Vegan Moussaka

Vegan moussaka recipe with delicious roasted eggplants (aubergines) and potato layer and homemade meatless minced meat sauce and creamy vegan bechamel sauce without any butter. Prepared pretty quick.

Greek cuisine is just so delicious. Before I started vegan, I ate it quite often. Unfortunately, Greek cuisine is very meat-based, so to create a vegan version is a must.

Course Vegan Casserole / Skillet

Cuisine Greek

Keyword dairy free moussaka, lentil moussaka, plant based oil free moussaka, vegan casserole recipe, vegan dinner idea, vegan eggplant casserole, vegan eggplant dinner idea, vegan moussaka recipe, vegetarian moussaka recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

Author Jasmin

Equipment

High Speed Blender

Ingredients

4 eggplants small-medium
4 potatoes

For the meat sauce

3 cups 225g cooked lentils
1 cup 117g walnut chopped
1 pck a 227g mushrooms chopped
2 carrots
1 celery
2 red onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
½ cup 120ml red wine or 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 can 700ml crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoon tomato paste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaf
2 teaspoon thyme dried
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
A pinch of cinnamon or one cinnamon stick

For the bechamel sauce

4 cups 1l almond milk
⅓ cup 50 g cashews
⅓ cup + 4 tsp 50 g cornstarch or arrowroot starch
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch turmeric
1 ⅔ cup 100g nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon apple cider
sea salt to taste

Instructions

We start with preparing the eggplant. To do this, remove the stem of the aubergine and cut about 0.5 inch (1 cm) thick slices lengthways. Now lightly salt the eggplant and place in a colander for about 30 min. This will drain the eggplant and prevent the moussaka from becoming too watery. And preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In the meantime, cut the potatoes into thin slices. And put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Now rinse the eggplants with water and squeeze out the remaining liquid.
Take a cloth and pat it dry briefly. Now put the eggplants on a baking sheet. And bake the eggplant with the potatoes for about 20 minutes, making sure that the potatoes
won’t get too dark.
"Meat sauce"While the eggplants and potatoes are baking, we prepare the sauce. We use a food processor and add quartered mushrooms, pecans, carrots, celery, onion and garlic and process it with the pulse function until the mixture is finely chopped. Make sure it doesn't blend too long, or you'll end up with a paste, not a chopped mass.
Now take a large pan and set the stove to medium rather high heat. Add the vegetables and fry them properly. Add a sip of water every now and then so that nothing burns.
Now add the lentils, tomatoes and tomato paste and stir well. Add a pinch of cinnamon (opt), oregano, thyme, 2 bay leaves, paprika and pepper and let it simmer on a low level for about 20-30 minutes. Now add the red wine vinegar and season the sauce.
BéchamelFor the bechamel sauce, put all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until a creamy mixture is created. Now put everything in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat, stirring constantly. The sauce is thickening now. It should be a thick cream. Briefly season the sauce again. Now take 1 tablespoon of the bechamel sauce and stir it into the “meat sauce”.
Set the sauce aside.
AssemblingPreheat the oven to approx. (400°F) 200°C. Use a casserole dish that is about 8x12 inches (20x30 cm). Put some sauce on the bottom of the pan. Now layer the potatoes and then put half of the eggplant on top. Now put all the “meat sauce” on the eggplants and distribute them evenly. Add the remaining eggplants to the sauce. Now pour all the bechamel sauce over it and spread it evenly.
Now bake the vegan moussaka for about 60 minutes until it turns golden brown on top.
Then let the moussaka cool down until it is just warm to the touch. This is important! Then just start cutting it into pieces. This makes the bechamel sauce firmer and does not run when sliced.