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Moussaka is the ultimate Greek comfort food. Unfortunately it is not heart or Weight Watcher friendly. This lightened up version solves that problem. In this version the eggplant was baked, traditionally spiced lean ground turkey was swapped for the traditional meat and the butter-laden béchamel was replaced with a velvety high-protein ‘béchamel’ whipped from fat-free ricotta and tangy non-fat yogurt. The end result is a satisfying meal that hits all those cozy, cinnamon-spiced notes of the original dish.
A dinner of moussaka can be rounded out with a variety of sides from salads, veggie dishes, or starches such as lemon roasted potatoes or savory muffins. Specific serving ideas can be found in the ‘Serving Ideas’ section below.
Don’t let the multiple layers in this recipe intimidate you—each component comes together quickly, and you can even prep the turkey mixture ahead of time. While this recipe is a bit more involved, the end result is definitely worth it.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- Eggplant(s) depending on size
- 93% lean ground turkey
- Onion
- Garlic cloves
- Can of diced tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Dried oregano
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Paprika
- Sugar or equivalent sweetener
- Fat free ricotta
- Thickened plain fat free yogurt
- Light Miracle Whip
- Cornstarch
- Egg white
- Salt & pepper
- Water or beef broth
- Olive oil
- Pam
Making the Moussaka
Eggplant
- Cut the eggplant into slices. Layer the eggplant slices in a bowl, sprinkle each layer with salt and then fill with water. place a plate on top of the bowl and weigh it down. Let soak to draw out the bitterness.
- Rinse each slice with water and lay out to dry off on paper towels.
- Spray a pan with Pam and bake the eggplant slices briefly to soften them. Set aside.
Meat and Sauce Layer
- Open and drain the canned diced tomatoes. Put them in a bowl and ue an immersion blender to break them up. Add the dried oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika and black pepper to the tomatoes. Mix to incorporate the spices and then set aside.
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic cloves or run them through a garlic press.
- Sauté the onion in olive oil until it tender. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté briefly until the garlic is aromatic.
- Add the ground turkey to the skillet and use a wooden spoon to break it up. Add a bit of water if necessary to facilitate cooking.
- When the ground turkey is cooked, drain off any excess liquid and fat and then return to the skillet. Add the tomato mixture, tomato paste and water to the skillet and mix together.
- Cook until the sauce has thickened considerably. Set aside.
White Sauce
- Mix the cornstarch with water and set aside.
- Place the ricotta, thickened plain non fat yogurt, light Miracle Whip and nutmeg into a sauce pot. Mix them all together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Slowly heat to thin out the sauce ingredients. As soon as you see the sauce start to bubble, add the cornstarch slurry, and continue to cook until you see it start to bubble again. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Mix the egg white into the cooled sauce just before using it. Note, it is the cornstarch and egg white that keeps the ricotta/yogurt mix from separating while it bakes.
Building the Moussaka
- Spray a square casserole dish with Pam. Put down a layer of pre-baked eggplant slices on the bottom of the casserole with them slightly overlapping each other.
- Spread have of the meat and sauce over the eggplant slices.
- Put down another layer of eggplant slices on top of the meat layer. Spread the remaining meat and sauce over the second layer of eggplant slices.
- Top the second layer of meat and sauce with a final layer of eggplant slices.
- Spread the white sauce mixture over the top layer of eggplant. Put the casserole in the oven to bake.
- When it is done the top will be lightly browned around the edges and may crack. Remove from the oven and set rest briefly.
- Slice, serve and enjoy. Refrigerate leftover. Any left over eggplant slices that were not used in the casserole may be refrigerated and used in paninis.
Serving Ideas
- Moussaka can be served for a casual weeknight dinner or a main course at a dinner party.
- It pairs well with a Greek salad, a fennel and orange salad or a heirloom tomato salad.
- For those who like starches with their dinner, a side of lemon roasted potatoes, chive, dill and feta muffins or some pita bread with tzatziki are nice accompaniments with moussaka.
- Vegetable sides, such as grilled zucchini planks, roasted fennel and feta or green beans, pair nicely with a slice of moussaka.
WW 2 pt for 1/9 or 1/8 of recipe, 3 pt for 1/6 of recipe
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 229.4kcal
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef knife
- garlic press
- strainer and bowl
- coffee filter
- hand immersion blender
- skillet
- 3 qt. sauce pot
- Wooden spoon
- spatula
- 10" x 10" baking pan
- large cookie or baking sheet
- mixing bowls
- measuring spoons and cups
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 1 large eggplant or 2 medium ones
- salt
- Pam
Meat and Tomato Sauce
- 24 oz 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 c chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes, no salt added
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- 1 packet truvia or equivalent sweetener
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ c water
- salt and pepper to taste
White Sauce
- 2 c fat free ricotta
- 1¼ c thicken plain fat free yogurt
- 1 tsp light Miracle Whip
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to tate
- 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ c water
- 1 egg white
Instructions
Eggplant
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Cut the eggplant(s) into ¼" slices.
- Place a layer of eggplant slices in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Continue to put down layers of eggplant sprinkled with salt until all the eggplant slices are in the bowl. Fill the bowl with cold water. Place a plate on top of the eggplant and put a measuring cup full of water on top of the plate to weight the eggplant down.
