Easy Vegan Moussaka

We made this tonight and it was delicious! The béchamel sauce was a big success and love that the recipe used nutmeg. Such an essential ingredient in a béchamel IMO. Our tomatoes didn’t carry as much liquid, so I think next time we will use a different brand or add some water. We should have also used more eggplant but got confused over the sizing, I do agree that a weight could be useful there. But we will take it all with us for the next time we make this, as we for sure will! Maybe with a tiny smooth layer of golden potato mashed with the béchamel topped to finish, mmmh already dreaming about it!

This was excellent! Rich in taste and very filling. Paired well with roasted vegetables.

Loved it. I decided to make it spur of the moment so I Started a bit late and had less eggplant than I needed (one large). Used dried lentils so had to cook those up first but the time on that is same as eggplant and roasted garlic. Also had two open jars of tomato sauce in the fridge so subbed that for canned tomatoes and omitted the oregano. I knew it would be a winner but still was delighted with how delicious it was. My husband and I devoured 2/3 of it in a flash. looking forward to making it again with more time to spare and more eggplant!

I made this one tonight. It was delicious! I knew it would be a bit time demanding, so I made the bechamel in the morning, and the rest later on, and that was helpful. Important to note that eggplants shrink a lot after baking, so I think I used 4 in the end, of which 2 large and 2 small-medium. Will do this one again for sure!

Bottom line…..Yum! To be clear, this meal stands on its own for health and deliciousness. However, it also offers variety to those of us seeking alternatives to meat.

I’ve made this twice and it’s been a crowd pleaser for vegans and meat eaters alike. The second time I doubled the recipe, made the béchamel sauce a week prior and froze it, taking it out the day before to assemble with the rest. My only deviation is when doubling I used 1 can of lentils and about 2 cups of soy ground “beef” for the filling. I think the roasted garlic and nutmeg are the star ingredients. While there are quite a few steps I’d say this recipe is not difficult and can be done in stages ( you could make filling and béchamel sauce ahead of time and freeze, then defrost when ready to assemble with the roasted eggplant). It tastes even better day 2 as the flavors combine. Excellent “keeper” recipe.

Loved this. Made this for my wife’s birthday dinner. I subbed Beyond Beef for the lentils because I wanted a “meatier” texture. Turns out quite well, though I would probably brown the beyond a bit longer in the onions and garlic next time before adding the tomatoes.

So yummy! Another awesome recipe thank you!

Well … this is incredible! Do not be intimidated by the longer instructions. Dana and the MB team have laid everything out perfectly to make this a fool proof recipe!
I made this for company over the weekend and it was a hit among everyone at the table. Make sure to include freshly grated nutmeg as it really pulls out the most amazing flavors from the dish. Saving this one in the archives to come back to time and time again!

Hi Dana. I made this once before and was awesome. Having a dinner party and want to double recipe. How much longer would I need to bake the dish in a 13×9 ? Thanks!

Rating to go with previously left comment…

This was crazy incredible delicious! Just made it for dinner tonight and I already want to make it again! Husband loved it too. A bit of work involved but all easy and so worth it! Going to be making this one often!

Tried this, because the bechamel sounded so yummy. Was not disappointed. Very hearty and perfect for a chilly autumn day. I want to try the bechamel in lasagna and maybe some other dishes as well.

For the lentil filling I used red lentils, because I found them in the pantry. Added some cinnamon and vinegar for a greek touch. And then I also added about three tablespoons of Tesco sundried tomato pasta sauce, because I realised I have a jar in the fridge that I opened a couple of days ago, and if I hadn’t used it now, I probably would have forgotten it there and found some life in it in a couple of months.

Unbelievably delicious!!! I used double the amount of crushed tomatoes and added TVP (textured vegetable protein) to the lentils and it tasted just like the traditional ground beef and lamb moussaka. The roasted garlic bechamel is brilliant. All in all an incredible dish and real crowd pleaser for company 😊

Fantastic recipe and didn’t make any changes. Simply delish.

I am the only vegan in the house so I have several freezer meals now which saves so much time later ! It is a fabulous recipe I love it when recipes turn out as promised, so much flavour and the topping is amazing!

