Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Squash

I love fall for multiple reasons, but one of my favorite fall ingredients is spaghetti squash. If you haven't tried to make it yet, I highly recommend it. Spaghetti squash is really good with cheese and if you cook it right, it's really similar to spaghetti. 

This recipe comes from Skinny Taste.

Ingredients: 

-5 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (from about 2 small)

-1 tbsp butter

-1 tbsp olive oil

-1/4 cup minced onion

-1/4 cup flour (use 2 tbsp corn starch for gf)

-2 cups skim milk

-1 cup fat free vegetable broth

-8 oz 2% reduced fat mild cheddar

-salt and pepper, to taste

-4 cups (about 4 oz) baby spinach

-1/8 cup grated parmesan

Cut the spaghetti squash in half, pull out the seeds and pulp. Roast cut side down in an oven heated to 375 degrees for 1 hour or until tender.

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flower.
Cook 4-5 minutes.
Add in the milk and vegetable broth, whisk and bring to boil.
Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, until melted.
Shred the spaghetti squash and add in the spinach.

Mix together all of the ingredients. 

Pour into a casserole dish and top with Parmesan. 

Bake 25-30 minutes. 

Serve with salt and pepper.

Deliciousness.

This recipe was pretty good, we used a three or four pound spaghetti squash and that was way too big for this recipe. The squash will yield a lot of strands so if you want to make a large amount, use a big squash and put this into a 9x13 pan.

Creamy Garlic Spaghetti Squash

Before trying this recipe I had never used spaghetti squash before, but now I am in love! This recipe was so easy to make and it was a hit with J. and my family. I got this recipe from A Healthy Makeover.

Ingredients:
-1 medium/large spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded (see below)

-2 shallots, diced

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-¾ to 1 cup low sodium chicken broth

-¼ to 1/3 cup fat free half and half

-½ cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese (whichever you have on hand)

-2 T fresh parsley (you can also use dried if you have it; 1 T)

-Salt and Pepper to taste

To cook your spaghetti squash use a long, sharp knife and cut the squash in half.
Cook cut side down in a 9x13 pan with an inch of water in it, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Once you remove the squash, wait until it is cool enough to handle.
Remove the seeds and pulp.

Meanwhile saute the garlic and shallots in oil.

Using a fork shred the squash, the flesh will come away from the skin like spaghetti strands. 

Add salt and pepper.

Stir in broth and half and half.
I then added half of the Parmesan cheese, reserving the rest to top the dish with.

Serve as a main dish for two, or a side dish for multiple people.

This recipe was delicious! I was really apprehensive about trying spaghetti squash because I don't love butternut squash or pumpkin, but this was nothing like that. The strands were firm like al dente pasta and totally mimic spaghetti, there was not a squash flavor, but rather it was like eating pasta in sauce. My entire family loved this and J. asked me to look for more recipes. I'm planning on trying to grow spaghetti squash this summer so look out for some more spaghetti squash recipes!

The best part is that a cup of spaghetti squash is 42 calories versus a cup of spaghetti which is 182 calories. With a great taste and low calories it is a definite win-win situation.