You don’t have to “go vegan” to enjoy a meatless meal as part of your weekly meal planning. Even meat-eaters can incorporate a vegetarian dish once a week. You can also modify vegan recipes (for instance, use dairy cheese in place of the vegan cheese) to suit your taste. The goal here is to add more vegetables to your diet, and incorporate more complex flavors, so they really satisfy.

A traditional Moussaka dish includes both eggplant and ground meat, and topped with a Bechamel sauce (white cream sauce). But this recipe is an meatless way to enjoy my favorite flavors in the dish. It eliminates the meat and adds whole grain, high protein quinoa, and is topped with a high protein, creamy custard topping. Yum. Of course, it’s DASH Diet friendly.

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Vegetarian Moussaka

Course brunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Vegetarian
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 6 people
Author Rosanne Rust MS RDN, www.rustnutrition.com

Ingredients

  • 1 large eggplant cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 2 TB olive oil divided
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup uncooked Bulgar and red quinoa mixture I used Full Circle brand that was a blend - but you could use 1/4C quinoa and 1/4C bulgar wheat
  • 1 small can tomato paste plus 4 cans of water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 TB chopped fresh basil
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup Plain low-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 TB Feta Cheese crumbled
  • 2 ounces goat cheese crumbled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup Plain fat-free or Light Greek yogurt
  • 2 TB feta cheese crumbled 
  • 2 ounces goat cheese crumbled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 TB Parmesan cheese grated 

Instructions

  • Preheat broiler to high. Line a baking sheet pan with foil.
  • Spray with olive oil cooking spray. Place eggplant slices on the baking sheet and lightly drizzle olive oil over the eggplant, or spray with olive oil spray.
  • Broil for 5 minutes on each side or until browned. If needed, cook in batches (being sure you only have one single layer of eggplant). Set eggplant aside.
  • Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan. Add onion, stir to coat with oil and cook about 5-10 minutes or until onion is tender and transparent. Add garlic, cook 1 minute until fragrant.
  • Add 1 cup water, quinoa, tomato paste, salt and pepper, and additional water (measured in tomato paste can) to pan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and gently stir in basil.
  • Set oven temperature to 350°. Combine sour cream (or greek yogurt), feta cheese, goat cheese, and eggs in a bowl or large glass measuring cup, stirring well with a fork until smooth. Set aside.
  • Spread half of the tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 9×11-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of eggplant slices over sauce, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  • Spoon remaining tomato sauce over eggplant and top with remaining eggplant slices. Spoon or pour yogurt mixture evenly over eggplant, spreading to cover.
  • Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Garnish with extra basil if desired.

Notes

I love my silicone baking mats for easy clean up and no sticking. Great for roasting veggies or baking cookies.