Traditional Moussaka recipe with eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes (2024)

Greek Moussaka recipe – A delicious taste of Greece

Greek Moussaka (mousaka) is without a doubt, Greece’s most popular, traditional dish! You’ll be hard pressed to find a taverna that doesn’t serve it or a household that doesn’t make it on special occasions!

So what is Moussaka? Moussaka is a traditional Greek eggplant casserole made with baked or pan fried eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes, a rich, tomatoey beef or lamb mince sauce and topped off with a deliciously creamy bechamel sauce. In other words, the ultimate comfort food.

Traditional Greek Moussaka Key Preparation Steps

Greek Moussaka recipe: Preparing the eggplants and potatoes

The eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes are the foundation of a Greek Moussaka (Muscaca) and they serve two very different purposes.The sliced potatoes are the base for the dish, give it robustness and make it easy to cut and serve.On the other hand, the aubergines act like little sponges. They soak up the delicious tomato sauce and give the dish its incredible juiciness and creaminess.These are my top tips to prepare them to perfection!

Baking or frying the Moussaka eggplants (aubergines) and potatoes?

Traditionally, the Moussaka eggplants and potatoes are shallow fried until golden brown. This is how most tavena’s make their moussaka because shallow frying adds an incredible lusciousness to the dish that is hard to resist.However, I much prefer a lighter moussaka that is not too oily and greasy.

So, I bake my moussaka aubergines and potatoes instead. Your moussaka will turn out to be lighter, with less calories and will taste just as amazing! Now you can enjoy more of your moussaka guilt free! So, drizzle your sliced aubergines and potatoes with some olive oil, season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and bake them in sheet pans for 20 minutes at 180C/350F until they are part way cooked and slightly browned on the outside.

Tip: Don’t forget your eggplants (aubergines) will shrink when baked, so make sure you slice enough to give you around 3 layers of coverage. When baked, they will shrink down to just the right amount for 2 luscious layers!

Tip: When baked, sliced aubergines tend to stick to the sheet pans. To prevent that from happening, bake them in non-stick sheets or overlap the slices a little bit so they are partially lifted from the bottom of your sheet pan. They will then come right off without any of their flesh sticking to the sheets!

Tip: You can bake the potatoes in the same baking tray that you’ll use to bake your Moussaka in. Not only will you slice and layer the exact number of potatoes, but you’ll also end up with less washing up to do!

Adding potatoes to your Moussaka (or not)?

Over the years I’ve witnessed plenty of debate whether Moussaka should be made with just eggplants or also with potatoes.From my experience, I find that adding potatoes as the base layer of my moussaka makes the dish, more complete.The starchiness of the potatoes perfectly complements the tanginess of the sauce, the sweetness of the aubergines and the creaminess of the béchamel cream.

Adding potatoes to the moussaka makes the dish more robust, balanced and flavourful!So, I must admit that I am a fan of making my moussaka with potatoes! If you haven’t tried it, give it a go next time and I’m sure you’ll love them too!

Preparing the Greek Moussaka Meat Sauce

Traditional Greek Moussaka (mousakka) calls for either lamb mince or a mix of lamb and beef. However, if you can’t handle or don’t like the strong flavour of lamb or if you prefer a lighter Moussaka, you can substitute lamb mince with good quality beef or veal mince. Also you can make it fully vegan with my vegan moussaka with lentils recipe as well!

After you’re done preparing your vegetables, it’s time to prepare your Moussaka meat sauce. In essence, a Moussaka meat sauce is very similar to a basic Bolognese sauce.The ground meat is sautéed in olive oil, onions and garlic.It is then deglazed with some red wine and, finally, it is simmered with chopped tomatoes until thickened.

But there are also some key differences.Firstly, the spices usedfor the Moussaka (musaka) meat sauceinfuse the meat and give it a deliciously fresh taste and smell that characterises this traditional Greek dish!

Secondly, the Moussaka meat sauce needs to be very thick,so it doesn’t soak through the vegetables. Once you’ve added the spices let the sauce simmer over low heat until it has reduced and thickened. This will also help the flavours fully develop. Just remember to occasionally stir it so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pan.

Finally, your Moussaka meat sauce needs to be well seasoned. Once the Moussaka sauce has thickened season with salt and pepper. Add some, stir, taste and add some more if needed. Seasoning in the end will help you avoid over or under seasoning your sauce!

Greek Moussaka recipe – Prepare the Béchamel sauce

A traditional Greek Moussaka recipe needs a luscious bechamel sauce. However, this is also the trickiest part to get right! So how to make it to perfection? It’s all down to having the right thickness, whisking constantly while it is cooking, enriching it with eggs and cheese, and, addingjust the right amount of salt in the end.

Moussaka needs a thick and creamy bechamel. A thin béchamel sauce will soak through the meat sauce and won’t give you that creamy thick layer that sits on top and makes your Moussaka stand out! So, when preparing your bechamel, make sure you cook it long enough, until itresembles a thick custard.

