Egpytian Moussaka

Sat 26 April 2025

A lighter take on the classic Greek casserole, Egyptian moussaka layers saucy spiced ground beef with onion, bell peppers, garlic, and tender roasted eggplant. With no béchamel sauce, this gluten-free recipe is quick and easy enough for a weeknight.

You may be familiar with the famous Greek Moussaka, with its decadent layers of meat and creamy béchamel. Egyptian Moussaka has many of the same rich and delicious elements but there are a few key differences.

I skip the creamy bechamel sauce common in the Greek version and instead top the casserole with slabs of velvety roasted eggplant and crunchy pine nuts. This gives the dish a lighter vibe, perfect for the warmer weather.

I also add peppers, which add a nice variety of texture and freshness, and our red sauce has a different flavor profile. The Greek version has warming spices that lean sweet, like cinnamon and nutmeg. Egyptian-style Moussaka is more savory and earthy, with coriander and paprika.

Whether it’s classic Greek moussaka, its vegetarian cousin, or the vegan version, which is in my first cookbook, I always oven-bake my moussaka. In Egypt, there are variations where the eggplant is fried in oil on the stovetop. Again, for ease and to keep things lighter, we’re not frying the eggplant here.

The result: an Egyptian-style moussaka recipe that’s a bit easier and lighter but still just as comforting, especially with a side of Pita Bread, gluten-free bread, or Lebanese Rice to soak up all the saucy goodness!

Soften the Eggplant

To avoid all the oil nominally involved with baking eggplant slices, we will trust the microwave. Place Eggplant in a large glass bowl, cover and microwave for 10 minutes. This produces a wonderfully 'baked' eggplant for this dish.

Prep the veggies: onion, bell pepper and garlic. Decide on your favorite spices: Coriander, paprika, red pepper flakes.

Saute pepper, garlic and onion until tender. Bloom your spices and add 1 lb of ground hamburger. And cook until the meat is fully browned (10 minutes). Add 1 large (28 oz) can of Tomatoes and about 1/3 cup water. Break apart tomatoes with wooden spoon and let simmer 10-20 minutes. Add salt to taste and remove from the heat.

Assemble the Moussaka

Two choices here, slice the egglant into rounds and arrange half on the bottom of a casserole dish, top with half the sauce and repeat. Drizzle the top with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Finish with a minute or 2 on the broiler to give it some color. Top with 1/4 cup of walnut or almonds and 1/2 fresh parsely. Serve with hot or warm with Pita.

Simpler, dice the eggplant and fold into the sauce. Add walnuts and parsley and serve as a dipping dish with pita.

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