Moussaka is a casserole-type dish made by layering potato rounds and ground beef, which are then baked together and finished off with an egg, milk and sour cream topping.
Many, many versions of moussaka exist.
We’ll explore them together one by one. For now, I’ve chosen the easiest we can start with. Once you get the basics down you’ll easily substitute ingredients and decide what flavors you like the best. (You’ll hear me talk about the basics, because cooking is all about learning the basics. You learn your alphabet, and then you’re off to write novels.
It’s no secret I’m unimpressed by casseroles. They scream lazy. Moussaka is the exception. You’ll invest the same amount of effort and resources as you would into another casserole, but moussaka will taste better. And be easy on the eyes. Colleagues food bloggers know what I’m talking about here. These things aren’t the easiest things to photograph.
Moussaka is the first meal I learned to prepare on my own. It was after right college. I was living by myself, my family being an ocean away. Before that time I didn’t venture into the kitchen very often. My mom insisted I focus on studying instead of cooking, quite possibly due to having to clean up after my failed cooking experiments.
But there I was on my own, having one of those moments when you have to have comfort food. Something reminding you of home. I called mom, and then sister, to ask for a simple recipe I could do. They both spoke in gibberish (ahem) experienced cook speak. You’ve heard this language before.
What should I put into this? A little bit of this and a little bit of that. What temperature should I set the oven to? You first turn it up high, then you turn it down low.
As a result those first few moussakas were unsuccessful. I tell you this because if you have any doubts about your cooking ability, give yourself a second (third/ fourth/ fifteenth) chance. To help you in this effort, I’m submitting this very specific moussaka recipe below. (It’s no ajvar (ajver) but it’s good.)
If you tried one of my moussakas today you’d lick your fingers. There is no reason why you can’t make one that’s even better.
By the way, here is another really good moussaka you’ll love, via A Canadian Foodie. I particularly loved her story about visiting Bosnia after the floods in 2014, and making meals for the family after a lot has been lost in the calamity. We need so little for perfect moments.
Ground Beef Potato Moussaka
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Course
Description
Moussaka is a casserole-type dish made by layering potato rounds and ground beef, which are then baked together and finished off with an egg, milk and sour cream topping.
Ingredients
- 1–2 tablespoons oil
- 1 yellow onion (medium, diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 pound ground beef (or veal)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 pounds potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds)
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3–4 eggs
- 14 ounces sour cream
- 2–3 ounces milk
- 1–2 tablespoons parsley
Instructions
- Heat oil in a deep pan over medium. Add onion and garlic and stir. After they crystalize, add ground beef, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir well. Simmer halfway until the meat is pink (but not red nor brown). Remove from heat.
- In a larger bowl mix potatoes, oil and salt. Mix well with your hands.
- Heat oven to 450°F. Layer 1/3 of potatoes into a 8X12 inch pan. Cover with 1/2 of meat filling evenly. Repeat. Top it off with one more layer of potatoes. (In total you’ll have 3 potato layers and two meat layers in between.)
- Place pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. In a large bowl, mix sour cream, eggs and milk until integrated.
- Take the pan out of the oven and top evenly with the egg/ sour cream/ milk mixture. Sprinkle with parsley. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
ok – my 3rd attempt at Musaka – it was the best so far! Your easy to follow steps and photos made that possible. I have two Bosnian cookbooks that I picked up while in Sarajevo over the years and I ususally end up spending 1/2 the day translating the recipes. I Love, Love Love this website – it’s helping me so much! Thank You!
Suzanne,
Your words made my day! Glad you were able to make the musaka to your liking. If there is a specific recipe you need feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll see if I can whip up a good recipe for you.
Thanks: just like my mom’s! I used plain yogourt and extra lean ground beef instead of sour cream to cut down on the fat… delicious!
