Best 5 Low Fat Vegetarian Moussaka Recipes
Embark on a culinary journey to the Mediterranean with our delectable low-fat vegetarian moussaka, a symphony of flavors and textures. This guilt-free rendition of the classic Greek dish combines layers of tender eggplant, hearty lentils, and a velvety tomato sauce, all enveloped in a creamy yogurt sauce. Indulge in a wholesome and satisfying meal that caters to vegetarians and health-conscious individuals alike. Discover the secrets behind this delightful recipe, along with variations that include a vegan option, a gluten-free alternative, and a simplified version for those short on time.
Let's cook with our recipes!
LOW-FAT MOUSSAKA
I adapted this from the May 2007 issue of Cooking Light. It was a lot of work, but worth it. There's a lot of flavor without a lot of cheese and fat.
Provided by KLHquilts
Categories One Dish Meal
Time 1h50m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Prepare eggplant: Peel eggplants and slice into 1/2" slices. Lay slices on several layers of paper towels; sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoons salt. Cover with additional paper towels and let stand for about 10 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Lightly coat each slice with cooking spray and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoons black pepper. Arrange slices in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes at 425; take out and turn slices over, then bake for another 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Prepare meat mixture: Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add onion, garlic and ground turkey; saute 6-8 minutes, or until turkey is done. Stir in bulgur, mint, pepper, salt, allspice, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Prepare topping: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Slowly add milk, stirring with whisk until blended. Add four minced garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cooking 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with whisk. Pour milk mixture into a food processor. Add feta and nutmeg, process until smooth, then stir in yogurt.
- Assemble: Coat a 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Place half the eggplant slices in bottom of pan, then cover with half the meat sauce. Layer remaining eggplant slices, top with remaining meat sauce. Spoon topping mixture evenly over top. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes.
LOW FAT VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA
Am I vegetarian? Nope. But I love veggies, especially when they're fresh. Here's to healthy hearts and full stomachs!
Provided by The Savory Truffle
Categories One Dish Meal
Time 1h10m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Place eggplant slices on baking sheets coated with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 450 until tender and somewhat brown (about 7 minutes, flipping them halfway).
- Meanwhile heat olive oil, onions and garlic in a skillet on medium heat. After 5 minutes, add mushrooms, tomatoes, chickpeas, cinnamon, all spice and red wine. Put the lid on and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- In a 13x9 dish, place on layer of eggplant on the bottom, then spoon half the tomato mixture on top. Repeat layers. There will probably be liquid left in the pan, but that's okay. Just discard it because the flavors are distributed in the veg mixture. However, you may want to reduce the liquid and pour if over the dish. It will just take more time.
- Mix together the yogurt, egg, egg whites, nutmeg and cheese. It won't be completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and pour over the tomato mixture.
- Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, or until the top looks set.
LOW FAT VEGETARIAN MOUSSAKA RECIPE
I learned very late, last year, that eggplant can be delicious by cooking it in the oven with little oil, and I accepted it. But until last year, I had eaten so many bad meals made in the oven without deep frying that I still haven't gotten over my trauma about it. That's why I had always been thinking that eggplant should be deep fried to be delicious. But it's not. When I bake eggplants in the oven, I do my best to make sure they are all well browned. Otherwise, the bad meal I will get will not be just a bad meal for me, it will also trigger my trauma. In the recipe for meat free Greek moussaka in the oven, I use high temperature for this purpose and bake the eggplants on the top shelf, and I turn the eggplants upside down and change their places. In this way, the outside of the eggplants are sealed. They don't turn black or soften too much. As you know, Greek moussaka is prepared with ground beef just like Turkish eggplant musakka. In this recipe, I changed both this feature and the method of frying. Thus, it became a lighter and a guilty free recipe. If you are wondering how a recipe with bechamel sauce is light, I would like to remind you that when deciding on this lightness, I made the comparison with a deep-fried Greek moussaka with ground beef. The only point of the recipe that can challenge those with little culinary experience is the preparation of bechamel sauce. While making bechamel sauce, flour is roasted in butter and milk is added, and then the flour is lumped. This is the nature of the method used, it is inevitable. The important thing is after this stage. If the sauce is not mixed quickly and continuously after adding the milk, the lump may not go away. But this isn't the end of the world either. You can get rid of lumps by running the sauce through an immersion blender. Enjoy the recipe... Ingredients: 4 eggplants, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 3 tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, Olive oil, Salt, 1/2 cup of water. For Béchamel Sauce and Top; 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, 2 cups of milk, Salt, Black pepper, Grated Nutmeg, 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese. Preparation: Peel and cut the eggplants into long slices and spread them on a baking tray lined with wax paper, Drizzle plenty of olive oil and salt on and mix, Place them on the top shelf in a preheated oven at 220 C degrees on grill setting and bake until they are golden brown, Take them out of the oven and turn the fried ones upside down, separating the ones that are on top of each other and swapping them so that the ones in bottom are directly exposed to the heat source, Return them into the oven and bake until the parts that are not browned are browned, If necessary, repeat this process a few more times, While the eggplants are baking, heat 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan, Add the chopped onion and finely chopped pepper and stir fry until soft, Add the tomato paste and stir fry until the smell comes out, Add the chopped tomatoes and stir fry until they release their juice, Add water and salt, bring it to a boil again and remove it from the heat, For the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a pan, Add the flour and stir fry for one minute on medium heat, stirring constantly, Add milk and mix quickly and continue mixing without interruption and cook on low heat until it becomes lumpy and thickens (if there are lumps, you can process it with a hand blender), Add salt, pepper and grated nutmeg, mix and remove from heat, Arrange the cooked eggplants neatly in an oven dish in which the eggplants can fit, Pour tomato sauce on them, open the gaps between the eggplants and let the sauce get in between, Spread the béchamel sauce on top, Sprinkle the grated cheddar on top, Bake at 190 C degrees until the desired amount of browning is achieved. Bon Appetit...
