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Introducing the Ultimate Vegan Moussaka recipe! It’s ram packed full of flavour and so healthy! This gluten free and vegan moussaka tastes meaty, cheesy, and is sure to be a hit with your whole family!
Recipe Difficulty – Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
I love this veggie moussaka recipe – especially in the fall and winter months because it is so warm, comforting, and hearty! Whenever you have it, this is a recipe you’re going to totally fall in love with.
Even if you’re not vegan or plant-based, but are looking for meat-free Monday recipes, this moussaka vegan style is definitely one to try! The lentils in this sauce give it such a meaty texture that it will even trick those meat eaters.
Both the vegan Béchamel sauce and the homemade tomato sauce are delicious. And you’ll be so proud of yourself for making everything from scratch!
This was inspired by my Vegan Lasagna and Aubergine Bake recipe, and pairs well with this Socca Bread to scoop up all that sauce.
Ingredients to make Vegan Moussaka
Ingredients
- Grated Cheese – I top my vegetarian moussaka with finely grated vegan cheese to transform this into a cheesy dish of heaven, ready for the oven. But you could use any cheddar cheese if you prefer.
- Aubergines – Are used as one of the layers in this vegetable moussaka. If you have any spare then try my Miso Aubergine, Mediterranean Vegetables or Aubergine Curry.
Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- Olive Oil – is used to cook the vegetables.
- Garlic Cloves – are one my favourite flavours to use when cooking!
- Red Onion – gives a great flavour to this sauce.
- Vine Tomatoes – should be quartered.
- Mushrooms – will be sliced and give a nice heartiness to this dish.
- Dried Oregano – gives an earthy flavour.
- Dried Basil – goes well with oregano.
- Lentils – give this dish a nice meaty texture.
- Pasatta – adds more of that delicious tomato flavour to the sauce.
- Tomato Puree – is another level of tomato flavour.
- Salt and Pepper – finish off the flavours.
Vegan White Sauce Ingredients
- Cashews – A cashew bechamel sauce is a great vegan alternative.
- Nutritional Yeast – gives a cheesy flavour and texture to this dish without the dairy.
- Dried Basil – is a nice light addition in flavour.
- Garlic Clove – allows that delicious garlic flavour to be present in this sauce as well.
- Salt – accentuates the other flavours in the sauce.
- Pepper – adds a little bit of heat to the sauce.
- Unsweetened Plant Milk – I use almond milk, but others will work as well.
- Olive Oil – adds a great flavour and helps with the consistency of the sauce.
- Water – brings this sauce to the perfect texture and consistency.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Vegan Cheese – You can use cheddar cheese if you don’t need this recipe to be vegan or dairy free.
- Red Onion – other onions will work as well.
- Aubergine – If you aren’t a fan of aubergine, you could try boiling long thin strips of sweet potato or butternut squash for a few minutes and then using it like you would the aubergine.
- Lentils – Could be swapped for black beans.
- Garlic Clove – You can use dried minced garlic instead.
Variations
- Spicy – Add some cayenne pepper to the bechamel sauce and/or red pepper flakes to the tomato sauce.
- Deluxe – Broil for the last few minutes to add a great colour and flavour to the cheese. Sprinkle with some fresh herbs on top and you are good to go!
- Kid friendly – extra cheese can help with picky kids. You could also adjust the vegetables to be more to their liking. The flavours are so amazing that if you can get them to try it, they’re sure to love it!
See this Awesome Aubergine Bake recipe for another great aubergine meal!
How to make Vegan Moussaka
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 200C and dice the onion and crush the garlic, slice the mushrooms, tomatoes, and thinly slice the aubergine into long strips from top to bottom.
Step 2: Heat a large pot with oil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook down for a couple minutes.
Step 3: Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, rinsed lentils, passata, tomato puree to the pot and cook down for 10-15 minutes.
Step 4: Place the thin strips of aubergine on a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and roast at 200C for 15 minutes.
Step 5: Now add all the white sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until a smooth sauce forms.
Step 6: Layer up with moussaka however you wish. I layer it like lasagne.
Step 7: Sprinkle over the grated cheese and bake for 35 minutes.
Leftovers
Store leftover eggplant moussaka in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, use the microwave or oven. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight first.
Recipe FAQs
Moussaka is essentially a Greek dish similar to lasagne with layered slices or aubergine, a meaty tomato sauce and a white béchamel sauce. Greek moussaka with its vegetable base is a great healthier alternative to lasagne!
As moussaka is pretty hearty, having a nice light side dish is a good way to go! A side salad, some vegan coleslaw, or roasted vegetables would be great.
It definitely has a similar taste profile. The biggest difference is aubergine in place of noodles/pasta sheets – which is a great healthy swap!
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Tried this Vegan Moussaka recipe? Please leave a star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and let me know how you get on. Hearing positive feedback is one of the best parts of creating recipes so please review it below and leave a comment!
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Vegan Moussaka
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 200 g grated cheese, (I used vegan)
- 2 large aubergines, sliced into thin strips
Tomato Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 red onion, diced
- 100 g vine tomatoes, chopped into quarters
- 150 g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2x 400g cans of green lentils, drained and rinsed
- 500 g passata
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
Vegan White Sauce Ingredients:
- 200 g cashews
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 pinches salt
- 4 pinches pepper
- 250 ml unsweetened milk, (I used almond)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 200C. Meanwhile dice the red onion, crush the garlic, chop the mushrooms, tomatoes and slice aubergine into long strips from top to bottom.
- Heat a large pot on a medium heat with olive oil, diced onion, crushed garlic along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook this down for a couple minutes.
- Now to the pot add the mushrooms, tomatoes, rinsed lentils, passata and tomato puree and stir. Cook all this together on a low/medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Place the thin strips of aubergine on a baking tray brush with olive oil, a pinch of salt and roast at 180C for 10 minutes.
- Add all the white sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Simply layer up the Moussaka how you like it. I go for a layer of aubergine, tomato sauce, white sauce, layer of aubergine, tomato sauce, white sauce and so on leaving enough white sauce to top.
- Finally sprinkle over the finely grated cheese and bake at 200C for 35 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Fantastic recipe. Far simpler than other recipes for moussaka that I’ve found. This was the first time I’ve ever attempted a moussaka but I’ll definitely be making it again. Went down very well with my friends too. Everyone had seconds.
LOVE this thank you Jenny 🙂
Hi I am about to make this but I wondered why you didn’t put a layer of potatoes like the traditional moussaka? Is there a reason?
Hi! Would this recipe work without the yeast please? Would love to try it out but my boyfriend has an intolerance to yeast. thanks!