To prepare your Moussaka bechamel sauce start by first melting your butter on high heat.Add all of the flour, whisk it until the butter is fully absorbed into the flourand let it cook for a couple of minutes until it slightly browns.Turn down the heat to medium and add the milk a little bit at a time. Wait for the milk to absorb into the flour, add some more and repeat until you’ve used all the milk in the recipe.Your béchamel sauce is ready when it has thickened and resembles a custard, like the picture below.

Tip: You’ll need to be constantly whisking while you’re adding the milk. Cooking your béchamel sauce while whisking over a low heat will prevent it from burning and sticking to the bottom of your pan.I always use a hand mixer with the whisk attachment to help me with the whisking as I find it quite tiring to do it all by hand!

Assemble your Traditional Greek Moussaka!

Now that your vegetables, your béchamel and your meat sauce are ready it’s time to assemble your dish!Firstly, pick the deepest baking dish that you have at hand to make sure you can use all your meat sauce and béchamel without fear that it won’t fit and spill over! For my recipe below a 20x30cm/8x12inch and 8cm/3 inch deep baking dish is ideal.

To assemble your Moussaka, start by layering your potatoes at the bottom of your baking dish.Split your aubergines in two lots. You’ll need the first lot to layer over the potatoes and the second lot to cover the meat sauce.Spread the first layer of aubergines over your potatoes. If you have too fewaubergines space them out a bit. If you have too many, overlap them a bit so they all fit!

Using a large ladle or spoon, pour your meat sauceover your aubergines and spread it evenly.Spread your second aubergine layer over the meat sauce, spacing them out evenly.Finally using a large ladle add the béchameland spread it out evenly, making sure your whole moussaka is covered!

Finally sprinkle a bit of grated cheese on top. When your moussaka is baked, the cheese will melt and give it a delicious golden brown color!Your traditional Greek Moussaka is now ready to bake or to store it in the fridge and bake it later!

Preparing your Moussaka in advance

There are three ways to prepare your Moussaka in advance. You can bake it and reheat it, store it in the fridge unbaked and bake it on the day or bake it from frozen.

Bake and reheat: This is the way to go if you are short on time on the day you want to serve your moussaka. Bake it the day before, let it cool down, wrap it in cling film and store in the fridge. When you want to serve it, just pop it in the oven for 30 minutes at 150C / 300F to reheat.

Bake on the day: This is the way to go if you want your moussaka to be piping hot and fresh for your big day! When you have assembled your moussaka, let it cool down, wrap it with cling film and store it in the fridge uncooked. Then go ahead and bake it on the day for about 1 hour at 180C/350F.

Bake from frozen: This is the way to go if you want to bake and serve your moussaka more than a couple of days later. When you have assembled your moussaka and it has fully cooled down, wrap it in cling film and store it in the freezer uncooked. Be careful to store it flat so the bechamel doesn’t pour out! It will keep for up to a month and be just as fresh when baked and served! To serve, heat up your oven to 180C/350F and bake it for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until it’s cooked through.

Moussaka leftovers: If you just have some leftovers that you’d like to keep for more than a couple of days, cut them up in individual portions and store them in airtight containers in the freezer. To serve them, pop them in the oven for about 45 minutes at 150C/300F until they have defrosted and heated up throughout.

Tip: You can use a kitchen knife to check if your Moussaka has defrosted. Poke the center of your piece/tray with your knife, pick out some of the meat sauce and check if it is piping hot.

What goes well with your Moussaka?

The traditional Greek Moussaka is handily a meal on its own! I personally love eating my moussaka with a traditional Greek Salad,aGreek Orzo Salad (Orzo feta salad), some crusty bread to mop up that delicious meat sauce, a delicious tzatziki as a side and, why not, with a juicy saganaki or a Feta Saganakisome dolmades (stuffed vine leaves)and crunchy Greek Meatballs as a starter! And of course some delicious Loukoumades, baklava, or galaktoboureko as a dessert!

Love eggplants? Take a look at my favourite stuffed eggplants with mince (papoutsakia), my delicious eggplant dip, pan-fried battered eggplants and tagliatelle with eggplants and feta cheese recipes which I’m sure you’ll love as well!

Love that creamy béchamel? If you love moussaka, then I am sure you will fall in love with the traditional pastit*io, the Greek version of Lasagne!

Are you a vegetarian or observing lent? Not to worry, there is always a way to enjoy this delicious dish! My delicious Vegan Moussaka with lentils recipe with a lentil-mushroom based sauce is made for you!

So go ahead, give this traditional Greek Moussaka recipe a try and amaze your friends and family with this extra tasty hearty dish! And of course, don’t forget to let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!

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Are you a Greek speaker? You can always read this delicious recipe in Greek here Παραδοσιακός Μουσακάς συνταγή (Μουσακάς με πατάτες και μελιτζάνες).