Absolutely delicious! The bechamel is out this world and it tastes so amazing! Also no flour which is plus as it can be gluten free as well!
Boyfriend is vegan and loved it, gonna make it more often! Thank you

This turned out very YUMMY. Although the recipe is straight forward, beautifully explained, and simple, it is time consuming. I would advise this for perhaps special dinner or, if someone can do some of the steps ahead then it would be a reasonably not too time consuming main course.
I had special challenge as I have only a non-traditional oven, NuWave Oven, so I had to make adjustments for cooking time and had to cover it most of cooking to keep from burning top…….. but this is no concern for people with traditional ovens.
Next time I will double the number of eggplants. Perhaps a weight measurement might be better than number of.
I made one mistake but it was not critical…. I made my lentils in IP and didn’t rinse and drain so there was a bit too much liquid in the finished product. But the dish held together well enough I could tilt the dish and remove some of the liquid while still hot….
I CERTAINLY will be making this again. Friends are waiting for me to make for them.
I love that it freezes well. That will make it easier to share with friends.
Many, many, many thanks.

So delicious! Really nice recipe. Everyone loved it. I don’t think you can call it easy though. There’s quite a few things to prepare which takes a while in the end. Other than that, perfect. Yum!

This recipe is so delicious! It takes a little longer to make but the end result is totally worth it. The cashew bechamel sauce would be delicious on so many things and the lentil filling would be great on top of pasta.

This was seriously DELICIOUS. Was my first time making such an intensive vegan dish but boy was it worth it. Took about 2 hrs start to finish. Didn’t have the right size pan but that didn’t seem to matter. Used a 9×13 and timed it the same. Threw in a little extra salt and used the nutmeg. Yummmmm!!

Oh my gosh! I spent more than 2 hours preparing this dish. It’s yummy, packed with all the flavors that i trully love, but… it was way to much fuss for me. You have so many recipes that end up ready in 1 hour tops that I don’t know if I will go back to this one. Yet still delicious.

This vegan moussaka tastes amazing and I’m definitely adding it to my mealprep rotation. Next time, I’ll just add a bit more salt to the bechamel.

yummy — used bulgur instead of quinoa

This is the first Minimalist Baker recipe I have made and it turned out so good. I only had red lentils. I cooked a half cup dry and it was the perfect amount. I also used four zucchini instead of eggplant because that was all I had and I was happy with the finished product.

Wow I just made this and it was totally yum. No recommendations, the recipe workers perfectly Thank you so much ❤️

This recipe turned out to be delicious. The step by step layout of ingredients was very helpful, and the timing of everything was good and went pretty much as detailed in the recipe. I did have to be on my toes balancing one thing after another, so it’s good to have ingredients laid out in advance. the prep time took a little longer than indicated. Perhaps getting the garlic to roast in the oven before soaking the cashews would be better as a first step?

Wow! Incredibly tasty! I didn’t have canned, so I cooked a half cup of lentils and it was a perfect amount. I made half with zucchini and half with eggplant, and also added a layer of potatoes. Definitely worth the extra time this recipe took to make. Highly recommend!

Wow, this moussaka is amazing! I have made it already many times and cooking today again. Even my boyfriend who likes meat, loves it as well! Mostly he asks me to make moussaka for a dinner. Thank you for great recipe🥰

I made this recipe and my family loved it!!! I will say – it looked easy enough, but I did find it labour-intensive, especially because you mention 2 “small to medium” eggplants but I ended up needing at least 6 small eggplants! So I had to keep repeating the procedure of salting and resting them for 30 mins – the recipe took way longer than it should have! I suggest that you add the eggplants by weight, rather than number, because they’ll be different for every country/veggie vendor.

Also – I used red miso paste and soy sauce in the bechamel instead of nutritional yeast (omitted the nutmeg) because that’s what I had on hand and OH MY GOD – it blew my head off; best feature of the recipe, to be honest.

I made this with roasted cashews and it worked in my opinion. I also agree with some other comments about this being labor intensive. It took awhile to make and I wouldn’t classify this recipe as “easy” and this is why I only gave 4 stars. I have made other minimalist baker recipes that I would say are “easy”. I did enjoy the recipe and now that I know how long it takes to go through each step and what is involved, I’ll be better prepared for next time. Still delicious!

I recently made this recipe and found the filling to be VERY bland so I added approximately 2 tsp Greek seasoning, 1 tsp dried parsley, Additional 1/2 tsp oregano, 2 diced fresh tomatoes, and 4 oz. tomato paste. With these additions it is absolutely big on flavor and delicious! Going to make it again this weekend.

I loved it! So flavorful.

I love the simplicity of this recipe. It takes a while to make, but it’s mostly hands-off. The ingredients are simple, but come together to create something magical. The bechamel sauce is what adds that interesting touch. I made it twice already and it’s in my recipe rotation!

I positively loved this!! But it is labor intensive. Next time I will make two and freeze one since the recipe says it freezes well. That way it will last longer. My fiancé loved this! We will definitely make it again.

