Vegetarian Moussaka with Lentils

5 from 1 vote

Vegetarian Moussaka with Lentils

This delicious vegetarian moussaka with lentils makes a hearty and filling dinner that your family will love! Two homemade sauces and roasted eggplant slices are combined in a casserole dish and topped with cheese before it’s baked in the oven to golden perfection.

Prep Time5

Cook Time55

Course: Dinner, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Keyword: bechamel, cheese, eggplant, lentils

Servings:

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Tonje

Cost: Cheap

Ingredients

150 g cheese (cheddar or mozzarella)
1 ½ eggplants

Tomato lentil sauce

1 ¾ cup cooked lentils (drained weight)*
1 ½ cup canned diced tomatoes
½ cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoon tomato paste
handful fresh parsley
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt

Bechamel sauce

2 cups milk
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Prepare lentils

You can skip this if you use canned or precooked lentils. If you use canned cooked lentils, you simply have to drain and rinse them, then set them aside.
If using dry lentils, you have to boil them first. Rinse the lentils under running water. Add them to a pot, pour over water and bring them to a boil.
Leave the lentils to simmer covered with a lid until the lentils are soft throughout. You might have to add more water if it evaporates before the lentils are soft.
Drain off any excess water after cooking, and set the lentils to the side.

Roast the eggplant

Start by preheating the oven to 180 °C / 360 °F / 160 °C fan oven.
Slice the eggplant length ways in thin slices. Place them on a baking tray or on a table and sprinkle a pinch of salt on each slice. Leave them for 5-10 minutes. This will help the water “sweat out” from the eggplant.
Use paper towels to press the water out of the eggplant slices and wipe them as dry as possible. Then, place them on a baking tray and drizzle some olive oil over the slices.
Bake the eggplant in the oven until they are soft and roasted through, about 15-20 minutes. Set it aside for later.

Make the tomato sauce

Finely chop an onion and garlic cloves. Heat some oil in a pot or skillet, and add the onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, cooked lentils, and salt to the skillet.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, and leave it to cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Then, add more salt and pepper to taste as along with roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves.

Make the bechamel sauce

Melt the butter in a small pot on medium heat. Add the flour to the butter, and whisk to combine.
Add the milk slowly a little at a time and whisk in between to create a lump free sauce.
After all the milk has been added, bring the sauce to a boil while stirring, and leave it to simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Set it aside.

Assemble the moussaka

Add half of the lentil tomato sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 inch (ca. 33 cm) casserole dish, then layer with half of the eggplant. Add another layer of the remaining lentil sauce, followed by a layer of the rest of the eggplant. Top it with bechamel sauce, and some grated cheese.

Finish the casserole

Bake the moussaka in the oven until the cheese has melted and is golden, about 15 minutes.
Remove the moussaka from the oven, and leave it to chill for 10-15 minutes before serving. This allows it to cool down to a manageable temperature, and will help it keep its shape as you cut into it.

Notes

*or use ½ cup dry lentils and 2 ½ cup water.

Can I make moussaka without bechamel sauce? – Absolutely. Bechamel, or white sauce, makes moussaka a lot better, but if it isn’t your thing, you can definitely omit it as well. Alternatively, use a store bought white pasta sauce if you don’t want to make it from scratch.

What’s the quick version of the dish? – Combine canned lentils with jarred tomato sauce, and layer this with roasted eggplant slices. Add jarred white pasta sauce and grated cheese on top. Moussaka fixed in 40 minutes!

Leftovers

Leftover moussaka stores really well. It makes for an excellent freezer meal, and is absolutely perfect for meal prep. Here is exactly how it can be best stored:

Storing: Store the moussaka in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat the leftovers before serving them.
Freezing: Freeze the moussaka in freezer safe containers. You can either freeze it in portion sizes, or freeze the moussaka whole if you wish. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Preparing it in advance: You can prepare the casserole in advance, and keep it stored in the fridge for up to a day before baking it in the oven. If you’re serving moussaka at a dinner party, you can actually prepare all the ingredients and assemble it the day before, and place it in the oven 30 minutes before you want to serve it.
Reheating: Moussaka is definitely best served warm! You can reheat it in a microwave or oven until it’s warm throughout.

Variations

Although the recipe is fantastic, it’s also really easy to adjust to suit your preferences, or any dietary requirements you may have.

Vegan: This recipe can be made vegan if you use vegan butter and milk alternatives, as well as a vegan cheese option.
Whole 30: Use dairy free substitutions for the butter, milk and cheese. You also have to replace the lentils, either with ground beef if you’re OK to eat meat, or with a variety of diced vegetables if you wish to keep the dish vegetarian.
Gluten free: To keep the dish gluten free, you can substitute gluten free flour blend for the flour.

Nutrition