Our family discovered spaghetti squash, MUCH to my 7-year-old boy’s chagrin, when we first went grain-free two years ago. When cooked properly (i.e., not too mushy), it makes a pretty decent substitute for spaghetti.
My husband, who doesn’t eat squash or any mushy orange vegetable of any kind, actually likes it – again, as long as it’s done up right.
Your family members who won’t touch a squash with butter, salt, and pepper really might give it a chance with spaghetti sauce and cheese. It’s a totally different beast.
If you have spaghetti squash in season in your region, grab a couple. A squash will stay fresh at room temperature for months; spaghetti squash is a little more tender and delicate, so I’d just give it weeks instead.
But – they’re almost prohibitively expensive at 99c/lb. regular price throughout the year in our grocery stores. An average sized squash for 1-2 meals would come out to over $5, definitely more than the pasta it’s replacing! I like to get them at $1 each, and I’m hoping to buy an entire half bushel today.
Pale yellow, oblong in shape, and totally nondescript, especially compared to other squash shapes this time of year. The flesh is pale yellow as well, and the photo below shows how the spaghetti squash comes out of the shell – it’s so cool! You just pull it out with a fork, and it creates strings that look just like pasta. I’m telling you, it’s wild.
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
Try a simple spaghetti squash meal by baking the squash:
Put whole in the oven while it warms up, about 10 minutes, to soften the hard outer shell (may not be necessary). Cut in half, scrape out seeds, and place facedown in a centimeter of water in a baking dish. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350-400F until a fork can easily pierce the skin. Try not to overbake or you’ll start to lose some of the “noodle” definition and get “mush.”
Then simply top with hot spaghetti sauce with meat, just as you would pasta.
You can also serve it as a simple side dish with butter, salt and pepper, or add some Italian herbs and a can of diced tomatoes.
It’s possible to freeze the cooked spaghetti squash, too – I’ll be doing that more this fall than last. Shoot for “al dente” since you’ll be cooking it again to reheat for sure.
If you’re wondering whether yours is done enough, if it’s pliable, it’s done. I like it best a teeny tiny bit al dente, and it’s really not a nice experience if it’s mushy. Trust me.
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in an Instant Pot
- Cut squash in half and remove seeds.
- Place trivet or steamer basket and 1 cup of water into the IP. Arrange cut squash on top.
- Cook for 7 minutes on high pressure. When the timer goes off release the pressure.
- Drain any water that has collected on the squash and using a fork separate the cooked spaghetti-like strands of squash.
Seeds Too!
I love this additional element that gives you basically a free snack that’s totally healthy. The seeds in a spaghetti squash act just like pumpkin seeds when roasted, so save them and bake them up for munching! Here are my instructions on how to make crispy pumpkin seeds (soaked, Nourishing Traditions style).
If you really want a squash-hater to love your spaghetti squash, try this delicious, nutritious, low-carb lasagna recipe.
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Yield:
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PinIngredients
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 green pepper or 1 red pepper or both, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1–3 c. jar spaghetti sauce
- 4–6 c. cooked spaghetti squash (1 large)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1/4–1/2 c. Parmesan
Instructions
- Bake spaghetti squash by cutting in half, scooping out the seeds, and laying face down in a baking dish with about 1 centimeter of water in it. Bake at 350-400F for 30-45 minutes, until a fork can easily pierce the skin. You can make it easier to cut by putting the whole thing in the oven during the preheat, about 10 minutes. Or if you have an Instant Pot check out the directions below.
- This step can be done anytime before the meal; use the squash chilled if cooked the day before (save energy and bake it with dinner), or bake it right in the lasagna pan to save a dish.
- To assemble the lasagna, put a few spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9×13” pan.
- In a large pot, brown beef; add onions and peppers, cook until limp. Browning the onions adds an incredible layer of flavor to the entire dish. Add garlic for last 2 minutes.
- Mix in spaghetti sauce.
- Meanwhile in a bowl, mix the squash with the salt, pepper, ricotta cheese and 1 c. of the mozzarella.
