Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
There are few things that I love more than a pasta dinner. Unfortunately, pasta is calorie dense and largely devoid of nutrition, so I try to eat it sparingly. Enter spaghetti squash! Now, does spaghetti squash taste just like the real deal? No… I wish… but no. However, I would argue that it tastes at least 80% as good as the real deal, and it is still capable of satisfying a craving for a pasta dinner.
What is great about spaghetti squash?
It’s low in calories. Spaghetti is typically going to ring in somewhere around 160 calories per 100 grams (cooked), whereas spaghetti squash rings in at 31 calories per 100 grams. Assuming a 300 gram serving, this swap could save you 387 calories.
It’s high in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that can protect cells from damage.
It’s high in Vitamin A, B6, and C, and also a modest amount of other Vitamins and minerals that your body needs.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and can be made with or without dairy, depending on your preference and dietary restrictions.
Ingredients:
1 medium to large spaghetti squash
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, medium diced
1 lb of your preferred variety of ground meat (I used ground turkey, but you can use: ground beef, ground pork, ground chicken, veggie ground round, etc.)
Optional: diced peppers and mushrooms to your taste preference
A jar of your favourite pasta sauce (I use my homemade marinara that we can every August… if you’re lucky, I may share that recipe some day)
30 grams Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional; you could also use a non-diary vegan “cheese”, nutritional yeast, or just leave this out if you want a diary-free meal)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the spaghetti squash into 1-inch rings and remove the seeds. Would it be easier to just cut the squash in half? Yes. But it won’t make nice long strands of squash that mimic spaghetti if you make it this way. Trust me, I did the work so that you don’t have to and it’s better this way.
Place the squash rings in a single layer on a cookie sheet and brush with ½ tbsp of olive oil. Top with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Bake the squash for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, sauté the onion in ½ tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the onions are translucent, add the ground meat and cook until the meat appears fully cooked. Add any additional vegetables (peppers, mushrooms) and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the pasta sauce and turn down the heat to medium-low to allow the sauce to simmer while the squash finishes cooking.
When the squash has cooled enough to touch, use a fork to separate strands of squash. Place these strands of squash onto a plate and top with the meat sauce. Sprinkle with a generous helping of Parmigiano-Reggiano, if using.
Nutrition:
Assumptions used in calculating nutrition:
600g squash
100g onion
no additional vegetables (labeled optional in recipe)
made with 450g of marinara that is 51 calories per 100g
made with extra lean ground turkey
including cheese (labeled optional in recipe)
2 servings
Calories: 648
Protein: 52g
