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The ultimate vegan version of a Greek classic, this plant-based moussaka brings all of the flavor while ditching all of the animal products. In each mouthful you’ll find tender eggplants, rich vegetable mince, and best of all, a thick creamy vegan béchamel sauce.
What is moussaka and how is it not normally vegan?
Moussaka refers to a layered oven-baked casserole. Known to be of Greek origin, the most traditional recipe contains layers of eggplant slices and ground beef. It’s a bit like a lasgane but minus the pasta. However, in later years, béchamel sauce was added, transforming the dish into a richer menu item. Alternative versions of the dish often include potatoes and zucchini.
Making a vegan moussaka for dinner is super easy. Essentially, it’s just a case of swapping out the ground beef forwith a suitable plant-based alternative and making a dairy-free béchamel sauce.
Ingredients
Aubergines
- 6 eggplants
- Olive oil
- Salt
Filling
- Olive oil
- 2 onions (finely diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (finely diced)
- 250 g mushrooms (sliced)
- 500 g vegan soya mince
- 1-2 tbsp tomato purée
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 150 ml vegan red wine
- 150 ml stock
- ½ tsp dried or fresh oregano (finely chopped)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp vegan syrup (eg maple, agave)
Béchamel
- 4 tbsp vegan margarine
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 400 ml usweetened soya milk
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Pinch nutmeg (grated)
- 1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
- 2 tsp egg replacer (optional)
- 150 g silken tofu (optional)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
Topping
- Melting vegan cheese
- Vegan parmesan
Instructions
Aubergines
- Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/Gas Mark 6.
- Remove stalks and cut the eggplants into slices, 1cm thick.
- Season with salt and drizzle with olive oil.
- Place on baking tray and cook, turning once, for 20-30 minutes or until soft and golden.
Filling
- Fry the onion in a little oil until lightly golden.
- Add the mushrooms and cook until slightly softened.
- Add the garlic, oregano, cinnamon and fry for a further 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato purée, veggie mince, red wine, stock, tinned tomatoes and syrup. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for roughly 30 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Taste and add salt and a little more syrup if necessary.
Béchamel sauce
- Using a large saucepan, melt the margarine on a low heat.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the flour until you have a paste.
- Return the pan to the heat, turn up to medium and very gradually add the soya milk, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add the Dijon, nutmeg, salt and optional extras (if using). Use a balloon whisk to get rid of lumps if necessary.
- Stir thoroughly then set aside.
Assembly
- Reduce the oven heat to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas mark 4-5
- Place a layer of eggplant into a rectangular oven dish followed by a layer of the filling.
- Repeat this process until you have several layers.
- Leaving a couple of inches at the top, pour on the béchamel sauce so that the top of the moussaka is completely covered.
- Add a thick layer of melting vegan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, take off the foil, sprinkle over the parmesan and place back in the oven, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes until the top is slightly browned.
This vegan moussaka recipe was republished with permission from Viva Vegan Recipe Club. Find the original recipe here.
