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    You are Here: Masala Herb » Recipes » Soups

    Lebanese Moussaka Stew (Maghmour)

    February 22, 2019 by Helene Dsouza 1 Comment

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    Helene Dsouza
    Moussaka is a flavor-packed Lebanese stew. Prepare this wonderful dinner meal at home. Comforting homemade vegetable goodness in a bowl.
    Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
    3 Servings
    RECIPE
    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]

    Lebanese Moussaka is a flavor-packed vegan stew from the Middle East, which is better known as maghmour.

    Prepare your own easy moussaka with my video recipe below.

    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]
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    Jump to:
    • What is Lebanese Moussaka (Maghmour)?
    • How to make it?
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Tips
    • Serving Inspiration
    • Storing
    • Other Regional Moussaka Variations
    • 💬 Comments

    What is Lebanese Moussaka (Maghmour)?

    The Lebanese Moussaka is a vegan-based stew, that includes mainly Eggplant, Tomato, and Chickpeas.

    The eggplant chickpea stew is also known as maghmour. Some restaurants also call it Lebanese chickpea stew or eggplant stew.

    For this middle eastern eggplant dish, you just need to place all the ingredients in your pot and let it all cook over a period of time, making this one of the few one pan moussaka.

    Besides, Maghmour is a low-carb moussaka version and one of the few completely vegan moussaka dishes from the Middle East and Mediterranean area.

    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]

    How to make it?

    To make my version of Lebanese moussaka, you will only need one pot. I have turned this recipe into an easy weeknight dinner stew.

    The plant-based meal requires little to no attention during the cooking process, and you really don't need to do anything extra.

    Step 1

    Sauté vegetables and add them one by one.

    saute vegetables

    Step 2

    Stir in broth, seasoning, and chickpeas.

    stir in broth and chickpeas

    Step 3

    Cook until all ingredients are soft. Top with mint and serve up.

    cook down stew
    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]

    📖 Recipe

    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]

    Lebanese Moussaka Stew Recipe

    Moussaka is a flavor-packed Lebanese stew. Prepare this wonderful dinner meal at home. Comforting homemade vegetable goodness in a bowl.
    4.75 from 8 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3 Servings
    Calories: 379kcal
    Recipe by: Helene Dsouza

    Ingredients

    • 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
    • 1 Onion sliced
    • 3 Pieces Garlic Cloves chopped
    • 5-6 Tomato cut into chunks
    • 2 Large Eggplant cut into chunks, *see Notes
    • 3 Cups Water mixed with concentrated Stock
    • 2 Tablespoon Tomato Sauce optional
    • ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
    • ½ Teaspoon Salt
    • 1-2 Teaspoon Pomegranate Molasses optional
    • 1 Tablespoon Middle Eastern Seasoning I used Za'atar *see Notes
    • 1 ½ Cups Chickpeas cooked
    • Mint to garnish, optional
    US - Metric

    Instructions

    • Heat up a large pot with the olive oil and add your onion. Cook the onion translucent soft.
    • Add the chopped fresh garlic to the pan and stir cook for a minute.
    • Next, add in your tomato and eggplant chunks.
    • Pour the broth over the tomato and eggplant in the pan.
    • Add the tomato paste, season with black pepper, salt, pomegranate molasses and the middle eastern seasoning blend of your choice.
    • Mix everything, cover with a lid and let cook until the ingredients have incorporated and look almost cooked.
    • At this point add in your drained chickpeas and mix in. Cook further on a slow heat. You can cook for as long as you like. The longer you cook it the more flavor your Lebanese moussaka will gain.
    • Garnish with dried or fresh mint.

