Musaka is a Serbian dish similar to the Greek Moussaka, but made with potatoes instead of eggplant. Potatoes are sliced and layered with ground beef or pork, then covered in a yogurt egg sauce before baking. Chad isn’t crazy about potatoes, so he thought this was just ok. Evan and I loved it. It was a wonderful comfort food. It is fairly easy to assemble and makes quite a bit, plenty of leftovers for a family of three.
The Musaka can be assembled up to a day ahead of time before baking. Just add the yogurt sauce right before it goes in the oven. If you add the sauce earlier, it may separate a bit and won’t look as great.
Musaka (Serbian Potato Moussaka) Recipe
Adapted from Global Table Adventure
Musaka (Serbian Potato Moussaka)
Servings 1 (9x13 inch) casserole
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 pound ground beef or pork
- salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup yogurt or sour cream
- 2 cups milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the russet potatoes and slice into 1/4 inch (no larger) thick circles.
- In a large pan, drizzle olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned. Stir in ground meat, breaking up with a spoon, and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking and breaking apart the meat until browned.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with olive oil.
- Layer half of the sliced potatoes, about 2 layers, on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with the cooked ground meat. Layer the remaining potatoes, another 2 layers.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour evenly over the potatoes until it is right below the top layer. Bake in preheated oven until potatoes are tender and top is golden brown, about 1 hour. Broil, if desired, to crisp the top further.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nita Ristić
I just made this tonight all the way from South Africa. My husband is half Serbian and I wanted to surprise him with my first attempt for new years Eve. What a hit! Thank you so very much. Loving your Blog.
Lots of love and a Happy new year
Tara
This makes me so happy. So glad you enjoyed it!
Rus
This is very nice and very tasty meal. You just need to know that this is a Turkish-origin dish which was accepted on these grounds during the Ottoman Empire. Thank you.
Igor
This is very accurate recipe of how we (in Serbia) make the musaka. At least our version. And yes, as Rus said, big part of all the food we eat in southeastern Europe is coming from the times when it was ruled by Ottoman empire so all the concepts have much to do with them though we changed them quite a bit. Very good recipe, highly recommended by a Serbian guy. 🙂
Tara
Thanks so much!
Linda
Does it have much of a flavor….my family likes different spices and seasonings. Thank in advance. I love finding new recipes they will eat
Tara
Hi Linda! This one is a bit more basic on seasonings with just salt and pepper. For meat recipes with more spices try Mubattan Kusha https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/mubattan-kusha-libyan-layered-potato-and-meat-casserole/, Lahmacun https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/tree-of-life-cookbook-review-and-lahmacun-turkish-pizza/, or Dhokri https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/the-food-of-oman-cookbook-review-and-dhokri-lawati-lamb-and-dumpling-stew/
Jovana
I’m Serbian and my mum always complains I don’t cook enough Serbian food since I’m living abroad. Your photos compelled me to click and the simple recipe, drew me in.
Well, let’s just say it’s a winner. Mum, husband and kiddo were all super impressed and now I reign supreme in Musaka making, thanks to you.
I used half amount of meat, as we’re not big meat lovers, and it still worked out great.
Thank you!
Marko Pavelić
Great recipe and exactly how my mum makes it but musaka is a Croatian dish 😀
Olivera
I’m Serbian and I make musaka of this style often. In general I don’t add yogurt or heavy cream, just milk and eggs, and I make it with mix of veal and beef gound meat. I also cut potatoes almost as tick as if I were making chips (sometimes I do just that if I end up with too much sliced potatoes). In egg and milk mixture you can add various spices to your liking making it more savory than this recipe. It’s always a winner when we receive people. Served with salad made of onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and radishes, topped with olive oil, salt and pepper and it is one of the best comfort foods. Thank you for sharing the recipe for others to discover it.
Tara
Hi Olivera! Thank you so much for the tips!
Aleksandra
Excellent and simple
I’m Serbian living abroad so my mum is not often with me to teach me but this is an excellent recipe thank you
Tara
Thank you so much Aleksandra!
Pele Suvajac
excellent recipe !
I’m Serbian and my wife French living in Canada . So yummy !!! Thank you for sharing the recipe !