Dinner BY: PUBLISHED: 06/28/2019  UPDATED: 01/12/2024

Easy Moussaka

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Easy moussaka is what we are making today!

Make this easy moussaka recipe at home! Made with ground beef sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes. Top with soft bechamel and in the oven!

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You will be surprised how easy it is to make this delicious recipe at home! Make it in a skillet with layers of eggplant, beef sauce, potatoes, and bechamel sauce. You will not be able to resist this Eastern Mediterranean dish. Are you ready to learn how to make moussaka? Let’s get started!

What You Need For This Recipe

To make this easy moussaka recipe you need quite an extensive grocery list. Have no fear this doesn’t mean it is difficult. Get the following ingredients:

  • Eggplant – in thin slices to separate sauce and potatoes
  • Potato – thinly sliced
  • Garlic – fresh garlic
  • Meat – use lean ground meat
  • Salt and pepper
  • Onion – finely diced
  • Cinnamon – adds flavor to the dish
  • Cumin
  • Oil – use olive oil
  • Tomato paste
  • Grated cheese
  • Bechamel sauce

Note that the full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.

Ingredients for making moussaka with eggplant and ground meat.

How To Make Easy Moussaka

To make this recipe divide the recipe into three main steps. This way you can focus on one part of the recipe and then put it all together.

Step 1 – The Meat Sauce

  1. Preheat a big skillet over high heat and add ground meat. Break up the meat and stir until golden brown. Chop the onion in big chunks and add to the pan.
  2. Add the finely minced garlic and sauté for 3 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add the tomato paste and stir through the browned meat.
  3. Add a splash of water (about half a cup). Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and a teaspoon of cumin. Stir and let the meat mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
  4. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle it on the meat. Remove from heat and add the parsley.

Step 2 – The Vegetables

  1. While the meat simmers it is time for the vegetables. Peel the potatoes, wash them to remove the starch, and cut them into thin slices.
  2. You can use a mandolin slicer for really thin slices or cut the slices with a knife.
  3. Wash the eggplant and cut lengthwise also in long thin slices. Rub the eggplant with oil with your fingers or a brush and season with a bit of salt.
  4. Preheat a grill pan or grill rack on the stove until hot. Grill the eggplant and turn to grill the other side. Turn some more until soft.
  5. While grilling the eggplant, heat olive oil in a separate skillet and pan-fry the potatoes to a golden brown. Turn and fry the other side as well.
  6. Take the baked potatoes out of the pan, put them in a bowl, and set them aside.

Easy moussaka is a delicious dinner recipe made with ground beef, Bechamel sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes.

Step 3 – The Bechamel Sauce

  1. Now it is time for the bechamel sauce which is very easy to make as well. Which is all about combining butter, flour, and milk.
  2. Stir through continuously to remove any lumps. You will see the sauce come together and turn into a smooth silky sauce.
  3. Season and add your favorite cheese.

The easiest béchamel sauce recipe. Made with or without cheese. This cream white sauce is the best base for lasagna, Moussaka, enchilada sauce or croquettes.

Step 4 – Assemble Your Moussaka

  1. The final step of this recipe is putting it all together. First, preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ before taking a clean skillet.
  2. Start with the first layer of potatoes then add a layer of grilled eggplant as the second layer. Now take 2 to 3 tablespoons of béchamel sauce and add it to the beef mixture.
  3. Stir before you spread the ground meat on top of the eggplant.
  4. Cover the beef mixture with the béchamel sauce. You can use a spoon to spread the sauce evenly on the meat.
  5. Finally, sprinkle a ¼ cup of your favorite grated cheese like parmesan on the bechamel. Pop it in the oven and bake it for 40-45 minutes or until the bechamel is golden brown.
  6. Take your moussaka out of the oven and serve.

Easy moussaka is a delicious dinner recipe made with ground beef, Bechamel sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes.

Easy Moussaka Recipe

You may think that moussaka is Greek but it is also made in the Balkans and the Middle East. Just like the Italians have lasagna the Greeks have moussaka.

The main base of this recipe is a ragu sauce, layers of grilled eggplant, and fried potatoes.

This might not be the skinniest recipe but it is super delicious and worth a try. As this is an oven recipe you need a dish that becomes very hot.

That is why I make it in a skillet and it is also decorative as well. Instead of using tortillas or lasagna sheets, you use eggplant as the layers.

Eggplant contains a lot of liquid, so when grilling the eggplant season, them with salt first to prevent an overload of liquid in the moussaka later.

Easy moussaka is a delicious dinner recipe made with ground beef, Bechamel sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes.

Can You Make Moussaka Ahead?

Yes, you can make this recipe ahead of time. This dish will taste better if you make it one day in advance and store it in the fridge.

