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Don’t you love it when you create a 100% plant-powered dish of one of your non-vegan comfort foods and it turns out to better than the real thing?

This is what happened with the vegan moussaka I made the other day. Though I have many recipes I created during the past few months being away from hive, I just couldn’t wait to share this one first!

Before my vegan days, I just loved a good, heart-warming, comforting moussaka. My plant-based version of the Greek classic is made with a rich lentil ragu cooked in red wine, layered with roasted eggplant and sliced potatoes topped with a creamy cashew, potato-based “cheesy” sauce.

A great comfort meal full of savory, wholesome ingredients that will definitely become a regular at our home. Though I enjoyed cooking this meal, it is not a quick, weeknight dinner. It takes time and love!

But it is so worth it believe me. Though I was never a meat lover, my hubby was so he particularly enjoyed this one as the lentil ragu really reminded him of eating minced meat. Both texture and flavor-wise!

VEGAN MOUSSAKA WITH CREAMY CASHEW BECHAMEL SAUCE

Remember my last post where I shared what’s currently growing in our garden. If not you can read it HERE.

Did you see those juicy, big cherry tomatoes we have? Well, these are definitely the rock stars of this yummy dish!

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Both normal or cherry tomatoes are rich in carotenoids (like lycopene), phenolic compounds, vitamins A-B(6 and 9)-C-K, fiber, manganese, and potassium. Furthermore, they are also a good source of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc.

Tomatoes are one of the major dietary sources of the antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene has been associated to boost health in many ways, including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. Two of the main, worldwide killers.

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 2-3)

For the sauce

1 cup onion, chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
½ cup dried lentils
1 cup cooked chickpeas
½ cups walnuts, toasted
5 cups tomatoes, chopped (we used cherry tomatoes out of the garden)
2 bay leaves
Few drops of vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1.5 cup vegetable stock
½ cup red wine
Dried thyme, Himalayan pink salt, and black pepper to taste

FYI: this makes more than what you’ll need for this recipe. I used about ⅔ of the sauce to make this recipe. I always like to prepare some extra sauce to freeze for later. This vegan bolognese-like sauce is ideal for a quick weeknight pasta dish or as a base for a hearty stew. I am planning to use this to make a quick and easy zucchini noodle dish! Just spiralize some zucchini, heat the sauce, and top with some nutritional yeast. Easy-peasy!

For the potato-eggplant layer

2 small or 1 big eggplant, sliced
1 big potato, sliced

For the creamy cashew cheese sauce

1 potato, cooked
½ cup cashews, soaked
¼ cup vegetable stock
¼ cup nutritional yeast
Nutmeg, Himalayan pink salt, and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the potato-eggplant layer

Preheat oven to 400F or 200C.

Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the eggplant and potato.

Lightly salt the eggplant and let sit for a few minutes. Rinse the eggplant with water before roasting.

Grease a baking sheet with a little oil and roast the eggplant and potato slices until soft and slightly browned.

Set aside.

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For the sauce

Saute onion until translucent. This will take about 5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook a few minutes more or until fragrant.

Stir in dried lentils, cooked chickpeas, walnuts, and bay leaves. Cook while stirring for 2- 3 minutes.

Then add tomatoes, vegetable stock, and Worcestershire sauce (if using). Cook covered for 20 minutes. Add more water if needed while cooking. After 20 minutes most of the water should be evaporated.

Add red wine, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or until thickened and sauce-like.

Allow to cool a little, transfer to a blender, and pulse a few times. Do not blend or overprocess as you want to keep some texture in the sauce! This will create the minced meat-like texture of the moussaka!

For the creamy cashew cheese sauce

Meanwhile, cook potato in boiling water until tender. Drain.

Blend all ingredients until smooth, cheesy sauce.

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Layering

Add a little oil to your oven-safe dish. And layer as follows:

Thin layer of tomato sauce
Potato slices
Thin layer of tomato sauce
Eggplant slices
Thin layer of cheesy bechamel sauce
Potato slices
Thin layer of tomato sauce
The rest of the cheesy bechamel sauce

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Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until browned.

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TIP: We were too eager to take a pic and enjoy this lovely dish, so we didn’t notice this until our second serving (yes it’s that good you’ll go for seconds), but let cool a little before serving. The layers will set and it will make portioning and serving so much easier!

Bon Appétit