- Layer in pan with half the squash mixture, half the beef mixture, the remaining squash and the remaining beef. Top with ½ cup mozzarella (at least) and all the Parmesan.
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until bubbly around the edges.
Notes
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in an Instant Pot
- Cut squash in half and remove seeds.
- Place trivet or steamer basket and 1 cup of water into the IP. Arrange cut squash on top.
- Cook for 7 minutes on high pressure. When the timer goes off release the pressure.
- Drain any water that has collected on the squash and using a fork separate the cooked spaghetti-like strands of squash.
If you have a meat loving family, use a whole pound of ground beef.
Ground sausage would be great, too!
Could also probably fill in a cup or two of the spaghetti squash with shredded zucchini.
Got too many tomatoes? Sliced toms under the top layer of cheese is a magnificent addition.
Cottage cheese is a good sub for half the ricotta; makes it a little lighter feeling in my opinion.
Could yogurt cheese be used for part or all of the ricotta? I haven’t tried it, and it wouldn’t really be melty, but that’s what the mozzarella is for anyway, right?
You could always add other vegetables, like greens, to this dish, and fresh herbs would be wonderful.
The bigger version: use 6-8 c. squash, a whole pound of beef, 2+ c. each of the cheeses and 2 jars sauce. It still fits in a 9×13, but just barely!
2 Tools for Real Food Success:
It’s never easy to keep up with real food goals! If my meal isn’t planned ahead and/or I don’t have the right food on hand, it’s SO tempting to give up and grab convenience food!
I have to almost trick myself into getting it right sometimes…like this:
Butcher Box
I love my raw milk farm, and they usually have beef for me too – but not all the cuts. And chicken is hard to come by. And pork is hit or miss.
I’m sure you’ve experienced the same sourcing frustrations!
That’s why I’m always grateful that there’s an online source of incredibly high quality meat that I can always count on. A box from Butcher Box is guaranteed to be grassfed/organic/pastured/free range = all the labels important to your family’s health!
If you live in an area (like my mom) where organic local farms are nowhere to be found or have trouble sourcing certain meats or cuts, Butcher Box has you covered.
(free shipping too!)
Real Plans
But if I forget to plan ahead, all that amazing meat just sits in the freezer! Enter Real Plans, an online meal planning software that is probably smarter than I am.
I can enter that cut of meat along with my food restrictions and find the perfect meal, then generate a shopping list, multiply it by 4 if we have company, and enter my own fav recipes too.
Real Plans takes the stress out of meal planning and puts the nourishing food BACK on your table. There’s a plan for every diet type:
Enjoy the recipe!
Other fall squash recipes:
- Roasted winter vegetables
- Savory Greek Sausage Stuffed Squash
- Monday Mission: Try Some Squash
- Grain-free Pumpkin Pancakes (or squash)
This is perfect if you’ve just been told you need a GF diet, if you have a friend or family member eating GF and you’d like to cook for them, or if you’re just curious what it’s all about!
See my full disclosure statement here.
Katie Kimball, CSME is a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. She’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine as well as contributing regularly on the FOX Network.
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is a Certified Stress Mastery Educator and member of the American Institute of Stress.
Candace says
I made this last night and it was delicious. Thank you. I added some mushrooms to the other veggies. We’ll be making it again.
★★★★★
Angie W says
Such a good meal! My family loves this! We’ve been making this with homemade mozzarella and kefir cheese. The kefir cheese doesn’t melt per se, but the consistency is right, and we love the slight tang. Thanks for the idea!
Ragini Sharma says
Very nice and tempting recipe.
Laurel says
Made this for supper tonight. My husband and daughter liked it too. Tasted a lot like lasagna and I don’t feel tired and sore after, stomach feels great too! 🙂 Actually better than regular lasagna as the ricotta could be tasted through out, and no dry sections.
