Lentil Moussaka (vegetarian twist on a classic!)

Hearty lentils, roasted eggplant, sautéed spinach and a creamy custard topping make this lentil moussaka utterly delicious! This veggie moussaka recipe is perfect for Sunday supper, a special occasion meal or when entertaining friends and family.

Hey friends!

Today I’m sharing a totally comforting lentil moussaka recipe.

Though making this veggie moussaka does take time to prepare, there’s nothing complicated here (much like my meat lasagna or veggie lasagna recipes).

It’s totally a labour of love, but SO worth it!

The lentils are flavoured with warming spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of clove, as well as savoury oregano and spicy chili flakes.

Plus, there’s roasted eggplant, sautéed spinach and a creamy custard topping with crumbly salty feta. Serve with a side of pesto pasta salad and you have yourself one belly satisfying meal!

Sounds good, right??

What is Moussaka?

Moussaka is a traditional Greek recipe, typically made with lamb.

I like to describe moussaka as a Greek lasagna.

It’s essentially a big ol’ casserole dish of comfort food with multiple layers.

Today, though, I’m sharing a vegetarian moussaka recipe. It has all the delicious flavours of a traditional moussaka, but it’s made with lentils.

Vegetarian Moussaka Ingredients

Essentially there’s –

• Potato
• Eggplant
• Spinach
• Lentils in a tomato sauce with warming spices
• A custard topping with feta cheese

How to Make Lentil Moussaka

Full details on how to make moussaka are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics –

Roast Eggplant

1. Cut the ends of your eggplants and discard (I find it’s easier to peel once the ends are cut off).
2. Peel the eggplants. You don’t have get every last bit of peel off. Some left is a-ok.
3. Cut into 1/2 inch rounds.
4. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, turning once.
5. Once eggplant has cooked, carefully remove and lay to one side for use later.

Sauté Spinach

1. Add baby spinach and ground nutmeg to a pan. You can add a splash of water, if you like, to get things going.
2. Simply wilt the spinach and that’s it.
3. Remove spinach from the pan and place in a fine mesh sieve (or use a clean tea towel).
4. Push down on the spinach to squeeze out excess moisture. We don’t want to the spinach too wet because it will water down the moussaka.
5. Chop and lay to one side.

Lentil Sauce

1. Cook some onion and garlic in a little olive oil.
2. Add minced mushrooms and cook those down.
3. Stir in tomato paste and seasonings.
4. Add canned tomatoes, broth and bay leaves and cook until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and remove/discard bay leaves.
5. Stir in cooked lentils.

Custard Topping

1. Melt butter in a pot.
2. Whisk in flour to form a paste and cook about 3 minutes.
3. Slowly add warmed milk (half cup at a time) and cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Mixture should coat the back of a spoon when a finger is drawn through it. Add more milk and continue until all milk has been used.
4. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.
5. Everything should be nice and thick, much like a bechamel. Let things cool 10-15 minutes.
6. Whisk in egg/egg yolks.

Layer Moussaka

1. Grease casserole dish and spread a layer of potatoes over the bottom. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
2. Sprinkle over some bread crumbs.
3. Layer half of your roasted eggplant on top.
4. Next, layer half of your lentil sauce.
5. Then, goes half of your sautéed spinach. Repeat one more time, starting with eggplant.
6. Pour custard topping over top. If some seeps down the side, don’t worry about it.
7. Sprinkle crumbled feta over top.
8. Bake and garnish!

What Type of Lentils Should I Use? Do I Need to Soak Them?

Use dried green lentils.

There’s no need to soak these.

Simply pick over and discard any odd ones, rinse, drain and cook.

Rinse/drain lentils again after they’ve cooked before adding to the tomato sauce.

What to Serve with Moussaka?

• Greek pasta salad
• Simple green salad
• Garlic bread
• Olives
• Greek lemon potatoes (from Recipe Tin Eats)

How to Reheat Moussaka?

Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

The time to reheat your moussaka can vary depending on how large of a portion you are reheating.

My favourite way to reheat is to place pieces into a small oven-safe dish with about 3 to 4 tablespoons of water or broth and heat on 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until warmed through.

Can I Freeze Moussaka?

Absolutely! Freeze for up to 2 or 3 months. Portion into individual pieces before freezing (that way you can take out just the amount you want rather than an entire pan).

Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as noted above.

More Tips & Variations

A small sweet potato was used as the base of this moussaka recipe. You could opt for a regular potato instead, if you like.

The egg plant was cut into rounds and distributed over top. You could cut length-wise into longer pieces, if you like. I just find it easier to cut into rounds.

