Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash is an amazing, whole-food substitute for pasta when you are going grain-free! It is a nutrient-dense food, meaning it’s low in calories but contains key vitamins and minerals. Spaghetti squash is a good source of pantothenic acid as well as fiber, vitamin C, beta carotene, manganese, vitamin B6 and niacin.
This Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash provides a healthy and lower calorie base for your dinner recipe and it is naturally grain-free <3. It’s so easy to prepare and creates a cute little boat for any sauce or topping you like! You can top it with regular marinara sauce and cheese or check out some of my other spaghetti squash recipes, such as Taco Stuffed Spaghetti Squash (link) or Meatball and “Cheese” Stuffed Spaghetti Squash (df) (link).
NOTE: We need to be careful to not overcook the spaghetti squash. You want the squash strands to be cooked enough to hold their texture but still tender enough to be satisfying. In other words, you don’t want it to have a crunch to it, but you don’t want it to be mushy either. Your spaghetti squash should be done when the outsides are turning golden and the shell has a little give when you press on the outside of the squash. You still want to see structured strands in the squash when it is done (see pics below):
Then you can just fill it with what you like to top your pasta with and voila! Dinner!
Enjoy!
Baked Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash (mine is about 2 lbs)
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Ground Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the squash horizontally on a cutting board. Slice off the stem and base, creating two flat ends.
- Using one of the flat ends, stand the squash upright and slice it in half from top to bottom. (Don't worry if your halves are not perfectly even, your squash will still turn out okay.)
- Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy parts.
- Brush both halves with olive oil on the inside and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Lay the halves cut-side down on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake spaghetti squash for 35 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees F, until fork-tender on the inside. The outside will be golden brown and the shell gives a little when pressed.
- Flip each half over so the flesh side is up.
- With a fork, fluff the squash flesh to create the strands. ENJOY!
Notes
Recipe Notes
- Go easy on the olive oil and the salt. You want to make sure you add salt and oil to your spaghetti squash before roasting, but don’t overdo it. Too much salt may draw out more moisture than you want, and excess olive oil can make baked spaghetti squash soggy.
- Don’t Overcook. As soon as the strands are fork-tender, the squash is done. If your squash is on the smaller side, stay toward the lower end of the time range.