Just read the tip about cooking squash before cutting. Will definitely remember that for next time! 🙂
★★★★★
stephany says
I love this recipe – thank you! I’ve tried using spaghetti squash before and my 4 boys did not like it;( But this recipe got a thumbs up from all 🙂 I used the marinara sauce from againstallgrain.com and added pecorino romano:)!
cirelo says
I remember my mom growing a bumper crop of spaghetti squash when I was 8 or so. We had spaghetti squash morning, noon, or night (how I wish I were exaggerating) all that fall. Nobody in my family has had a bite of that squash since then, though I did look kind of nostalgically at one in the store the other day.
Mary @ Homemade Dutch Apple Pie says
Looks good. We’ve had mixed reviews with spaghetti squash, so I don’t make it often. Maybe I’ll have to give it another try.
It was great to meet you in person on Tuesday, even if I couldn’t stay very long. I didn’t realize you were so close. I’m in Grandville. Love your blog.
Linda says
Thanks for the recipe. I can totally do this and I think my picky son might like this. Hubby and I will love it.
Christina says
I make spaghetti squash all the time as my family generally eats Paleo. Just to clarify, however, dairy of any sort is not considered paleo. When I make mine I use a home made marinara sauce, italian sausage, and sauteed peppers. You can add mushrooms too (which is pretty good). When I have fresh basil I add that too. When I want to make lasagna I use zucchini “noodles” by slicing zucchini longways with a vegetable peeler. I layer with other veggies and marinara sauce and if I need some cheese I top with a small layer of parmesan or feta.
cirelo says
http://chriskresser.com/is-paleo-even-paleo-and-does-it-even-matter
I stand by this article in regards to milk not being paleo. Who cares?
Christy says
Thank you! Just diagnosed with Celiac so looking for gluten free recipes. Looks delicious!
Christine H. Farlow, D.C. says
Great recipe, Katie!
Spaghetti squash is one of my substitutes of choice for pasta. The other is kelp noodles. You don’t heat kelp noodles. You rinse them and put them in warmed pasta sauce or other dish and let sit for about 10-15 minutes to take on the flavors of the other ingredients. It’s a little crispy, but delicious.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Ooo, I’ve never even heard of kelp noodles. Are they 100% kelp? The dried kelp I have seems like it wouldn’t be all that good as noodles, but maybe softened in sauce. ??? Cool! 🙂 Katie
Christine H. Farlow, D.C. says
They are 100% kelp. You can find them in the refrigerator section of your health food store.
lizi says
yeah looks great!! but hardly paleo with all the regular grocery store cheese…..maybe if you cut out the cheese and topped it with raw jerzey cheese the last few minutes?
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
So raw cheese is still Paleo? Hmmm…guess I better just stay away from using that term since I don’t eat that way officially! Thanks! 🙂 Katie
Von says
Looks yummy, but not Paleo.
Stacey says
Exactly what I was going to say, Von! Not Paleo at all with all that cheese.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Arg, if only Paleo and Primal didn’t both start with P! I’m never going to be able to keep straight which is which. Ok, dairly is not Paleo. Thank you for the clarification!
🙂 Katie
Meghan @ Whole Natural Life says
Funny – I consider myself lucky to get spaghetti squash (organic, usually) on sale for $1/pound here in Colorado! I’m constantly amazed at how food prices vary across the country. Wish I could get some for $1/squash!
Amber says
Yum! We are HUGE spaghetti squash fans here! For me, it is much simpler to roast it first and THEN cut it/fork the strands out. I hate trying to cut the giant squash when they are all hard and slippy lol.
How do you freeze yours? I really want to do that this year!
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Amber,
You know, I always plunk them in the oven whole for 10 minutes to soften, then cut. I didn’t think of that when I was writing the recipe; thanks, will edit! 🙂 Katie
Beth says
I pinned it! I’m always looking for ways to use ground beef (we split an entire cow with my parents and, as anyone who’s done that knows, a good portion of what you get is GB!) I also don’t have a lot of spaghetti squash recipes I love, so it sounds like a winner. I’m one of the rare people who actually uses Pinterest based on the quality of the recipe not the photo 😉