‘No salt added’ tomatoes were used. If you use anything otherwise, you may want to adjust the salt added.

Don’t have spinach on hand? Try some cooked kale instead.

Hope you love this meatless moussaka recipe as much as we do!

Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon,

Dawn

Make this lentil moussaka recipe? That’s awesome! Love it if you left a comment and rating below. Many thanks!

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5 from 9 votes

Lentil Moussaka (vegetarian twist on a classic!)

Hearty lentils, roasted eggplant, sautéed spinach and a creamy custard topping make this lentil moussaka utterly delicious! This veggie moussaka recipe is perfect for Sunday supper, a special occasion meal or when entertaining friends and family.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Keyword meatless moussaka, vegetarian moussaka

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Cooling Time 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Servings 6

Author Dawn – Girl Heart Food

Ingredients

Roasted Eggplant

• 3 to 4 eggplants , peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds (about 3 to 3.5 pounds)
• 1/3 cup avocado oil (approximately)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt , divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper , divided

Sauteed Spinach

• 10 ounces baby spinach
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Lentil Sauce

• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow or white onion , peeled and diced
• 4 cloves garlic , minced
• 225 grams baby bella (cremini) mushrooms , minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch ground clove
• 796 millilitre can whole peeled tomatoes (crushed with hands, blitzed with an immersion blender or roughly broken up with a potato masher)
• 1/2 cup unsalted vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup dried green lentils , rinsed, drained and picked over and cooked per package instructions (about 2.5 to 3 cups cooked)

Custard

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour (5 tablespoons)
• 3 cups whole milk , warmed
• 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg yolks (yolks only)

Other Moussaka Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, yellow potato, or Russet potato , thinly sliced
• pinch salt
• pinch black pepper
• 2 to 3 tablespoons unseasoned panko bread crumbs
• 3/4 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

Roasted Eggplant

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Line baking sheets with foil or parchment paper and spread slices of eggplant over top. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes, turning once. Carefully remove and lay to one side. Reduce oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (for later).

Sauteed Spinach

• Place spinach in a dry pan (a 12 inch pan with high-ish sides works well in this recipe), along with nutmeg and a tiny splash of water (about 1 to 2 tablespoons). Cover and cook on medium heat until just wilted. Drain well of any excess moisture with a tea towel or push through a sieve, chop and lay to one side.

Lentils/Sauce

• While you are preparing your tomato sauce base, cook lentils in a separate pot per package instructions.

  Note: For this recipe, 1 cup of lentils was used and 3 cups of water. Pick over lentils and discard any odd ones. Rinse and drain. Then, bring to a simmer in a pot with water, reduce heat, cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes. Don't overcook. Rinse and drain.
• While lentils are cooking, prepare tomato sauce base. Wipe out pot of any excess moisture (from when you cooked spinach). On medium heat, add olive oil. When shimmering add onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in mushrooms and cook 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cinnamon, oregano, salt, pepper, chili flakes, nutmeg and clove. Cook 1 minute.
• Pour in tomatoes, broth and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, reduce to a medium simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes (stir occasionally).
• Remove bay leaves and discard. Add cooked lentils to sauce. You're looking for a 'meat sauce' consistency here.

Custard

• In a pot, melt butter. Whisk in flour to form a paste and cook about 3 minutes.
• Slowly (about 1/2 cup at a time), whisk in warmed milk. Once milk is added cook for a few minutes, whisking, until thickened before adding more milk. Continue doing this until all the milk has been used. This could take 10 to 15 minutes.
• Once milk has been used and sauce is thick, stir in pepper, salt and nutmeg. Turn off heat and let cool 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every so often to allow it to cool down (as to not scramble the eggs once added to a hot liquid).
• Slowly whisk in egg and egg yolks.

Assemble/Bake Moussaka

• Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with baking spray or oil.
• Layer potato slices on bottom of dish. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper and bread crumbs.
• Layer half of the eggplant on top. Next layer half of the spinach. Then, half of the lentil sauce, spreading out to have an even layer filling the dish. Repeat, starting with eggplant.
• Pour custard over top (if some seeps down the sides of the casserole, that's ok). Sprinkle with feta cheese.
• Place dish on a baking tray (to catch any spills) and bake for 65 to 70 minutes.
• Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 to 30 minutes (don't skip this step).
• Garnish with fresh oregano, if desired. Enjoy! Serves 6 to 8.

Tried this recipe? That’s awesome!Mention @dawn.girlheartfood or tag #girlheartfood