spaghetti squash bake
this has been one of my favorite go to meals lately! it's so hearty, satisfying, healthy and so easy to make. i can even make this for lunch in about 5 minutes if i save a half of pre-roasted squash in the fridge from the night before. but this is one of those meals where the oven literally does all the work. cut the squash in half, give it a quick season and throw it in the oven. then just pile on the toppings, plop it back into the oven for another few minutes and enjoy!
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 mins. | 40 mins. | 45 mins. |
ingredients:
- 1 spaghetti squash
- tomato sauce
- spinach
- cheese of your choice
- mushrooms (optional)
directions:
- preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- cut a spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff.
- drizzle each half with avocado oil and season with a couple sprinkles of salt and black pepper.
- place each half flesh side down (skin side up) on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 30-40 minutes (depending on the size of the squash) until tender. you can check by pushing it gently with a wooden spoon and if it's tender, it's done. remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle it.
- when cool, pull at the flesh of the squash with a fork until it resembles a bowl of spaghetti.
- then top each half with a large handful or two of spinach (it will wilt down when it cooks)
- then top, the spinach with tomato sauce and then with a slice, or some shreds, of cheese.
- place back into the oven and cook until cheese is melted.
- if you'd like, you can also saute some cremini mushrooms in some salt and pepper and add them to the squash on top of the spinach.
Toddler Tip:
here's a fun way to trick your toddler into eating veggies in their pasta! mine won't eat spaghetti squash--the texture just isn't for her. so when i make this for us for dinner, i boil her a separate pot of spaghetti. what you can do is take a couple forkfuls of spaghetti squash and a small handful of spinach and put it into the blender with some tomato sauce, then your toddler will accidentally eat some squash and spinach on top of her spaghetti.
