Feeling like spaghetti tonight but don’t want to consume the refined carbohydrates that come along with pasta? A good substitute is spaghetti squash. If you have never had spaghetti squash or are wondering what exactly it is, it is a yellow/orange fruit that you will find in the grocery store with other squashes and gourdes such as acorn squash and cooking pumpkins. When slicing open the spaghetti squash you will find a bunch of seeds in the middle similar to what you would find if you cut open a pumpkin. When the squash is raw, it is pretty solid, but once you cook it the flesh is easily brought away from the skin with a fork in strands and resembles spaghetti.
The nutrition benefits of spaghetti squash are that it is naturally low in calories with only about 42 calories in one cup, a good source of dietary fiber with about 2 grams in one cup, and contains many vitamins and minerals including being good sources of vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Some of the the vitamin A content found in spaghetti squash is in the form of beta- carotene which, along with vitamin C, is a powerful antioxidant. Now you can see why this squash is a perfect substitution for spaghetti!
This recipe is delicious and pretty easy to make! I would say the hardest thing about it was cutting the squash in half! You’ll need a heavy duty knife to do that- but please watch your fingers! These boats can resemble your favorite spaghetti and meat sauce recipe without all the guilt! It is full of a homemade meat sauce consisting of onions, garlic, spices and lean ground meat mixed with the spaghetti squash and stuffed right back into the skin of the squash, sprinkled with cheese and put right back into the oven to be baked to perfection.
With no further ado….. here is the recipe!
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup diced white onion
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 pound 96/4 (or leaner) ground beef
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1 cup (divided) no added sugar spaghetti sauce or homemade sauce (made with no added sugar, salt or unhealthy fats)
- 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Let’s get started! First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. To get the squash ready, wash and dry it and with a heavy duty knife, cut the squash in half horizontally. If you have ever cut any raw squashes or gourds before you know you’re going to have to put some arm power into it. Be careful not to cut your hands or fingers! Now you will need to spoon out the seeds from the middle of the squash, similar to what you would do when cleaning a pumpkin. Spray (using your Misto sprayer), or brush olive oil on the surfaces of the squash and flip it over on a baking sheet with the skin of the squash facing up.
While the squash is baking, you can start preparing the meat filling. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until tender (about 1 minute). Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (about another minute). Next add the ground beef stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart until fully cooked. Add ½ cup of the tomato sauce and seasonings and simmer for about 20 minutes. You can get fancy and make a wonderful sauce from scratch and use it if you would like, however, I like to keep the recipes as simple as possible as I know everyone has busy lives and is often in a hurry to get dinner done. If you do make your own sauce keep in mind that you don’t want to add any additional sugar, salt or unhealthy fats!
Time to put it all together. When the squash is done cooking, pull it from the oven and flip them over. With a fork pull the squash away from the skin. It will pull apart in strands and resemble spaghetti, hence the name spaghetti squash. Mix the other half of the tomato sauce in with the squash. Divide the meat sauce evenly between the two halves and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Put the squash back in the oven and cook 10-15 minutes until the cheese has melted. Turn the oven to broil and broil for about 1 minute. Remove from the oven and it’s time to eat!!
Here is the full recipe:
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup diced white onion
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 pound 96/4 (or leaner) ground beef
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1 cup (divided) no added sugar spaghetti sauce or homemade sauce (made with no added sugar, salt or unhealthy fats)
- 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
To prepare the squash:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Cut the squash in half horizontally, spoon out the seeds and spray or brush with olive oil.
- Place the squash face down (with the skin side up) on a baking sheet
- Bake for 40 minutes.
To prepare the meat filling:
- While the spaghetti squash is in the oven, in a saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until tender (about 1 minute)
- Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (about another minute)
- Add the ground beef stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart until fully cooked
- Add ½ cup of the tomato sauce and seasonings and simmer for about 20 minutes
To assemble:
- When the squash is done, remove from the oven and with a fork pull the spaghetti squash apart leaving the shredded squash in the skin.
- Mix the remaining tomato sauce in with the shredded squash.
- Divide the meat sauce evenly between the two halves
- Sprinkle the tops with the shredded mozzarella
- Put the boats back into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes so that the cheese has melted.
- When the cheese has melted, broil for 1 minute
- Remove from the oven and enjoy! Viola! Finished product!
Nutrition facts for 1 serving (1/4 squash)
264 calories
8.3 g fat
15.5 g carbohydrates
2.5 g fiber
29.9 g protein
