Turkish Moussaka

5 from 4 votes

Turkish moussaka is an incredibly flavorful and delicious dish that is very popular in Turkey. It combines juicy ground beef with roasted eggplant and a slightly spicy red pepper sauce. It is one of my favorite Turkish dishes and an absolute must-make if you like Turkish foods!

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Turkish

Keyword: beef moussaka, moussaka, Turkish moussaka

Servings: servings

Calories: 400kcal

Ingredients

4 medium-sized eggplants peeled in stripes, halved, cut into thick slices
4 tablespoons vegetable oil or avocado oil ¾ for eggplants, ¼ for sautéing
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
¾ cup tatli Turkish red pepper paste or half tomato paste, half tatli Turkish red pepper paste
2 tomatoes
3 Turkish green peppers (sivri or çarliston)
2 ½ cups water more if needed
Turkish red chili flakes to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 °F (230 °C).
Peel the eggplants in stripes, half them, cut them into thick slices, and place them in a baking dish. Add vegetable oil, salt, and pepper. Then toss until combined. Bake for around 20 minutes until the eggplants have browned.
Next, preheat some vegetable oil in a large pan or pot over medium heat. Sauté the ground beef until it browns. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté until the onion turns translucent.
Next, add the red pepper paste and stir until everything is combined. Add the tomatoes, Turkish green peppers, water, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Bring everything to a boil, then let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the ground beef sauce over the eggplant slices. Then bake everything at 400 °F (200 °C) for 20 minutes until the tomatoes and green peppers start to brown.
Serve the moussaka with rice and enjoy!

Nutrition