It’s Fall, Spaghetti Squash is in Season!

Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for high calorie pasta. The same sauces used on pasta will also work well with spaghetti squash! It is delicious with marina or Alfredo sauce with shredded Parmesan cheese on top. Some meats to add into this dish are shrimp, chicken or ground beef or turkey. If you are feeling daring, you can even sweeten up the squash with a little brown sugar and cinnamon for a delicious and healthy fall treat!

Cooking spaghetti squash is very easy. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. The toughest part is cutting it in two. The ends are very tough so start in the center and cut towards both ends with a large knife. Usually the knife stops when you get to the ends so go to the opposite side of the squash and repeat your cuts. Once both sides are cut it is pretty easy to crack open. It doesn’t have to be perfectly in two to cook, some uneven edges are fine. Scoop out the all the seeds with a spoon, discard. Place squash in a flat cooking pan that has a rim. I use a large rectangle cake pan. Place squash pulp down and add water to about 1/2-1 inch above edge of squash. Then simply place squash in the oven. Depending on the size of your squash it could take 30-50 minutes to cook through. Add more water if the bottom of the pan becomes exposed during baking. Once you can pierce the skin of squash with a fork it is done. Pull out of the oven and let cool. After it is cooled, simply take your fork and run it across the flesh of the squash. It will come off just like spaghetti! From here you can add a little butter or olive oil, salt, pepper and/or garlic powder to taste if you wish. Some might enjoy the squash just like that or add sauce, cheese and protein and voilà, you have a low carb substitute for pasta!

Enjoy!

Regular Spaghetti VS Spaghetti Squash: