Egyptian Moussaka | Moussaka Recipe (Eggplant and Beef Casserole)

Egyptian Moussaka: How to make moussaka! This Egyptian moussaka recipe is a lighter take on the classic Greek moussaka with the same spiced ground beef mixture with onion, bell peppers, garlic, and roasted eggplant, but there’s no bechamel sauce in the Egyptian recipe keeping this eggplant and beef casserole gluten-free and Mediterranean diet friendly. It’s a moussaka recipe that’s a bit easier and lighter but still just as comforting! #moussaka #egyptianfood #eggplantrecipe #casserolerecipe

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🍅INGREDIENTS: 🍅
🔹 3 small globe eggplants (about 2 pounds), sliced into ¼-inch rounds
🔹 Kosher salt
🔹 1 large yellow onion
🔹 2 green bell peppers
🔹 3 to 4 large garlic cloves
🔹 Extra virgin olive oil
🔹 1 pound lean ground beef
🔹 1 teaspoon coriander
🔹 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
🔹 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper
🔹 Black pepper
🔹 1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes with their juices
🔹 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
🔹 1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds (optional)
🔹 Pita bread or rice, for serving (optional)

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⏱️CHAPTERS⏱️
00:00​​ – Intro
00:22 – Preparing the eggplant
01:17 – Roasting the eggplant
01:25 – Making the spiced ground beef sauce
04:33 – Assembling the eggplant casserole
06:30 – Baking the moussaka
06:47 – Broiling the moussaka
07:02 – How to serve moussaka
07:27 – Taste test

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The Mediterranean Dish is the top and best website / resource for modern Mediterranean recipes & the Mediterranean diet. See more: https://TheMediterraneanDish.com.

My name is Suzy Karadsheh, Chef and New York Times Bestselling Author, and here on The Mediterranean Dish, you will find easy, wholesome, and healthy recipes that celebrate the bold flavors of the Mediterranean from Southern Europe, to North Africa, and the Middle East.

I am a true daughter of the Mediterranean. I was born on the coast of Egypt in the bustling cosmopolitan city of Port Said, the North entrance of the Suez Canal, & just a boat ride away from Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel.

Learn how to make Greek food, Italian food, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, adapted with a modern twist for all the busy cooks and moms out there! Most of our recipes abide by the Mediterranean diet, but please consult a doctor for your dietary needs.

