LOW CALORIE MOUSSAKA
Moussaka is a delicious Mediterranean dish that consists of layers of eggplant, spiced ground meat, and a creamy béchamel sauce. To make it higher in protein and lower in fat, I replaced the béchamel with a combination of shredded cheese and cottage cheese.
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 24g
Ingredients
- 500 g eggplants
- 400 g ground beef, lean 10%
- 400 g tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 150 g shredded cheese
- 300 g cottage cheese, low fat
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- fresh parsley (I didn't have any so put basil)
- salt and pepper
Video
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Cut the eggplant in slices, salt them and let them sit for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture. Then pat dry.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a spray of olive oil. Fry the eggplant slices in batches until lightly browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- In the same skillet, sauté the chopped onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook over until browned.
- Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce the spices and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the fresh herbs and the bay leaves. Then cook on low heat until the sauce has thicken and reduced (about 30 min)
- Assemble your moussaka by layering your eggplants at the bottom of your baking dish, then spread a layer of meat sauce, shredded cheese, cottage cheese consecutively. Reserve more of the cheeses at the end so that all they moussaka is covered
- Bake for about 45min or until golden.
Notes
You can also make some variations by adding zucchini and potatoes slices (macros will change)
