Italian Baked Spaghetti Squash

Chef's Rating:

 5/5

About This Recipe...

Ingredients ↓ Directions ↓ Chef’s Notes ↓

Nutritional Facts:

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 – 1/12 lb of chicken (boneless thighs or breast) or 1 lb Italian sausage
12-18oz of your favorite tomato sauce (low/no sugar) OR for a less saucier option, use 1 cup diced sun dried tomatoes (see chef notes)
1 C chicken broth, chicken stock
1 – 2 C Grated Pecorino Romano or Grated Parmesan
½ C ricotta cheese
½ C grated Mozzarella (see chef notes)

Directions:

How two cook the spaghetti squash:

If you don’t have an Insta Pot: CLICK HERE to watch video

Using an instapot. Put in 1-2 c water (about an inch to cover the bottom). Use a rack to place on the bottom of the instapot so the squash doesn’t sit on the bottom and is up out of the water. Set the high pressure for 8-10 min. Once it’s finished the cycle allow the steam to naturally release. Take out the squash, Cut it length wise and scoop out the seeds.

Making the chicken or sausage:

Chicken: cook it in the chicken broth in a crock pot on low for 2-4 hours; Or use rotisserie chicken or precooked chicken

Sausage: fry up in a pan. See my New Ways Best Home Made Ground Sausage recipe for an easy and cheap Italian sausage option

Making the casserole:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 9×9 pyrex or other casserole dish.

Take the baked spaghetti squash and scoop out the seeds. Use a fork to rake out the inside. It’ll separate into strands. Put the squash into the pyres/casserole dish.

Once the meat is done, shred the meat with a fork or chop it up into pieces. Mix into the squash.

Dump in the Mozzarella, Ricotta and half of the pecorino (use the other half to sprinkle on top.

Add the spaghetti sauce and/or sun-dried tomatoes. Mix until it’s all combined.

IF the mixture looks dry, add some of the chicken broth.

Add the remaining grated pecorino Romano to the top before putting into the oven. This gives it that golden brown cheese effect.

Put in the oven for 30-45 min. Take out and let set for 10-15min before serving.

Chef's Notes:

Sauce Options: I love to use Seggiano Tomato Basil as the sauce. One small jar is enough. I get mine from Whole Foods.

When I want to enjoy a less saucier option, I leave out the sauce and substitute sun-dried tomatoes. You could even leave out tomatoes altogether for people who have sensitivities to acid/tomato products. A great alternative to the tomatoes would be a PESTO!

** Additional ingredients to add: mushrooms, spinach, green peppers, pepperoni and/or sun dried tomato

For people who are less tolerant of COW milk dairy, consider using: