This Stuffed Spaghetti Squash might have you rethinking spaghetti with meat sauce altogether. Roasted spaghetti squash produces perfect strands that mimic noodles and are a healthy and easy alternative to pasta when you are looking for something a little lighter. It's comfort food at it's finest!
I love a good pasta night but I try to keep those to a minimum. Spaghetti Bolognese is one of my absolute favourites so I wanted to make a version to appease my cravings but without the pasta. Here it is! Not a traditional Bolognese but more of a quick and easy beef and mushroom spaghetti sauce that will have you coming back for more.
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🥘Ingredients
Here's what you will need to make this recipe. For quantities see the recipe card below.
- Spaghetti squash
- Onion
- Lean ground beef
- Garlic
- Cremini mushrooms
- Tomato passata
- Fresh basil
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley, optional
🔪Instructions
For full instructions see the recipe card below.
First roast the spaghetti squash. The trick to making sure the squash is dry and the strands separate easily is to roast the halves cut side up. Spaghetti squash has a tough skin. Make a line of small cuts, with a paring knife, around the squash first before using a large knife to cut right through. Like making a perforated line.
While the squash is roasting make the meat sauce. This sauce comes together in less time than it takes to roast the squash so there's very little waiting time.
Once the squash is done, remove some of the strands to make room for more sauce in the boats. Add that squash to the meat mixture and then fill the boats. Top with the two cheeses and bake until the cheese is melted. Broil at the end to brown the cheese if desired. Cut into portions and serve sprinkled with fresh parsley if desired.
🥣Substitutions
- Ground beef - any ground meat would be delicious in this recipe.
- White onion - any type of onion works here.
- Cremini mushrooms - substitute white mushrooms or omit the mushrooms and add a small chopped bell pepper instead.
- Tomato passata - use your favourite tomato/spaghetti sauce or pureed canned tomatoes.
- Fresh basil - substitute with 1 tablespoon dried basil instead of fresh.
- Mozzarella cheese - use cheddar or fontina. Omit the mozzarella and only use Parmesan.
- Parmesan cheese - you can leave out the Parmesan and just use mozzarella.
Storage
Keep covered in the fridge for 3 days. If you make extra sauce you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
Pro-Tip
- Cooking times will vary for the roasted spaghetti squash so be sure to check it every 5 minutes or so, after 45 minutes. The strands should pull away easily from the skin using a fork.
- Double this easy sauce and freeze half of it. That way next time all you have to do is cook the squash!
Variations
Vegetarian - To make this dish vegetarian simply replace ground meat with chopped tofu, tempeh, or your favourite beans or lentils.
Make it a casserole - This can be made casserole style by scraping all the flesh from the squash and placing it in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Then top with the meat sauce and cheese and bake until bubbling and cheese is melted. The whole casserole can also be frozen before the final baking step. Bake from frozen in a 350°F oven for 40-50 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.
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📖 Recipe
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
For the squash
- 1 spaghetti squash, 2 kg/4 lbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lg white onion, finely diced
- 454 g 1 lb lean ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 200 g 8-9 cremini mushrooms
- 1 cup tomato passata or tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
Toppings
- 1 cup mozzarella grated
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley finely chopped, optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds (see above photos). Place, cut side up, on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until squash pulls easily from the shell with a fork.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until it starts to look “glassy”. Add ground meat and cook for another 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink and mushrooms are softened. Add tomato passata and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add in fresh basil.
- Remove squash from oven and when cool enough to handle, scrape about half of the squash from each shell. Stir into meat mixture then scoop the meat and squash mixture back into the shells. Top with mozzarella cheese then sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Lynda says
Made this for my husband and I. It was delicious! My husband is not a big squash fan and even he loved it!! He took the leftovers for lunch the next day!!!
Susan says
Made this for dinner, I used my own fresh sauce from my home grown tomatoes (first time ever growing tomatoes and making sauce) So delicious and easy !
Thank you Andrea for your amazing recipes!!
Andrea says
My pleasure! So happy you enjoyed it and congratulations on the sauce making. It's the best!
Barbara says
Great recipe. Easy and so good. Thank you for the substitution ideas I love that about your recipes.
Lynn says
Easy, delicious and the whole family loves it.