    Notes

    • Use whichever eggplant variety you can get and you like. I used a purple and green round variety.
    • You may add pomegranate molasses for extra flavor.
    • Use 1 can soft chickpeas, or ¾ cup dried chickpeas to get 1 ½ cup (250 grams) cooked chickpeas. Dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) need to be soaked and pressure cooked before you can use them in this recipe.
    • As middle eastern seasoning, use either Baharat, Zaatar seasoning or Lebanese 7 spice.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Lebanese Moussaka Stew Recipe
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 379 Calories from Fat 108
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 12g18%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Sodium 1437mg60%
    Potassium 1597mg46%
    Carbohydrates 60g20%
    Fiber 19g76%
    Sugar 25g28%
    Protein 13g26%
    Vitamin A 2515IU50%
    Vitamin C 42.5mg52%
    Calcium 131mg13%
    Iron 5.7mg32%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Tips

    This is not an authentic recipe. Some traditional maghmour recipes call for peeling the eggplant partially. They also tend to roast the eggplant separately first. I seriously don't have the time to do that when I'm in a hurry.

    You are welcome to roast your eggplants if you like to add some extra smokiness to the meal.

    Cut your vegetables and boil your chickpeas soft, or use canned chickpeas. Everything is then cooked together with broth and seasoning.

    I love to cook mine on low heat over a period of time to intensify the flavors. You can also choose a Middle Eastern seasoning from the area around Lebanon. This can be a seasoning such as Baharat, Za'atar or Lebanese 7 spice.

    My Lebanese moussaka is garnished with mint to add a typical middle eastern flavor to the dish. You can use fresh or dried mint.

    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]

    Serving Inspiration

    Serve hot with plenty of zaatar flatbread (aka Manakish)! That's my all-time favorite combo.

    You can always make this soup and eat with your favorite bread roll or loaf. A cool idea is to prepare some garlic butter bread, as garlic compliments this middle eastern stew.

    Storing

    Keep Leftover in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Reheat in the microwave, oven or over the stove top in a pan.

    To meal prep, divide into batches in freezer or refrigerator container. I use glass containers like the ones from IKEA for that purpose.

    The stew can be frozen for up to 2 months tops. To thaw, I simply take it out to defrost overnight in the fridge.

    If you are in a hurry, place the frozen chunk into a pot and gradually reheat it over the stove. Or place, or reheat in your microwave or keep the oven container to thaw on a lower heat setting in your oven.

    Other Regional Moussaka Variations

    The healthy eggplant Moussaka is a popular meal across the Levant, Balkan, and the Mediterranean.

    They vary from each other, the same way as a Shakshuka recipe does in this corner of the world. Each region and each home has its own secrete moussaka recipe.

    However, the other Mediterranean moussaka dishes prepared in the area are entirely different from the Lebanese eggplant recipe.

    • Greek Moussaka — layers of ground lamb and eggplant are topped with bechamel and baked.
    • Turkish Moussaka — a stew of tomato and eggplant with ground meat.
    • Egyptian Moussaka — roasted Eggplant slices are layered with garlic tomato meat sauce and baked.
    • Bulgarian Moussaka and Balkan — instead of eggplant, potatoes and ground meat are layered and topped with yogurt topping.
    • Syrian Moussaka — includes Cilantro and is served cool. Usually, it's also a vegan or vegetarian eggplant moussaka.
    Lebanese Moussaka Stew [Maghmour]
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    I am Helene, and I created Masala Herb in 2011. Here you will learn to cook with spices and herbs. I share from scratch, international food recipes and my mission is to teach you to cook flavorful food at home. Read More…

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    Comments

      4.75 from 8 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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    1. Kristen Hamid says

      October 19, 2020 at 1:06 am

      5 stars
      Stellar recipe. I haven't made this in years and updates to this recipe with pomegranate molasses and the seven spice made this a straight up hit. If you have the time and patience to roast even part of the eggplant it's worth it to have that melt in your mouth texture.

      Reply

    Welcome

    Hi there! I'm Helene and here you will learn how to cook with spices and herbs. Discover global food and learn to season your food like a pro. Read more about my work and mission or head over to my food ingredient space, Unknownbite.com, and our travel space, Paulmarina.com!

    More About Me ->








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