Vegetarian Moussaka Recipe; 14 Steps for Making a Delicious Greek Dish

Vegetarian Moussaka is a classic Greek dish that combines layers of eggplant, potatoes, and mushroom with a rich, creamy béchamel sauce (white sauce). It’s a hearty, satisfying meal that can be enjoyed year-round. This recipe is an easy-to-follow vegetarian version of this timeless meal. Here, in Cooking County, we’ll explain each step in the process so you can create your own delicious Vegetarian Moussaka from scratch.

There is another type of moussaka made with meat. If you like to try it, read our meat moussaka recipe!

How to Make Vegetarian Moussaka?

Ingredients

Vegetarian Moussaka Ingredients:

• 4 medium potatoes 
• 4 medium eggplants 
• 200 grams mushrooms 
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs 
• ½ cup chives (as desired) 
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon thyme (optional) 
• 1 cup white sauce

White Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 glasses milk 
• 2 tablespoons wheat flour or white flour 
• 40 grams butter 
• 1 tablespoon grated garlic 
• Salt as needed

Directions

Step One

Wash the potatoes and put them in the pot. Pour water into the pot until it covers the potatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt and heat the pot. Allow about 30 minutes for the potatoes to be boiled.

Step Two

When the potato is cooked and cools down a bit, peel it. Then cut them into half-centimeter slices. Another method is to wash the potatoes and cut them into half-centimeter slices. Then fry in a pan with little oil until it is slightly fried.

Step Three

Peel the eggplants and cut them into half-centimeter diameter rings. Then arrange the eggplant rings in a tray and sprinkle some salt. Allow about half an hour for the yellow eggplant juice to come out. Then heat a frying pan, pour some oil, and fry the eggplants.

Step Four 

Wash the mushroom and cut it into slices. Put the mushroom in the pan and put it on heat. Sprinkle a little salt on the mushroom, pour lemon juice, and stir until the mushroom slices are covered with lemon juice. 

Step Five

Increase the heat; otherwise, the water will seep out of the mushrooms. Remove from the heat when the mushrooms are slightly roasted.

Step six: Preparing White Sauce

First, fry the butter with garlic in a pan, just until the butter absorbs the garlic taste, but the garlic should not be fried at all.

Step Seven

Now, add the flour and quickly mix it with butter until it is completely mixed.

Step Eight

Then, add about half a glass of milk to the ingredients. Quickly mix the ingredients with a hand mixer, so they are evenly mixed.

Step Nine

Then, slowly add the rest of the milk and constantly mix the ingredients with a hand mixer to avoid flour lump and then add salt.

Step Ten

From this point onward, stir the mixture slowly with a spoon or hand mixer, so the sauce thickens and does not sink. The heat should be gentle during cooking. When the sauce reaches the desired concentration, it is ready.

Step Eleven

If you want to cook vegetarian Moussaka without an oven, it is better to use a double-sided pan. Grease the bottom of the pan a little and sprinkle some breadcrumbs on the bottom of the pan if desired. 

Step Twelve

Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pan, sprinkle a little garlic powder, thyme and pepper on the potatoes and sprinkle a little mozzarella and chopped chives if desired. Then put a layer of fried eggplant on the potato. 

Step Thirteen

Sprinkle some garlic powder, thyme and pepper, sprinkle some mozzarella and put a layer of mushrooms on the eggplant. Put a layer of potatoes, spices, mozzarella, a layer of eggplant and mushrooms again. 

Step Fourteen

Finally, pour the white sauce on the ingredients and cover the surface of the ingredients entirely with a layer of mozzarella. Put the lid on the pan and cook on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes until the mozzarella melts.

Note: A one-sided pan is okay if you don’t have a double-sided pan. 

How to Serve Vegetarian Moussaka?

After 30 to 40 minutes, when the Moussaka is, remove the pan from the heat and wait a few minutes for the Moussaka to cool down a bit. Then chop the Moussaka, serve it on a plate, and garnish it with chopped parsley or chives.

Do not forget to make this recipe and share it with us. Please do not hesitate to ask if you also have any related questions about the Vegetarian Moussaka recipe.

Tips for Making Vegetarian Moussaka

• Eggplant should be firm and fresh; potatoes should be waxy varieties, so they stay together when sliced into thin rounds. 
• Salt the eggplant slices before layering them to reduce bitterness and promote even cooking throughout the dish.

FAQs about Vegetarian Moussaka

• How long does vegetarian Moussaka take to get ready?

Assuming you are making vegetarian Moussaka from scratch, it will take approximately 3 hours to make this dish.

• What are the ingredients of vegetarian Moussaka?

First, you’ll need eggplant slices. These are the base of the dish and should be lightly salted before adding them to the casserole pan. Diced potatoes, mushrooms, onion, and garlic are also needed for flavor and texture.