Although some assembly is required, this moussaka is absolutely worth it. There are only a few ingredients required, including lamb and extra potatoes to replace the eggplant. The majority of the ingredients are commonplace pantry items, with delicious results.
| Prep Time: | 40 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 beaten egg
- ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 4 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.
- Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions and parsley until onion is soft and translucent. Increase heat, add lamb, and cook until evenly brown. Drain off excess fat, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Chop tomatoes, and mix well with seasonings. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Whisk together milk and egg, then gradually whisk into flour mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese.
- In casserole dish, place 1/3 of potato slices on the bottom, covering as well as possible. Top with half of meat mixture followed by half of tomato mixture. Repeat layers, ending with a layer of potatoes. Spread cheese sauce evenly over the top.
- Cover, and bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover, and bake 30 minutes longer, or until lightly browned.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 613 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 40 g |
| Cholesterol | 170 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 535 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 35 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I don’t understand how you can rate a recipe when you have changed it–you now have a different dish. I made this recipe. If I were to make it again and needed to make changes I’d share how I think I improved the real recipe. My husband will not eat eggplant and I love moussaka so this was the perfect solution. You do need to like to cook from scratch, no shortcuts since that’s what this is. Now I can fix Moussaka for dinner and not only is he not grossed out but he likes it as well as I do. Great recipe in other words.
I cut the recipe in half. used velvetta as ‘cheese’ in sauce….outstanding.
I made this recipe as we are not fans of eggplant. I omitted the potatoes for a low carb diet and used sliced portabella mushrooms on the bottom then lengthwise slices of zucchini, then the meat sauce, then the cheese. The spices were smelling wonderful as it was in the oven. Very tasty!
it’s more like a sheppard’s pie…i miss the eggplant
Thanks for posting this…I hate to be one of the reviewers who changes everything and then gives a thumbs up but I just had to add 1 eggplant which I sliced and grilled/broiled with a little olive oil before adding! I used only 1 lb of lamb and 2 potatoes (which I sliced raw and pre-cooked), 1/2 of a 32 oz can of tomatoes. In the sauce I used mixed 3/4 cup 1% miilk and 3/4 cup non-fat half and half (to get richness without cholesterol) and sprinkled some ground nutmeg in. Because of pre-cooking the veggies, it only needed 30 minutes uncovered at 375. It turned out yummy, even though I forgot garlic! Next time I would drain the tomatoes before adding because it was a bit soggy. And maybe add some feta cheese on top of the meat mixture layer. Tip: Make sure you really drain all the fat and liquid after sauteing the lamb and onion, otherwise it would be too fatty and wet!
This has potential, but it is bland.
The sauce on top is good however the rest is so bland. I will never make this again.
My husband said this did not taste like traditional Greek moussaka, but it was still very good. Our daughter and I agreed. We used ground turkey instead of lamb. It was very tasty! Thanks for the recipe.
My family loved it, I did pre-cook the potatoes to save time in the oven.
This dish came out really good. Didn’t have any eggplant, so I doubled up on the potato. Will make again with eggplant.
This recipe is more along the lines of Bulgarian Moussaka. There are many countries with their own version, not just Greeks! Bulgarians use potatoes instead of eggplant. If you like the Greek seasoning try adding a touch of allspice to the white sauce. I also used parmesan instead of cheddar.MMM! Thanks for the recipe.
Really liked this preparation with potatoes rather than eggplant. Traditional eggplant retains the salt after slicing and soaking so this is a great way to lower the sodium content. Would rather go back to traditional Parm cheese however in the sauce to make the topping less noticible.
very good and easy to make
This tasted great! I already had all of the ingredients at hand so this was a very convenient recipe. It did take quite a bit of effort to prepare but I was happy with the results. I agree that it did seem a little dry (mainly because of the potatoes) but it was nice so I will definitly make again.
Substituted basil for the parsley and it was OK but a bit bland, probably needs some Lea & Perrins of a gravy stock to pip it up a bit.
Like a previous reviewer i missed the eggplant! You can’t have moussaka without it! Its just not greek. This was still a lovely dish, though i wouldn’t call it moussaka.
This was just OK. I really missed the eggplant, and some of those familiar moussaka flavors (cinnamon, etc.).
This was delicious! I didn’t have the 90 mins. it calls for to bake, so I cheated and precooked the potatoes a little in the microwave (slice them first). I also cut the amount of onion to a 1/2 an onion as my family isn’t big into onions. I did squeeze a garlic clove into the butter/onion mix to add a bit more flavor. This does take a bit of assembly, but is so delicious and easy. And I love that it only called for regular ingredients that anyone would have on hand (if they are trying to find a recipe to use ground lamb). My family loved it!
MMMM!! This recipe looked perfect for the ingredients I had on hand, and the fact that I lacked eggplant for regular Moussaka. I cut the recipe in half except for the sauce and the tomoato mixture. For the tomato mix I used one can of Italian stewed tomatoes and 1/2 can of tomato sauce. Since I only used two potatoes, the cooking time was cut down by about 45 min. Will make again. Thanks for the great recipe Wendy!