This was fantastic! I didn’t have quite enough eggplant-I KNEW I should have purchased more-so I only made two layers, but it is definitely something I will make again and I already recommended it to friends!

Absolutely love this recipe. Very flavourful and leftovers taste great the next day!

So good! Seriously one of the best dinners I’ve made. I substituted one layer of eggplant with zucchini. It was a delicious meal. Even my two year old asked for seconds. 😀

I am not a vegan, but do eat a lot of non animal products. I have to say this was the best Moussaka I have tasted! Thank you!

ps I didn’t use lentils, I used Impossible!

Amazing recipe, thanks!!

Wow, this was so delicious! My husband made it last night for dinner and we were blown away by the flavors and texture. It took him a while to make it for sure, but he said all the steps were spaced out nicely. Thank you for your recipes!!!

I LOVE moussaka, so I was so excited to find a vegan recipe. This was better than the non-vegan moussaka I get at the popular Greek restaurant we go to! It was DELICIOUS. I followed the recipe exactly and it was so, so delicious. Thank you, Minimalist Baker!!

I made this on Easter and it was well received. It was very tasty. I followed the recipe with no changes and it was great. One thing was my bechamel was not white as in the video. It was more beige. It still tasted good, but I wonder what I did.

We were very excited to try this vegan version of moussaka and this was a really great recipe! We’ve tried vegetarian versions before but never thought that a vegan “bechamel” would work. This cashew bechamel was really delicious, creamy and the roasted garlic in it was perfection ;-) We followed the recipe almost exactly, we just used uncanned brown lentils, which we cooked before. Altogether the recipe took a little time, but the steps were simple and easy to follow. So maybe no option for us for busy weeknights, but we will definitely make it again on the weekends or when we have guests. Thx a lot for all your recipes, we are making your recipes at least once a week!

Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Cooking was time consuming, but interesting and directions were easy to follow.

We made several substitutions based of what we had at hand:
-red onion instead of white/yellow
-cooked red lentils instead of canned green/brown
-grapeseed oil instead of olive oil
-Mediterranean seasoning instead of oregano.

We were in a bit of hurry so we didn’t roast garlic in oven, but fried and sauteed in a pan for few minutes. And finally – instead of baking tray we used small metal pot (all parts metal, no plastic that could melt in an oven).
We will make this recipe again and next time we will use green/brown lentils, because red came out too mushy and lacked texture to chew on. Otherwise it was really good, bechamel was so tasty! Not only we, but our non-vegan guests enjoyed it a lot!

A Greek vegan thanks you!!! This recipe was fun to make and definitely not as difficult as I thought it would be. I had put it off for so long because it seemed like a lot of work for one meal, but it’s not and it’s totally worth it anyways. Especially if you want to impress company. If you get the timing right, everything is super easy! This was my first time making a vegan sauce with cashews and I love it. This is soooo comforting next to a fresh dill salad. More Mediterranean recipes please!

This is one of the recipes I made of yours that I didn’t like. Maybe it was the lentils — I used red ones, which I had on hand. They were also dry, not canned. That was the only thing I did differently. I made sure the lentils were cooked through. They also soaked up a lot of the liquid, making the filling dry. It just didn’t taste good. 😟 It was a lot of effort for not a lot of reward. I love pretty much all of your other recipes that I have made though!

This is AMAZING!! I am the only vegan in the family and made it last night for my teenage grandson who came for dinner. He kept exclaiming that it was the best meal I’ve ever made. I followed the recipe exactly, and the béchamel is unbelievably delicious. This is my new go to recipe to impress family and friends. Thank you!

So delicious! The balance of the tomatoey lentils with the creamy béchamel sauce is spot on. I made exactly as written and it was perfect. Thank you for another great dinner recipe!

This was delicious, was the first time I made cashew bechamel and it did not disappoint!

Will make again, for sure!

I was so amazed and impressed with this recipe. I’m a chef and that’s saying a lot. I genuinely didn’t miss the meat or cream one bit in this recipe. What a great vegan version. The textures and mouthfeel was on point. I can’t wait to make this again to serve to company. I added a sprinkling of cinnamon on top before baking. I like that in traditional moussaka and it was great.

Why did I think this was so much more complicated than it is? I subbed Trader Joe’s beefless ground for the lentils and used a scoop of their garlic spread in the béchamel – both good time saving hacks! Some roasted greek potatoes, a little salad, and voila. Will definitely make again and again!

