Delicious Lighter Moussaka - a lower in calorie and healthier version of this Traditional Greek dish.
Moussaka traditionally uses ground lamb in a tomatoey sauce with spices and slices of eggplant (aubergine) with a creamy bechamel sauce. It's a dish I love, so I just had to create a Slimming version.
Eggplant (Aubergine) is one of my favourite vegetables, it's amazing in a variety of dishes including of course this Lighter Moussaka which is a great recipe for getting a good amount of vegetables into your meal.
Check out these other Eggplant Recipes:
- Chicken and Eggplant Curry
- Spicy Eggplant and Tomato Soup
- Hoisin Eggplant and Edamame
- Eggplant and Pork Timbale
- Roasted Vegetable Gratin
- Moussaka Meatballs
- Mediterranean Layered Bake
- Roasted Aubergine and Tomato Soup with Parmesan Croutons
- Aubergine Lasagne
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more..
All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information for your convenience.
For this Lighter Moussaka, I use extra lean ground beef, because extra lean ground lamb is pretty difficult to get hold of unless you have an awesome butcher or a mincing machine at home, where you can make your own from lean cuts of lamb.
If you want to stick to a more traditional version and can find some lean ground lamb, feel free to swap it out for the ground beef, there are some lean versions that are not too bad calorie wise.
The topping on this lighter moussaka, I use a mixture of milk, starch, eggs and two different types of cheese because I just can't do without a bechamel sauce type topping.
It makes it feel so much more luxurious and delicious than using just eggs or quark/yoghurt for the topping and it's definitely worth the few extra calories.
There are plenty of vegetables included in this lighter Moussaka recipe, but I also like to make up a big mixed side salad to go alongside this. Baby Greens are my favourite, perfect just as they are with some beetroot or ribbons of carrot. Any vegetables or salad would go well with this dish.
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Recipe Card
Lighter Moussaka
Delicious Lighter Moussaka - a lower calorie and healthier version of this Traditional Greek dish.
Ingredients
- 2 large aubergines (eggplant), sliced thinly lengthways
- 600g (21oz) of extra lean ground beef (mince) , raw
- 1 large onion chopped finely
- 1 carrot chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 cups (360ml) of passata (or crushed tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- ½ teaspoon of rosemary
- 2 tablespoons of tomato puree (paste)
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- 1.5 cups (340ml) of beef stock
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- ½ teaspoon of chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of granulated sweetener (I use erythritol)
- for the cheese sauce:
- 2 cups (480ml) of 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 90g of parmesan
- 50g of mozzarella
- 1 egg
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160c fan, 180c, 350f (gas mark 4)
- Place slices of aubergine on a large baking sheet and spray with spray oil, bake until softened and golden. Set aside.
- Spray a frying pan over a medium high heat with some spray oil.
- Add the meat, onion, garlic and carrot and fry till meat is browned and veg is softened.Add the herbs, spices, passata, tomato puree, sukrin (sweetener), stock and splash of balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and then cover and simmer for 30 mins.Add half the meat mixture to a large oven proof dish.
- Layer with half of the aubergine (eggplant)
- Add the rest of the meat and then a final layer of the aubergine (eggplant).
- Add the milk to a small saucepan and heat gently
- Mix the cornstarch with a little water to make a slurry and stir this into the milk stirring until thickened.
- Stir in 30g of the parmesan until melted, remove from heat and quickly whisk in the egg to prevent curdling.
- Pour over the top of the layers of aubergine (eggplant) and meats and then top with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella.
- Bake in the oven for approx 45-50 mins until the cheese on top is melted and golden.
- Slice into servings and Enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 344Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 74mgSodium 652mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 8gSugar 14gProtein 34g
Nutritional information and values etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
natty says
I have just joined slimming world and wanted to make moussaka as the family love it. This recipe was lovely, my son and i made it together. The only difficulty i had was how much natural yogurt to put in as i didnt know what a cup was, so i guessed it all turned out good though and everyone enjoyed it, couldnt tell that it wasnt the usual recipe. Thank you 🙂
admin says
a cup is = to about 230ml.
I am glad you all enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to come and comment.
britgirl70 says
hey, I love the recipes on your site! can you tell me with the moussaka recipe if you can freeze it? It would be great it you could include on your recipes if they freeze well. I cook multiple meals at a time, so storing them in the freezer would make like a lot easier!
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes I would make it all up as instructed, but in separate portions and then freeze one of the portions before it goes into the oven.
Martin Stott says
Made this on Valentines day - absolutely fantastic! That cheese/white sauce could be used anywhere. Will be trying it on a lasagne and a pasta bake very soon.
All your recipes I have tried so far have been superb!
thanks - keep it up
Martin
Ruth Seddon says
another winner - coulbn't find low fat content lamb mince so chopped fat of lamb steaks and ground it down in my power blender
Anne Morris says
Delicious,will make it again
Sam says
If I wanted to prepare this the day before and store in the fridge until it was time to cook, would the cheese sauce keep well? Or would I be better off making the sauce immediately before cooking?
Jayne says
I'm sorry for sounding stupid .How many syns for the whole dish .It sounds lovely xx
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Jayne - syn values are given for all recipes on the recipe box. This recipe serves 6 people and is 1 HEa and 0.5 syns per serving. Hope that helps.
mike duffield says
did you peel eggplant first. ?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
no you don't peel the eggplant 🙂
Anna says
The best mousses recipe yet
Loved it thanku
Nadia says
Sorry if this sounds silly but roughly how long does it take for the eggplant to get soft? I have no idea! And don't want to be checking the oven every minute! Thank you! I love your recipes!
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
approx 20-25 minutes it took. I will amend the recipe to include the timing, thanks for noting.
Julia says
Hello, are those herbs measurements for fresh herbs or dried herbs please?
Louise Durling says
Was a bit unsure as we Moussaka when we go on our summer holidays, but it did not disappoint, will def be making again. thanks for ANOTHER great recipe to help me on My Slimming World journey and staying well in Target x
Louise says
Hi
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your recipes have been following you for some time and every recipe I have made has gone down a storm by the family
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with us
Rachael says
Absolutely delicious.
Followed the recipe to a tee other than I griddle the aubergines.
Never had moussaka before but I will certainly be making it a regular in our house. So tasty and easy to follow recipes.
Thanks Siobhan for sharing your tasty recipes. This is my 3rd recipe this week.
freya fluharty says
I made this - my daughter had never had moussaka and husband isn't great with aubergine, but.
Husband is more of a cook than myself and his greatest compliment is, 'fine' but the sauce with this (both meat and cheese) blew him away! Even ignored the aubergine, just couldn't get enough of the rest.
Thing is, I've now got to reach this mark every time I make something vaguely tomato/cheese sauceish!
Vicki says
Can you use xanthum gim instead of cornstarch for this recipe?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
No I personally don't recommend xanthan gum - it's a lot more unpredictable and can make a sauce very gloopy if you use to much.
Maria Georgiou says
I Love mousakka! This recipe is delicious! I made it exactly as it is and i loved it. As a Greek Cypriot though i like to layer aubergine, zucchini and potato slices with the meat. And add the (slimming) béchamel sauce and cheese at the top. Thanks Shobhan for your tasty recipes!
Tia says
I'm a very novice cook but your recipe was easy to follow and the moussaka turned out great! Thank you for making me more confident in my cooking:)