Moussaka beef rice pilaf

Name: Moussaka beef rice pilaf
Cuisine: European, Eastern European
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 4 garlic cloves (, finely minced); 1 onion (, diced); 500g / 1 lb beef mince / ground beef ((or lamb) - Note 1); 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt ((for the beef)); 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 300g/ 10oz eggplant ((~ 20cm/8" long), cut into 1.5cm / 3/5" cubes); 1/3 cup pinot noir (or other dry red wine (optional)); 1 cup basmati rice (, uncooked (Note 2)); 400g / 14 oz can chickpeas (, drained (or other beans of choice)); 400g / 14 oz can crushed tomato; 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth (, low sodium); 1 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt ((for broth)); 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 tbsp parsley (, finely chopped (optional)); Extra virgin olive oil (, for drizzling); Dollop of Greek yogurt (optional (not pictured but goes really well!))

Instructions

Recipe video above. This is an utterly delicious and easy way to turn a packet of beef mince into a cosy, satisfying one-pot dinner. Channeling Greek Moussaka flavours (but a fraction of the work!), this has soft juicy eggplant pieces and beef cooked in a red wine tomato broth that's heavy on the garlic and oregano, while the addition of rice turns this into a satisfying all-in-one dinner. I love how both the rice and eggplant soaks up all the beefy flavour of the tomatoey broth.Though not in Moussaka, I added a can of chickpeas for some texture contrast amongst all the soft rice/eggplant, plus it's a good-for-you low GI starch that will keep you feeling full for longer.

Updated at: Sat, 18 Apr 2026 04:12:15 GMT