I followed the recipe exactly. This was an easy to make, amazing dish. Great flavors and the vegan became sauce was so flavorful. Adding it to my recipe collection.

I was really shocked by how good this recipe was! I had to use a bigger baking dish than the recommended one, but it still turned out really well. My fiancé kept asking me what ingredients were in the crust (the top layer) because he thought it actually had cheese and potatoes. The eggplant and lentils were so creamy and the flavors are perfect. I will definitely be making this again! Don’t be intimidating by the hour prep time because it goes pretty quickly.

This was delicious! I made the recipe as written and it was excellent – no substitutions needed. That being said, it makes far less than 6 servings if eaten alone. I would say this is enough for 2 or 3 people.

Just want to add that the bechamel worked perfectly with blanched and slivered almonds!

So delicious and my kids ate it up!!! Definitely a repeat 🙌 thanks for this gem of a recipe!

WOW! I have attempted vegan béchamel, but this one was soooo much better than anything I’ve come up with! I particularly liked the way it set when it baked and will definitely use in other recipes in the future such as lasagna.

I made the Moussaka, and subbed organic lean ground beef in for the lentils (not vegan, just lactose intolerant) and it was so yummy. Definitely a comfort food meal for a special occasion. Can’t wait to make it for guests post-pandemic.

I’m so bad at doing reviews even though I’ve successfully made so many of your recipes. THIS was amazing! I have never had moussaka before and I think this one is hard to beat. I used the optional nutmeg and it was the perfect hint. Already planning my next time to make this!!

Thank you for this recipe – this vegan moussaka was a huge hit with my family – The flavours are amazing and it is easy to put together!

Delicious! It is so worth the time to make it and the roasted garlic adds amazing flavor! I hardly follow recipes exactly so I added a roasted sliced thin red potato and two roasted zucchini to layer in with the eggplant but followed everything else the same. My meat loving husband said this is a keeper!

I am not the biggest fan of eggplant, but loved this! Even without the béchamel (I was too hungry/lazy to make) it was delicious. I also just added the lentils to leftover homemade marinara which worked perfect. For those that commented about the eggplant getting too crispy I think they must have sliced too thin because the ones I had sliced on the thinner side were on the edge of being burnt, but it still worked. Can’t wait to try again with the béchamel!!

This was excellent! Followed recipe except subbed cooked green lentils for canned. Thank you!!

Wow. I made this for my extended family and it was a hit! This was my first time making any type of moussaka and I wasn’t sure what to expect with the few spices but it was delicious! The hardest part was roasting the garlic (and waiting for it to cool enough to squeeze out). Next time I’ll make that ahead to cut down on prep time. This will definitely put in our rotation! Thank you for developing this vegan version!

This was amazing! I am ready to make it again for meal prep next week. Thank you for creating all these delicious recipes.

I made this tonight and it’s a lovely dish. Eggplant slices massaged with minimal oil, salt and grilled in a pan on stovetop just until tender. No lentils on hand so used a combination of white beans lightly mashed with a fork and tvp. Roasted whole cloves of garlic on a tray in oven for 10 minutes. Then assembled and baked according to directions. Lots of flavor, a real treat. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!

So good! This was really flavoursome and easy to make. I roasted the garlic a couple of days ahead, cooked the lentils that morning and it came together easily.
My eggplant was a bit small so I created a layer from sliced potato (microwaved till tender) and some homegrown silverbeet (chard), which I highly recommend!
I wasn’t super keen on the flavour of the bechamel, so I added some plant yoghurt, 1T flour and an egg yolk to increase the volume and thickness while tempering the nooch taste and it worked really well.
Thank you for another fabulous recipe MB!

This is SOOOO tasty. But it was extremely time-consuming. The 2 hour recipe time is no-joke. I wish it didn’t take so long because I loved it so much. I might make again but just cube the eggplant and sauté it in the same pan as the lentils. Because you can’t really taste or see distinctive layers once it’s all cooked. Definitely recommend but not if you’re on a time crunch.

Holy crap, this was delicious. I have made a ton of your recipes (they are all good!) but this was one of my favorites. The bechamel was so creamy and delicious. I saved the recipe to make again in the future. Thank you for all you do, from a fellow plant-based dietitian. :)

I made this last night & loved it! The only changes I made from the recipe were to use unsweetened cashew milk instead of water in the bechamel (mostly because I had some that I needed to use, but also to try and make it a little creamier) and to add a little cinnamon (based on another review). It turned out great! I don’t typically love eggplant, but it basically melted into the rest of the ingredients and was so yummy. Will definitely make it again ◡̈ Thanks for the great recipe!

Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My daughter is vegan, and for her 24th birthday she asked for a dinner that includes eggplant. I love to make moussaka, but have never made a vegan version before. I made my usual sauce and made hers in a separate pan, added lentils instead of meat to hers (waht a great idea!) and made this lucious bechamel to top it. It was a hit! Thank you so much for the great inspiration!

Great dish! Made me so happy to see this on here! I grew up eating an eggplant dish my mom made kinda similar, with ground beef and marinara and tons of chesse. I would crave it now and then but didn’t know how to attempt a healthy vegan version of it. This satisfied my craving! Loved how the cashew sauce baked on top, great texture. Thanks for all your amazing recipes!

Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe as written + a tbsp of balsamic vinegar in the crushed tomatoes. Always looking for cruelty free recipes that go over well with my omnivore house & this was a big hit! Thank you!

Such delicious flavors!! We haven’t had this since we decided to eat vegan. Although it’s a memory older than a decade this fabulous dish awakened those memories.
Rather than lentils we used a pound of Beyond Beef. With this replacement it had the chewiness I recall.
For our palate nutmeg was a definite plus.
Thank you Dana❗️

Delicious! I could have eaten the lentil mixture by itself too. The only thing I would do differently next time is wash the salt off the eggplant with more care – I could still taste the salt in the dish but otherwise – perfection!

This recipe is so terrific. A lot of prep, so definitely better as a weekend activity, but it made two evenings of meals for my partner and I (we had roasted veg on the side). It’s like a fancy lasagna, but doesn’t taste too rich or heavy. I’ve never had any kind of authentic moussaka but I would happily make this again.

This was divine! I added Aleppo chili and sumac to the mix and slices of tomatoes. Everyone loved it.

Dana, I am so impressed with the flavor of this moussaka. It tastes so much like the real thing!!! AMAZING! You got this so right. I am Greek and from what I can remember from eating authentic Moussaka as a child
this tasted infinitely better and is not heavy.
I really appreciate all your hard work and thoughtful, delicious recipes.
thanks!
Dina

Made this for lunch yesterday and absolutely loved it. Easy to make and so tasty. The bechamel sauce took it to the next level! Froze the left overs for quick dinner options to reheat when cooking ther dishes for the rest of the family Definitely a keeper. Thank you.

This was one of the best things I’ve ever made!! Followed the recipe pretty closely, only sub was I used dried mixed lentils, added as stated in recipe and added water to cook for 15 minutes. Cooked them al dente so they added a nice texture to the dish. Thank you so much for this…I’m in love!!!

OMG…thank you so much. This dish is a 10 out of 10. It turned out perfect and the buchamel sauce so amazing. Keep doing what you’re doing because you are getting amazing results! Thank you so much!

I made this and it was unbelievably delicious! The vegan bechamel sauce was so good I’m going to use it on everything now! I took some leftovers to my Lebanese mom who thinks eating vegan is “unnatural” and she loved it and can’t wait to make it for herself. I didn’t change a thing from the recipe- you spent all that time perfecting it and it was perfect. I was disappointed to learn I was out of nutmeg so looking forward to making it even better next time with nutmeg.

Very delicious! My husband loved the bechamel sauce. He said he could eat it plain with a spoon!

This recipe was lovely. It def takes some time to prepare, I think next time I might prepare the lentil stuffing and bechamel ahead of time. It was so good we had more than 1 serving!

U N B E L I E V A B L E !!
I could eat this every night for the rest of my life. The topping tasted like it had egg in it- soufflé like. So delicious and a gorgeous presentation too. I didn’t make any changes to this brilliant recipe and I can’t wait to make it again.

I made this today for my boyfriend and his Greek mother. Really delicious!!! I left out the oil on all steps and nobody missed it! Will go into my rotation! Thanks!

Made and ate this this tonight and it is absolutely melt in your mouth delicious !😋 Prepping the eggplant with salt definitely helps give a velvety texture and mellowness. The roasted garlic in the bechamel makes it pop.
I’d suggest planning for another half hour for prep time, but ABSOLUTELY worth it!

I made this tonight and it was delicious. My husband loved it!

So excited to see Vegan Moussaka on the blog! Had to make it tonight!
Delicious! Loved Every bite. Had trouble stopping at 1 portion. Alas, tomorrow is another day! Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes! I might try adding potato slices, roasted first, like the eggplant in this recipe. Otherwise, simple and yummy! Needed the full 2 hours but not attended the whole time. Will make again! The Béchamel is so
Delicious and easy! Will be great in other recipes! Thanks again!