Weight Watchers Moussaka

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Weight Watchers Moussaka, a lighter version of the traditional Greek dish, features roasted eggplant, tomatoes, savory ground meat, and a smooth béchamel sauce. Although moussaka is traditionally a rich, high-calorie casserole, this WW-friendly version cuts the fat and calories while maintaining flavor. Each bite of this Weight Watchers Moussaka seamlessly integrates with your daily points while providing Mediterranean warmth and satisfaction,  giving a healthy, filling, and guilt-free version of a popular classic. It demonstrates that you can still eat decadent foods while staying on track with your diet.

STATS

  • Diet: Weight Watchers
  • Course: Main
  • Cuisine: Mediterranean or Greek
  • Prep done in twenty-five minutes
  • Cooking time: Forty-five minutes
  • Seventy minutes will be spent in total
  • Size per serve: 1 square slice
  • Number of servings(total): Six servings
  • Cooking method: Oven baking
  • Difficulty: Moderate

TOOLS

  • Baking dish 9 by 13 inches
  • A big skillet
  • An oven
  • Cutting board
  • Mixing bowls
  • Baking sheet or tray
  • A saucepan
  • Sharp knife
  • Whisk

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 chopped onion, medium-sized
  • Eggplants, two
  • 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
  • Spray of olive oil, one tbsp.
  • 1 big egg
  • Turkey or beef, one pound
  • 2 cups of almond milk
  • Chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 minced cloves of garlic
  • All-purpose flour
  • A can of 14 oz. diced tomatoes
  • To taste of black pepper and salt
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • Cinnamon powder, one tsp.
  • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

INGREDIENT NOTES

BEEF OR TURKEY

  • The recipe requires the extremely lean form of either ground beef or turkey to keep the fat content lower, with an increase in protein content. You may also go for ground chicken breast or vegan crumbles as well.

PARMESAN CHEESE

  • You will need the reduced-fat grated Parmesan cheese to add cheesy flavor without increasing the points.

EGGPLANT

  • You will need the half-inch round and thick slices of two big eggplants. They will make your meal filling with fewer points. Zucchini will also work the same.

MILK

  • Any skim milk will work, but we’re using the unsweetened kind of almond milk here. In the absence of using heavy cream, it adds a creamy twist to the bechamel. You can use any vegan unsweetened milk with low-fat content or the desired taste and points.

PASTE AND DICED TOMATOES

  • They will give the basic volume to your sauce without adding calories. You may go for crushed tomatoes instead of diced ones for a smoother sauce.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Switch the empty oven on and turn the temperature dial to 200 degrees Celsius.
  2. Spray the olive oil on the eggplant slices following their placement on a baking sheet or tray.
  3. The tray should be in the oven for about twenty minutes.
  4. Turn all the slices one by one after ten minutes.
  5. Keep a skillet on the stove over a normal flame.
  6. Add oil to that warmed skillet.
  7. Next, when the oil is hot, add the garlic and onion.
  8. Once the onions get tender and the garlic is fragrant.
  9. Next, mix in the ground beef or turkey.
  10. Stir using a spatula till all the ground meat turns brown.
  11. After that, mix the salt, tomato paste, cinnamon, diced tomatoes, black pepper, and oregano into it.
  12. Cook it till the sauce thickens for around fifteen minutes.
  13. In another saucepan, mix the flour with the spray of olive oil.
  14. Then, add the milk slowly while whisking to produce a silky, dense paste.
  15. Turn the flame off, add Parmesan cheese, and mix well.
  16. Then mix the beaten egg into it.
  17. Line the bottom of the baking dish with half of the eggplant slices.
  18. Cover the eggplant surface with a layer of meat sauce.
  19. Now, cover the meat sauce with another layer of eggplant.
  20. Then, add the bechamel sauce to cover the top layer of eggplants.
  21. Reduce the oven’s temperature to 190 C.
  22. Once the baking dish is assembled, place it in the oven without a lid.
  23. Around thirty-five minutes will pass before the uppermost layer is bubbled and crunchy.
  24. For ten minutes, leave it on the counter before slicing.
  25. Garnish your Weight Watchers Moussaka with Parsley and serve it warm.

TIPS

  • Slice the baked mousakka after ten minutes when it comes out of the oven.
  • If you use the mandoline slicer, all your slices of eggplant will be equal, so they will get tender at the same time.
  • Add a pinch of nutmeg powder to have a deeper flavor in bechamel sauce.

STORING DIRECTIONS FOR LEFTOVERS

FRIDGE

  • Save the leftover mousakka in a sealed box. Refrigerate it for approximately four days.

FREEZER

  • When your mousakka cools down, pack it in individual portions in a freezer-safe box. Freeze it for approx. two months. Defrost overnight when need to serve or eat.

FAQs

How do I lower points even more?

  • Drop the Parmesan cheese or replace it with the nutritional yeast to lower the calories further.

Does its taste resemble the regular mousakka?

  • Although it is lighter in calories, it still captures the traditional flavor of mousakka from eggplant, cinnamon-spiced meat, and creamy topping.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS/SERVING

Size/serve: 1 square slice (one-sixth of casserole)
Calories: ~240 kcal
Carbs in total: Fifteen grams
Fiber: 5 g
Net carbohydrates: Ten grams
Fats: 10 g
Sugar: Six grams
Proteins: 20 g
Sodium: 480 milligrams

The Weight Watchers points per serving for this recipe are six.