This Open Lentil Moussaka is a quick and easy version of the original one. You only need a baking sheet to bake the vegetables and a pan to make the lentil tomato sauce. This moussaka is healthy, has lots of flavors and comes together in only 20 minutes. Make this open lentil moussaka both for lunch, dinner or meal prep purpose. It is vegan, gluten, grain and nut free.
I actually prefer this Open Moussaka to the regular one. It has the perfect amount of tenderness and moist, yet doesn’t get too soggy as a regular one can. The baked vegetables are tender and soft, but still holds some chewing resistance, which makes the dish more interesting. This moussaka is made with a mix of eggplant, zucchini and sweet potatoes. All three of them have differente taste and textures which makes this moussaka everything but bland and boring, making it more complex and tasty to enjoy. It is filled with a flavorful tomato based sauce made with green lentils, but is really easy to adapt and vary depending on what you have at home or are in the mood for. You can use other lentils, your favorite beans, vegan mince, minced meat or even chicken. Just adapt it according to your taste and preferences.
A few tips:
- I used green cooked lentils, but you can really use any lentils you like or have at home.
- Try to use equally sized eggplants, zucchinis and sweet potatoes to have the same length of the slices.
- Slice the eggplants, zucchini and sweet potatoes into equally thin slices to make sure the baking time is the same for all of them.
- Bake the vegetables until they are soft and golden brown around the edges, but do not baked the for too long so they turn too soft and mushy.
- This recipe is easy and great to make in a double batch and make for meal prep purpose.
- You can vary this recipe by using beans, vegan mince, beef mince, chicken or any other add in you like.
- You can also divide the tomato sauce and make two different versions at the same time if you want to vary this dish from one day to another.
Ingredients for this Open Lentil Moussaka:
- Aubergine
- Zucchini
- Sweet potato
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Cherry tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Tomato sauce
- Green lentils
- Balsamic vinegar
- Dry basil
- Oregano
- Cinnamon
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon
- Vegan yoghurt (optional)
- Fresh herbs (optional)
Other recipes you might like:
- Black Bean Sliders
- Zucchini & Cauliflower Fritters (Vegan, Paleo Friendly, Gluten & Oil Free)
- Kidney Bean Burger (Vegan, Gluten & Oil Free)
- Quinoa Stuffed Green Bell Peppers (Vegan & Gluten Free)
- Lentil Stuffed Persimmon (Vegan & Gluten Free)
- Asian Style Cabbage Rolls (Vegan & Gluten Free)
- Black Bean Fajitas (Vegan & Gluten Free)
- Zucchini Enchiladas with Black Beans (Vegam & Gluten Free)
- Stuffed Romain Lettuce Rolls (Vegan & Gluten Free)
- Lentil Curry (Vegan, Gluten, Grain & Nut Free)
- Vegan Zucchini Rolls (Gluten, Grain, Nut Free & Low Carb)
Open Lentil Moussaka (Vegan, Gluten, Grain & Nut Free)
Ingredients
- 2 Aubergine sliced lenghtwise in 1/2 cm slices
- 2 Zucchini sliced lenghtwise in 1/2 cm slices
- 2-3 Sweet potato sliced lenghtwise in 1/2 cm slices
- 2 Yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Chili flakes (optional)
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 6-8 Cherry tomatoes diced
- 2 can Canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans Green lentils draines and rinsed
- 2 dl Water (plus more as needed)
- 1 1/2 Vegetable stock cube
- 1-2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar (optional)
- 1/2 Lemon juiced
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- A drizzle of Olive oil, to fry
- Vegan yoghurt, to top (optional)
- Fresh herbs such as basil, parsley or cilantro, to top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat a nonstick pan over medium heat with some olive oil.
- Fry garlic and yellow onion until it starts to soften and is golden brown.
- Add dry basil, oregano, cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Next add the tomato paste and fry for 1-2 minutes more.
- Drain and rinse the lentils and add to the pan together with cherry tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the canned cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, vegetable stock cube, water. Let it simmer until the lentils are soft and the sauce has thickened. Add more water as needed while it simmers.
- Taste, season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar (if using).
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
- Slice the aubergine, zucchini and sweet potato and put on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until its soft and brown around the edges.
- Put a slice of optional slice of baked vegetable on each plate. Add lentils sauce, then repeat by using different vegetable slices until you have 3-4 layers.
- Serve with vegan yoghurt and fresh herbs (optional).