonably healthy moussaka (with beef) recipes that don't take as long (my favourite is the must-cook-moussaka also on this website). Also, I would halve the quantity of cinnamon - it was too strong for me and that was without sprinkling any on top.

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  • Binder photo Kirstie

    08 June 2009

    Kirstie rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I am failry health conscious so I do tend to try the recipes in this series and am usually pleased with the results, but this was quite disappointing. The sauce seemed quite dry and the topping, rather than bubbling just went brown and crisp - didn't look very appetising! It also took a long time to cook, though if I was doing it again, I would cook the sauce for more like half an hour and the final bake for about the same. It did taste ok in the end, but it's not likely to be one I'll make again,

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  • Binder photo ef

    23 June 2009

    ef rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Even my 2-and-a-half year old and my 14 month old twins thought this was delicious. We loved the cinnamon. The long preparation time was worth the wait - though the dish didn't last long once it was on the plates. I steam-fried the aubergines to make them extra melty.

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  • Binder photo silnarnin

    26 July 2009

    silnarnin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great taste, and easy to do. I just think that you'll need more meat to serve 6 people, and it doesn't really take 50 minutes to cook the meat. A success!

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  • Binder photo kaff_mca

    29 July 2009

    kaff_mca rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This recipe had a great tast and was well worth the wait. I found I needed to add a little more liquid to the sauce. When I do it again I'll reduce the cooking time though, I don't think the meat needs 50 mins.

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  • Binder photo maderlock

    18 January 2010

    maderlock rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo george

    27 May 2010

    george commented on this recipe

    Tried to find a tasty moussaka recipe for ages without sucess . i usually use potatoes saying i dont really like aubergines but this recipe proved me wrong DELLICIOUS!

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  • Binder photo Jacks

    25 June 2010

    Jacks rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Yummy! Cooked the meat for only 1/2 an hour while the aubergine cooked and then the whole thing for about 50 mins - still turned out perfectly! A big hit!

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  • Binder photo Tim

    28 July 2010

    Tim rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    A really lovely and light moussaka. I found 2 medium aubergines was plenty for one layer and also I used 3 eggs in the topping. A great meal if you have some time on your hands.

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  • Binder photo Gooner

    06 August 2010

    Gooner commented on this recipe

    This was great very tasty. Agree you don't have to cook the meat for 50 minutes and I used 0%Greek Yogurt I've never made moussaka before as we have celiac in the family and the flour in the white sauce has kept it off the menu. Now it is firmly back on and I will definitely be making it again.

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  • Binder photo Gooner

    06 August 2010

    Gooner rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo mswood

    24 November 2010

    mswood rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was yummy but I changed it slightly. I added some chilli and made the topping with quark, Greek yoghurt, feta cheese, parmesan and the eggs (not as healthy any more though, but very very tasty). I only cooked it around 30 minutes and I always grill aubergines, it's quicker.

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  • Binder photo claremorris

    08 April 2011

    claremorris rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Lyn

    19 May 2011

    Lyn rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Chris

    22 June 2011

    Chris rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I might be able to adapt this into my ultimate makeover, but was not overly impressed by this recipie. My search continues.

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  • Binder photo Miriam

    28 June 2011

    Miriam commented on this recipe

    I toast My Aubergine. Taste great. Toast on longest setting twice. You can even use tosted aubergine in place of bread just put any topping you like as in a sandwich with nearly 1/5 the calories of bread or less.

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Difficulty and servings

Moderately easy

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 5 mins

Freezable

Ingredients

  • 2½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion , chopped
  • 2 plump garlic cloves , finely chopped
  • 2 large carrots (350g total weight), diced
  • 450g 5% fat minced beef
  • 100ml white wine
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon , plus extra
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • 400g can plum tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 heaped tbsp chopped oregano leaves
  • 2 good handfuls chopped flat-leaf parsley , plus extra to garnish
  • 3 aubergines (about 750g/1lb 10oz total weight), ends trimmed
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

FOR THE TOPPING

TO SERVE

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PER SERVING

325 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 19g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 6g, sugar 14g, salt 0.65 g

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