- Let the eggplant soak for 25 min. When they are done soaking, rinse each slice under cold running water. Lay the eggplant slices down on paper towels to blot off the water. Use another paper towel to blot the top surfaces of the eggplant slices.
- Spray a large cookie sheet or baking pan with Pam. Use a piece of paper towel to smear it over the bottom of the pan. Lay the eggplant slices on the cookie sheet. Bake for 8 min at 400℉. Remove from the oven when done and set aside. If need be use several cookie sheets to get all of the eggplant slices baked.
- As soon as all the eggplant slices are done baking, lower the oven temperature to 375℉.
- While the eggplant slices are soaking, start working on your meat and tomato sauce and white sauce.
Meat Layer and Tomato Sauce
- Open the canned diced tomatoes and drain of the liquid. Place the tomatoes in a bowl and purée them with an hand immersion blender.
- Add the dried oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, packet of sweetener, and salt and pepper to taste to the puréed tomatoes. Mix all of the spices into the puréed tomatoes and set aside.
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic clove or run it through a garlic press.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the chopped onion to the skillet and sauté the onions until they are soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and saute for 30 sec or until it becomes aromatic.
- Add the ground turkey to the skillet with the sautéed onions and garlic. Use a wooden spoon or meat masher and break the ground turkey up into crumbles. Sauté until the ground turkey is cooked. If necessary add about ¼ c of water to the pan to facilitate the cooking.
- Remove the skillet from the heat when the ground turkey is cooked. Drain away any excess water and fat and then return the ground turkey to the skillet.
- Add the spiced tomato purée to the skillet with the ground turkey and stir to uniformly mix it into the meat. Add the tomato paste and water and mix it into the meat mixture and cook over medium heat until the sauce cooks down and becomes nice and thick. Shut off the heat and remove the meat and sauce from the heat source and let it sit until you are ready for it.
White Sauce
- Place the plain non fat yogurt in a coffee filter lined strainer set in side of a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator over night. I use a lot of thickened yogurt so I always have some in the refrigerator ready for use.
- Mix the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry and set aside.
- Place the ricotta cheese, thicken plain non fat yogurt, light Miracle Whip and ground nutmeg in a 3 qt sauce pot. Mix them together until they are well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste and give it one more stir.
- Start to slowly heat the white sauce mixture over medium-low heat. The sauce mixture will start to thin out as it heats. You want to go slow so, the sauce doesn't break and curdle. When you begin to see bubbles appear, give the cornstarch slurry one more mix and then add it slowly to the white sauce mixture while you are stirring it. Continue to stir and heat the sauce until bubbles begin to form. Turn the heat down further and continue to stir it and cook for 1 min. Remove the sauce from the heat and set it aside to cool off.
Assembling the Moussaka
- Spray the bottom and sides of a 10" x 10" square casserole dish with Pam. Use a piece of paper towel to smear it over the bottom and sides of the dish.
- Lay down slices of baked eggplant slices over the bottom of the casserole dish, slightly overlapping the slice to form a nice layer of eggplant.
- Spoon ½ of the ground turkey and tomato sauce over the bottom layer of eggplant slices. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the meat and sauce over the eggplant making a even layer of the meat mixture.
- Put down another layer of eggplant slices over the meat mixture. Spoon the rest of the turkey and tomato sauce over the second layer of eggplant and smooth it out into a nice even layer. Lay down a third and final layer if eggplant slices over the second layer of meat and sauce.
- Use a fork to whip the egg white and then mix it into the cooled white sauce mixture. The white sauce mixture should be sufficiently cooled so the egg white does not cook or curdle when added to the sauce.
- Pour the white sauce over the top layer of eggplant slices. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the white sauce evenly over the eggplant slices. Make sure the white sauce is spread edge to edge of the casserole dish. Place the casserole in the oven and bake at 375℉ for 30 - 40 min. You are looking for the edges of the casserole to be bubbly and the top a pale golden brown. The white sauce may crack in spots.
- Remove the moussaka from the oven when it is done and allow to sit for 10 - 15 min so the white sauce can set before cutting it.
- Serve and enjoy. Refrigerate any leftover moussaka. If you have any eggplant slices leftover that you did not use in the casserole, refrigerate those as well - they are great in paninis.
Notes
My square casserole dish is 10.5" x 10.5". Get as close to a similar size as you can.
I cut our moussaka into 9 pieces and served it with a side salad. The hubby and I were satisfied and comfortably full with this sized piece. The nutritional info for 1/9 of the moussaka is at the very bottom of the recipe card.
For those who want a bigger piece, the nutritional info for 1/8 and 1/6 of the moussaka are below.
Nutritional Info for 1/8 of moussaka
cal. 258.1 kcal | fat 7.9 g || sat. fat 2.1 g | carb. 21.7 g | fiber 4.4 g | tot. sugar 13.2 g | protein 27.3 g | sodium 374 mg
Nutritional Info for 1/6 of moussaka
cal. 344 kcal | fat 10.5 g | sat. fat 2.8 g | carb. 28.9 g | fiber 5.8 g | tot. sugar 17.5 g | protein 36.4 g | 499 mg
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 229.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.3g | Protein: 24.3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Sodium: 333mg | Fiber: 3.9g | Sugar: 11.8g
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