Reheat the moussaka in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350℉/185℃. If the moussaka is already quite brown cover the skillet with thin foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.

How To Store Oven-Baked Moussaka

There are two main ways to store your moussaka:

  • Fridge – if you plan on serving the moussaka within two days you can store it in the refrigerator. You can leave it in the skillet and cover it with thin foil. It is also possible to put it in an airtight container
  • Freezer – if you want to store it longer or have leftover moussaka you can put it in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months

Easy moussaka is a delicious dinner recipe made with ground beef, Bechamel sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes.

More One-pan Recipes

If you like this moussaka recipe, I’m certain you will love these recipes as well:

Easy moussaka is a delicious dinner recipe made with ground beef, Bechamel sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes.

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Easy moussaka

Moussaka

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 60 minutes

Make this easy moussaka recipe at home! Made with ground beef sauce, grilled eggplant and potatoes. Top with soft bechamel and in the oven!

Ingredients

  • Vegetables:
  • 3 potatoes
  • 1 eggplant
  • salt
  • pepper
  • Meat sauce:
  • 300 g ground meat
  • ½ cup of water
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pepper to
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
  • Béchamel sauce:
  • 500 g milk
  • 70 g all-purpose flour
  • 60 g butter
  • 100 g parmesan, grated
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Step 1 - Meat sauce
  2. Preheat a big skillet and brown the ground meat. Break up the meat and stir. Add the chopped onion in big chunks and add to the pan
  3. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add the tomato paste and stir through the browned meat
  4. Add water and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and a teaspoon of cumin. Stir and let the meat mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens
  5. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle it on the meat. Remove from heat and add the parsley
  6. Step 2 - The vegetables
  7. While the meat simmers peel the potatoes, wash them and cut into thin slices (note 1)
  8. Wash the eggplant and cut lengthwise in long thin slices. Rub the eggplant with oil and season with a bit of salt
  9. Preheat a grill pan on the stove until hot. Grill the eggplant and turn to grill the other side. Turn some more until soft
  10. While grilling the eggplant, heat olive oil in a separate skillet and pan-fry the potatoes golden brown. Turn and fry the other side as well
  11. Take the baked potatoes out of the pan, put them in a bowl and set aside
  12. Step 3 - The bechamel sauce
  13. Now it is time for the bechamel sauce that is really easy to make as well. Which is all about combining butter, flour, and milk. 
  14. Stir through continuously to remove any lumps. Season and add your favorite cheese
  15. Step 4 - Assemble moussaka
  16. Preheat oven to 350℉/180℃. Take a clean skillet
  17. Start with the first layer of potatoes then add a layer of grilled eggplant as the second layer. Now take 2 to 3 tablespoons of béchamel sauce and add it to the beef mixture
  18. Cover the beef mixture with the béchamel sauce using a spoon to spread the sauce evenly on the meat
  19. Finally, sprinkle a ¼ cup of your favorite grated cheese like parmesan on the bechamel. Pop it in the oven and bake it for 40-45 minutes or until the bechamel is golden brown
  20. Take out of the oven and serve

Notes

Note 1 - thinly slice the potatoes using a mandolin slicer or cut the potatoes with a sharp knife.

Nutrition facts

Calories: 668; Fat: 29g; Carbs: 62g; Protein: 41g;

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4 Comments

  • Reply

    Gemma

    07/20/2020 at 8:50 pm

    Hi – hope you don’t mind some feedback on this recipe – it may help others! The moussaka is in the oven now, but I did get a bit confused with the recipe. The first ingredients list mentioned a bell pepper but I couldn’t see where that was used? Also it said to bring the meat mixture to a simmer, but the only liquid was a tablespoon of tomato purée and a splash of water so I was worried I missed something? Also there seems to be a conflict between the directions and the ingredients list over using cumin or cinnamon? I used cumin as that’s the instruction I read first – hope that will work out! I was also unsure how thinly to slice the potatoes. I’m sure it’ll taste good all the same 🙂

    • Reply

      Mireille

      07/20/2020 at 9:34 pm

      Gemma,

      Thank you for your feedback! The fat in the ground beef combined with the tomato puree and water is enough liquid to get the meat mixture to simmer on low heat.
      You need in fact both cumin and cinnamon. I have adjusted that in both the ingredient list and the description as this was not clear.
      I’m sure it worked out in your moussaka.

  • Reply

    Alexandra

    08/23/2022 at 7:21 pm

    This was delicious! I ended up using 2 potatoes instead of 3 and had extra béchamel sauce. I added salt to the potatoes and salt and pepper to the béchamel.

    • Reply

      Mireille

      08/23/2022 at 7:22 pm

      Alexandra,

      So nice to read you really enjoyed this recipe and made some adjustments so you liked it even more.

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