How to cook spaghetti squash casserole - This is the best recipe for a low carb casserole with ground beef, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and cheddar cheese. Use the microwave to make the squash. Very healthy, whole 30, paleo, keto. Start on the stovetop and then bake in the oven.
I love to eat. Did you know that, Dear Reader? It's true. I love to eat.
Eating is how I got up to 406 pounds, and eating is how I got down to 197 pounds. I'm somewhere in the middle these days.
Anyway, Joe and I have long been curious about spaghetti squash, but we never ventured to buy one before. This week, we did.
Incidentally, we paid $5.63 for our spaghetti squash at the super chain grocery store we like to visit, and then found them for under $2 at the local farm store. Remember how I've said to buy local? It is way cheaper.
So, we bought an overpriced spaghetti squash, brought it home, and sat it on the dining room table.
We looked at it for a few days, not knowing what to do with it.
I researched and found some recipes and then changed and combined them to suit our taste. Joe liked this casserole; I loved it.
I wished the recipe would have had yielded more because I wanted to eat it for the next several days.
We went back to the farm today and bought a peck of spaghetti squash. Do you know how much that is? Imagine a laundry basket filled with spaghetti squash. That's what we got!
2018 note:
10 years later, this continues to be one of my favorite meals. I was worried about how we'd adjust it for my bariatric diet, but Joe figured out something that works really well and doesn't detract one bit from the goodness that is the original casserole.
This one is a little tricky to make bariatric friendly. When I was newly sleeved and could only eat a few tablespoons, we kept the ground beef totally separate from the vegetables. So, Joe cooked ground beef in a skillet with all the spices. Then he mixed the diced tomatoes with the squash but kept it separate from the meat.
To serve, he measured out 5 ounces of meat and 3.5 ounces of vegetables and topped it with ½ ounce of shredded cheddar cheese. Knowing I would be able to eat most everything on my plate, I mixed the beef with the vegetables there.
This approach also made life a little easier with our picky children, as we could give them a serving of meat without it being "tainted" by the vegetables.
Now that I'm three years out from surgery, he's gone back to making the casserole the way the recipe is written. I can eat more now, and as long as I am cognizant of my protein needs and don't go overboard with junk food, I am okay to eat a "normal" diet for the most part. (Normal for the average person, not normal for my formerly super fat self.)
How to Make Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 350º.
- Cook the squash on a microwave safe plate in the microwave for 9 minutes or until tender. Place the plate and squash in the freezer for 10 minutes or until cool. (Be careful about freezing hot glass plates; they may shatter.) Cut the cooled squash in half. (It should be easy to cut if you've cooked it long enough.) Remove the seeds and shred the pulp with a fork so that it resembles spaghetti noodles.
- Over medium heat, cook the ground beef in a medium skillet until it's evenly browned.
- Drain and mix in all the spices and tomatoes.
- Pour the meat mixture into the squash and mix well.
- Transfer to a 9x13 casserole dish and stir in 1-½ cups cheese. Mix well.
- Bake 20 minutes at 350º. Sprinkle with another 1 cup cheese and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Ground Beef, Tomatoes, and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 4 cloves garlic pressed
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes Italian-style, drained
- 2 ½ cups Cheddar cheese shredded, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Cook the squash on a microwave safe plate in the microwave for 9 minutes (or until tender). Place the plate and squash into the freezer for 10 minutes or until cool. Then cut it in half (it will be easy to cut if it's been cooked long enough), remove the seeds, and shred pulp with a fork so that it resembles spaghetti noodles.
- Over medium heat, cook the ground beef in a medium skillet until it's evenly brown. Drain and mix in all the spices and tomatoes.
- Pour the meat mixture into the squash and mix well.
- Transfer to a 9x13 casserole dish and stir in 1 ½ cups cheese. Mix well.
- Bake 20 minutes at 350. Sprinkle with another 1 cup cheese and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Helene says
This sounds really good! I saw some spagetti squash the other day when I was at the store and I wondered what you'd do with it and now I know! I wonder if I could get my kids to eat this?? They're not huge squash fans and either is my husband. Maybe I'll try it and see...