Provided by Turkish Style Cooking
Categories Main Dish Recipes,Main Dishes
Time 30m
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Peel and cut the eggplants into long slices and spread them on a baking tray lined with wax paper,
- Drizzle plenty of olive oil and salt on and mix,
- Place them on the top shelf in a preheated oven at 220 C degrees on grill setting and bake until they are golden brown,
- Take them out of the oven and turn the fried ones upside down, separating the ones that are on top of each other and swapping them so that the ones in bottom are directly exposed to the heat source,
- Return them into the oven and bake until the parts that are not browned are browned,
- If necessary, repeat this process a few more times,
- While the eggplants are baking, heat 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan,
- Add the chopped onion and finely chopped pepper and stir fry until soft,
- Add the tomato paste and stir fry until the smell comes out,
- Add the chopped tomatoes and stir fry until they release their juice,
- Add water and salt, bring it to a boil again and remove it from the heat,
- For the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a pan,
- Add the flour and stir fry for one minute on medium heat, stirring constantly,
- Add milk and mix quickly and continue mixing without interruption and cook on low heat until it becomes lumpy and thickens (if there are lumps, you can process it with a hand blender),
- Add salt, pepper and grated nutmeg, mix and remove from heat,
- Arrange the cooked eggplants neatly in an oven dish in which the eggplants can fit,
- Pour tomato sauce on them, open the gaps between the eggplants and let the sauce get in between,
- Spread the béchamel sauce on top,
- Sprinkle the grated cheddar on top,
- Bake at 190 C degrees until the desired amount of browning is achieved.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 300 cal
LOW-FAT MOUSSAKA
A rich and comforting Greek classic without the calories, what's not to love?
Provided by Good Food team
Categories Dinner, Main course
Time 55m
Yield Serves 4
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Cook the peppers gently in a large non-stick pan for about 5 mins - the water from them should stop them sticking. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more, then add the beef, breaking up with a fork, and cook until brown. Tip in the lentils, half the oregano, the passata and a splash of water. Simmer for 15-20 mins until the lentils are tender, adding more water if you need to.
- Meanwhile, heat the grill to Medium. Arrange the aubergine and tomato slices on a non-stick baking tray and brush with the oil. Sprinkle with the remaining oregano and some seasoning, then grill for 1-2 mins each side until lightly charred - you may need to do this in batches.
- Mix half the Parmesan with the yogurt and some seasoning. Divide the beef mixture between 4 small ovenproof dishes and top with the sliced aubergine and tomato. Spoon over the yogurt topping and sprinkle with the extra oregano, Parmesan and nutmeg. Grill for 3-4 mins until bubbling. Serve with a salad, if you like.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 289 calories, Fat 8 grams fat, SaturatedFat 3 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 31 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 12 grams sugar, Fiber 5 grams fiber, Protein 26 grams protein, Sodium 1 milligram of sodium
HEARTY MOUSSAKA WITH LOW-FAT WHITE SAUCE
Categories Beef Potato Tomato Vegetable Bake Low Fat Dinner Casserole/Gratin Ground Beef Zucchini Winter Healthy Potluck Bon Appétit
Yield Makes 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with olive oil spray. Arrange eggplant slices and half of zucchini rounds, overlapping slightly, on 1 baking sheet. Arrange potato rounds and remaining zucchini, overlapping slightly, on second baking sheet. Spray vegetables generously with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until tender and beginning to brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water if mixture seems dry, about 7 minutes. Stir in oregano. Add beef; sauté until brown, breaking up with back of spoon. Add tomatoes with their juices and tomato paste, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, egg whites and cinnamon.
- Spray 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with olive oil spray. Sprinkle 1/4 cup breadcrumbs over bottom of dish. Arrange potatoes in prepared dish. Spoon half of beef mixture over. Arrange eggplant slices over. Spoon remaining beef mixture over. Top with all of zucchini, overlapping slightly if necessary.
- Pour warm Low-Fat White Sauce over moussaka. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over. Bake until top is golden brown, about 55 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.
Tips:
- To make the moussaka ahead of time, assemble it and bake it according to the recipe. Then, let it cool completely and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When you're ready to serve, reheat it in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes, or until it's warmed through.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the zucchini and eggplant by hand. Just be sure to squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible before adding them to the moussaka.
- Feel free to use any type of vegetarian ground meat that you like in this recipe. Some good options include lentils, beans, or mushrooms.
- If you don't have any vegan cheese, you can use a regular cheese that melts well, such as mozzarella or cheddar.
- Serve the moussaka with a side of salad or roasted vegetables for a complete meal.
Conclusion:
This low-fat vegetarian moussaka is a delicious and healthy dish that's perfect for a weeknight meal. It's easy to make and can be customized to your liking. So next time you're looking for a vegetarian dish that's both satisfying and nutritious, give this moussaka a try.
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