★★★★
Sabina, which type of yogurt did you use, and what brand? I have the hardest time finding yogurt that’s not Greek – the smooth kind you can drink. The closest I got to it was buttermilk, but it’s not the same.
Try plain kefir
★★★★★
Thanks for stopping by and offering a suggestion. 🙂
LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! But I also added a shredded onion white cheddar so amazing! Tons of flavor! My husband doesn’t often eat leftovers, this he LOVES!
Tracy, Never thought to add cheddar, great idea! Glad you guys like it. 🙂
Was the cheddar used in the sour cream mixture?
Nope, just sour cream, milk and eggs. But let us know if you do, we’d love to know.
My mom used to make this for us growing up. So glad I was able to find this version because it reminds me of home so much! Hvala!!!
★★★★★
You’re welcome Martina 🙂
Haven’t make this in 30 years and two of my boys requested it today so I had to spruce up on my ingredients etc… this was fabulous. Thank you for this site. I will look for many more dishes I have not recently made. Hvala Puno
★★★★
Donna!
Thank you for that comment, it really made my day. Enjoy the recipes and if you think of one you’d like let me know and we’ll put it in our rotation.
Family loved this. I used smoked paprika ( little more than you) and thyme in the meat mixture and added nutmeg to the custard mixture. Served with mixed green salad and everyone loved it. Hoping to try the eggplant version next.
★★★★★
That sounds lovely! Great call with the nutmeg, have to try it your way. Happy New Year!
Great recipe but I think you missed in the instructions when to use the paprika and pepper. I assumed it was for the meat so I used it there 🙂
★★★★
Thanks for catching that! It’s fixed. Glad you liked the recipe.
Cooking it as we speak! Thank you 🙂
WOW! This came out so delicious! I do the same thing, taking inspiration from a recipe and then changing it up. I had some left over roasted sweet potatoes so I just carmelized onions, browned the turkey in a pan, added some other vegetables, red thai chili paste, and a bit of lemongrass (along with everything you put in the recipe) and it came out amazingly delicious! My fiance was shocked because I put it together rather quickly and it was so yummy 🙂
Rose that sounds delicious. Never tried moussaka with sweet potatoes, but now I have to.
Thank you for sharing! I’m making this for my husband tonight for dinner. I hope it’s close to as good as his mother’s.
★★★★★
Bon appetit and let us know how it turned out 🙂
Amazing receipe, thanks so much for sharing.
★★★★★
Glad you like it Samira. Happy cooking!
Question….
Recipe is delicious! Can you tell me where the music is from that you have posted on the moussaka video. I love it! Do you recall the name of the artist or group?
★★★★★
Hi Lily,
The song is called Balkan Beat by Jingle Republic. It was purchased on audiojungle.
I am making this recipe for the first time and have had to stop the first cooking cycle early as my potatoes were burning badly. Do you have a suggestion for convection ovens? The 450 setting is way too high.
Kimberley,
From what I know about convection ovens you should always lower the temperature down at least 25 degrees and bake a shorter period of time. Good luck!
Aida
https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/articles/detail/convection-cooking-adjustments#:~:text=General%20Convection%20Oven%20Recipe%20Conversion%20Guidelines,-There%20are%20three&text=Bake%20for%20the%20same%20length,time%20and%20a%20reduced%20temperature.
So lovely to have you reference my recipe, too, Aida – rather, Vanja’s recollection of his mother’s recipe. I LOVE your site and all of the recipes – or many of them – just sing to my heart and remind me of my many visits to Vanja’s home. As both parents have now passed, the food that reminds us of them has become even more important. We love this recipe and I hope to have more time, very soon, to make many of the recipes here I haven’t made yet, but have eaten on my visits there.
Big hug
Valerie
Valerie,
I love your site as well! It’s full of gems and wonderful stories that connect. So glad you had the time that you had with his parents, and that you love Balkans with all your heart, as is evident. Maybe one day we’ll cook together. Happy Women’s Day!
Hugs,
Aida