Stuffed Spaghetti Squash is a delicious dinner the whole family will love. Oven roasted spaghetti squash halves filled with meat sauce and cheese then baked until hot and bubbly–a great way to reduce carbs and get your family to eat more vegetables at the same time!
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti with meat sauce is still one of my most favorite dinner recipes. It’s just so comforting and simple, not to mention easy to whip up any weeknight. But I’m trying to reduce carbs from things like pasta, rice, bread, and white potatoes, so I needed to come up with a new way to enjoy a good spaghetti dinner. Enter the Stuffed Spaghetti Squash!
I love this dish so much. It’s hot and meaty and saucy and the spaghetti squash itself is so good I don’t miss the regular pasta. This dish is keto friendly, but do be aware that there are still carbs that come from the spaghetti squash and the sauce. I calculated that a full serving of this stuffed squash (a serving is one half of a spaghetti squash plus all of the toppings and this recipe makes 4 servings) is around 35 carbs. When I’m eating keto, 35 carbs fits nicely into my 40-50 carbs a day plan. But if you’re eating extremely low carb, you might want to only eat half of a serving.
If you’re looking for more low carb recipes that are also family friendly, check out these ideas: Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza | Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Sugar-Free Strawberry Fluff | The Best Keto Pizza | Keto Bagels
The Ingredients
I highly recommend that you read through my detailed instructions here in this post to make sure you fully understand the process of making Stuffed Spaghetti Squash before you begin. I have the whole recipe with ingredients and instructions in an easy to print format at the end of this article.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 2 medium spaghetti squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 small onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1-pound extra lean ground beef – you can use ground turkey if you prefer.
- 24-ounce jar spaghetti sauce – it’s a good idea to use the lowest carb sauce possible, but in this case I just used my favorite (and cheapest) basic sauce from ALDI.
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese – you can use grated Parmesan cheese from a can, but I like to grate fresh parm instead.
How to Make Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees.
STEP 2: Line a large baking sheet with foil. Use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to brush the inside of each spaghetti squash half, then sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
Turn the squash halves over, cut side down, onto the baking sheet.
STEP 3: Roast the spaghetti squash at 375ºF for 45 minutes until the squash is fork tender.
STEP 4: As the spaghetti squash is baking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté until softened. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
STEP 5: Crumble the ground beef into the pan and cook until fully browned. Drain off any excess fat.
STEP 6: Reserve 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce and set aside. Add the remaining spaghetti sauce to the ground beef mixture; cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
STEP 7: After the spaghetti squash is finished baking, carefully turn them over with a spatula and use a fork to fluff up the “spaghetti” in each shell.
Add ¼ cup of the spaghetti sauce to each half of the squash and stir into the squash with a fork.
STEP 8: Sprinkle each spaghetti squash half with the freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Scoop the meat sauce onto each spaghetti squash half.
Finally, top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
STEP 9: Bake the stuffed spaghetti squash at 375ºF for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
STEP 10: Cool the spaghetti squash halves slightly, then serve hot.
Low Carb Options
The Sauce: Choosing the right sauce is a big part of making this recipe low carb. Take a look at the carb counts in all of your favorite sauces at the grocery store, and be sure to check out some of the options that say “healthy” or “low carb.” Compare them all because even though some say “healthy” does not mean they are the lowest in carbohydrates and sugars.
Less Sauce: You can use less sauce by adding some melted butter to mix into the baked squash instead of the 1/4 cup of marinara sauce. Then just use the meat sauce and cheese on top.
Storing Leftover Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Wrap the leftover stuffed spaghetti squashes in plastic or place in a food storage container with a lid. Keep them in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Reheat the individual portions in the microwave in 30-second heating intervals until hot. It does reheat best if you scoop the filling out of the shell of the squash.
PrintStuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash is a delicious dinner the whole family will love. Oven roasted spaghetti squash halves filled with meat sauce and cheese then baked until hot and bubbly–a great way to reduce carbs and get your family to eat more vegetables at the same time!
Ingredients
- 2 medium spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1-pound extra lean ground beef
- 24-ounce jar spaghetti sauce (lowest carb possible)
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
- Line a large baking sheet with foil. Use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to brush the inside of each spaghetti squash half, then sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Turn the squash halves over, cut side down, onto the baking sheet.
- Roast the spaghetti squash at 375F for 45 minutes until the squash is fork tender.
- As the spaghetti squash is baking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté until softened. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Crumble the ground beef into the pan and cook until fully browned. Drain off any excess fat.
- Reserve 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce and set aside. Add the remaining spaghetti sauce to the ground beef mixture; cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- After the spaghetti squash is finished baking, carefully turn them over with a spatula and use a fork to fluff up the “spaghetti” in each shell. Add ¼ cup of the spaghetti sauce to each half of the squash and stir into the squash with a fork.
- Sprinkle each spaghetti squash half with the freshly grated parmesan cheese. Scoop the meat sauce onto each spaghetti squash half, then top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the stuffed spaghetti squash at 375F for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Cool the spaghetti squash halves slightly, then serve hot.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: healthy, keto, low carb, gluten free, pasta, spaghetti, meat sauce
Have Your Spaghetti and Eat it Too!
After you make Stuffed Spaghetti Squash, come back and tell me how you like it! You can leave a comment and recipe rating in the comments section below. You can also click here to see this on Pinterest and leave a comment there or even your own picture. Another option would be to tag me on Instagram @MomNeedsChocolate. Can’t wait to hear from you!
More Dinner Recipes
- The Best Homemade Chicken Fried Rice
- Tater Tot Taco Casserole
- Pierogi Skillet
- Mandarine Orange Salad
Tamara Andersen says
This looks amazing, and I’m always looking for ways to decrease carbs. Pinning for future reference!
★★★★★