Vegetarian Moussakas with Feta and Mozzarella

Sharing is caring!

Sometimes we want to go meatless, so if you also want to avoid eating meat you should try this amazing vegetarian Moussakas recipe.

Moussakas is the most known Greek dish.  Sometimes we want to go meatless, so if you also want to avoid eating meat you should try this amazing recipe, with Greek feta and Italian mozzarella, adding lots of onions,  feta and a marinara sauce and topped with a bechamel sauce with feta in it.  

You will be amazed by the wonderful flavours this dish has.

1. The Eggplants

You can use any type of eggplants (aubergines) but personally I prefer this Greek variety called Tsakonikes.

Tsakonikes eggplants are named after the region they are produced (Tsakonia) Kynouria, a region in Arcadia, Peloponnese.

These eggplants are long, thin, seedless and very sweet, so you don’t have to salt them to draw out bitterness.

You can leave the skin on but I prefer to partially peel each eggplant, as sometimes the skin is hard to digest if you have a sensitive stomach.

I then cut each eggplant in 3 or 4 slices, depending on how big the eggplants are.

Then I shallow fry them in extra virgin olive oil. If you like you can brush the slices with olive oil and bake them but this way it is quicker. After frying them, I put them on kitchen paper to absorb any extra oil.

2. The sauce

Eggplants love tomato sauce made with lots of onions and garlic. I usually make a Marinara Sauce, when tomatoes are ripe and keep them in cups in the freezer.

After frying the onions until translucent, I added the garlic and then the marinara sauce.

3. Greek Béchamel Sauce

Greek Béchamel is a bit different than the French one, as it is made with extra virgin olive oil and flour in equal weight. The flour has to be roasted in the olive oil until it starts browning, so as to release its aroma. It is flavoured with nutmeg, as the French one. Then the milk is added. What makes Greek Béchamel different, is the addition of eggs and cheese. So, after adding the milk and whisking it continuously, the eggs are whisked separately and added gradually so as not to curdle them.

Finally the cheese is added to the bechamel.

Assembling the Vegetarian Moussakas

Add half of the fried eggplants in a 32 x 22 cm (12 ½ x 9 inch) baking pan and season with salt and pepper.

Crumble half the feta on top. 

Add the sauce on top and layer the remaining eggplants.

Prepare béchamel sauce and mix in remaining crumbled feta. 

Cover the eggplants with the béchamel sauce and crumble some mozzarella on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden on top.

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

Sharing is caring!