– If you know and
love Greek Moussaka,
the delicious layered
eggplant casserole,
I can’t wait to introduce
you to its Egyptian cousin,
my Moussaka that I grew up with.
It’s absolutely delicious.
Egyptian Moussaka has similar
vibes to Greek Moussaka,
but this is the
one I grew up with
and I’m so excited
to show you guys.
So earlier, I salted
my eggplant slices
because I still believe
that salting them gives
them better flavor.
Right now they have been
sitting in the salt,
so they sweat out
any bitterness.
I like to use smaller
eggplant whenever possible
because actually the
smaller eggplant,
they don’t have as much seeds.
And the seeds are what gives
eggplant that bitter taste,
and it also helps the
texture of the eggplant.
So it’s nice and velvety and
tender, so optional step,
but I highly recommend
you salt your eggplant.
You set it aside
for a few minutes
while you do other things.
I’m going to go ahead
and brush ’em with a
little bit of olive oil.
Egyptian Moussaka is
easier than Greek Moussaka
and it skips the bechamel sauce.
We don’t do bechamel
on Egyptian Moussaka,
but it still just as comforting.
We’re gonna go ahead,
stick these in the oven
for about 20 minutes while
we work on the meat sauce.
For the meat sauce, we
need a nice large pan
and a little bit of extra
virgin olive oil at the bottom.
As I was saying, Egyptian
Moussaka is a tad lighter
than Greek Moussaka.
That’s because we skip
the bechamel sauce.
But we do have our meat sauce
with the tomatoes, garlic,
onion, and it’s so delicious.
And we have a few
different flavor makers
that are not in the
Greek meat sauce.
I mean, I’m gonna reach
for some sweet paprika.
Aleppo pepper or red
pepper flakes are fine.
And a little bit of coriander,
oil is looking good.
We’re going to go ahead
and add our onion.
And then we have a couple bell
peppers, green bell peppers,
and we’re gonna cook
this party down.
I’m gonna add some
garlic as well.
And then we’re going in
with a nice big
pinch of kosher salt.
We’re gonna allow
the veggies to cook
for a good five minutes or
so to soften, just to soften.
All right, this is starting
to look nice and soft.
We’re going to add one
pound of lean brown beef.
Boom, we actually have
different versions
of Moussaka in Egypt.
Sometimes we make
it entirely vegan.
I have that recipe
in my cookbook,
the Mediterranean dish cookbook,
but this one is the meat version
and it’s absolutely delicious.
So once you break up the meat,
you wanna brown it entirely.
So it might take about
10 minutes or so.
Good things are happening,
the meat is starting to brown.
And then we’ll go ahead and
drain any excess liquid.
All right, so we’re seasoning
another pinch of course
salt for the meat,
we have not salted the meat
and a pinch of black pepper.
And then our seasonings
that we are using,
we’re going for some
coriander, sweet paprika,
and you can find these
spices on our site,
TheMediterraneanDish.com.
Just hit the shop tab
when you get there.
And then red pepper
flakes or Aleppo pepper.
I’m gonna use Aleppo pepper.
It’s less spicy and it has a
little bit of sweetness to it.
I really enjoy it, so we’re
going for Aleppo Pepper.
So we’re gonna toss
this party around.
Oh yeah.
Hmm, smells so good,
we’re almost there.
Now we’re gonna go
in with a whole can
of san marzano tomatoes,
which are nice and sweet
with their juices, of course.
And we’re gonna break ’em up.
And then whenever I
have a can of tomatoes,
there’s always some
around the edges.
I add a little water, swish it
around, and then add that in.
And really, that’s about
all there is to this.
So we’re gonna let this party
kind of bubble for a minute,
allow it to simmer together.
Let’s see what our eggplant
situation looks like.
I think we are in business.
So we’ve got our eggplant,
we’ve got the sauce.
We’re gonna assemble
this whole party
in this one baking dish.
My eggplant is not
fully cooked through,
but it is nice and soft.
So that’s all I wanted.
Okay, we’re gonna
go ahead and layer,
I’m gonna start with some
of the sauce on the bottom.
This is delicious, chunky sauce.
Kate’s gonna like it.
Oh yeah.
Yeah, so Kate, my friend right
there, if you’d like to show,
is one of the people
who are not able
to have anything
with gluten in it.
So I’m just excited
that she can try my
Moussaka, go Kate, go Kate.
It’s your birthday.
All right, then
we’re gonna go ahead
and layer some of this eggplant.
I want the bigger ones first.
At this point, they can overlap
because the eggplant’s
pretty soft,
so it’s gonna cook just fine.
A little bit of the sauce.
This is one of those
traditional meals.
And actually people used to
fry the eggplant and all that,
but nowadays we’ve gone lighter
and we bake our eggplant
a little bit instead.
So this whole thing
is going in the oven.
I mean, there are
several Moussaka versions
and I’m sure someone
watching this is gonna say,
that’s not how their Teta,
their grandma makes it.
And I would probably agree
because every grandma in
Egypt has her own secrets.
So, but the flavors are close.
And this is kind of the
one that I grew up with
and I love it.
And then we have a
few finishing touches,
so don’t go anywhere
’cause this is just so good.
since the eggplant
is mostly done,
and obviously the tomato sauce
with the meat is also done.
This is not gonna take
very long in the oven.
So we’re gonna start with
like 20 minutes at 400,
and we’ll go from there.
(gentle music)
All right, let’s take a look.
Ooh, that’s looking great.
Now at this point, I’m gonna
stick it under the boiler
for a little bit
to gain some color.
Oh yeah, this looks
great, it’s perfect.
I love the char on the top,
and that eggplant
looks velvety tender.
We are ready to dig in.
For me personally, I
like to serve it in bowls
because that way you can
get more of the sauce,
maybe a little bit of your
favorite bread to go with it.
It’s delicious comfort
food, Egyptian style,
and it’s perfect when
eggplant is in season.
I toasted some pine nuts in
a little olive oil earlier,
and I think they add a
really nice nutty flavor
and texture to this little dish.
My mama would be so
proud at the moment.
This is kind of hot.
Mm, taste like home, delicious.
You can taste just the subtle
flavors we added earlier,
the paprika, the coriander,
it all plays into the sauce
and it’s so delicious.
Of course, make sure you check
out my other Moussaka recipe,
the Greek style Moussaka,
right here on the channel.
Grab the recipe for
Egyptian Moussaka over on
TheMediterraneanDish.com.
I will see you later, ciao.
Oh yeah.
(gentle music)