Spaghetti Squash - Our Recipes To Prepare It Well

We don't claim that pasta recipes make you lose weight, but we claim that they don't make you fat either, at least not with the right products! If you are therefore looking for a healthy and delicious alternative to wheat pasta, then the spaghetti squash will be of particular interest to you. Easy to find in winter, this fruit-vegetable will seduce you with its light taste and white flesh. Easy to prepare, vegetable spaghetti goes well with several culinary preparations. Plus, it's a great way to get kids to eat vegetables. Here are all our recipes to invite this kind of squash to your table!

Spaghetti squash: 6 healthy ideas to replace wheat pasta with vegetables

What is spaghetti squash and what to do with it? It is a species of squash from the Cucurbitaceae family (there are also pumpkins, squash, butternut and zucchini). When cooked, the flesh of this fruit vegetable becomes stringy and resembles spaghetti. Thanks to this peculiarity, it can never be confused with any other squash. Easy to prepare, you cook it like real pasta, with bolognese or carbonara sauce. It can also be eaten incorporated in a gratin or in an autumn salad.

How to choose it and keep it?

We choose his spaghetti squash that is quite firm and without black spots. Typically, the long peduncle indicates the freshness of the vegetable by allowing it to keep longer. You must therefore store the squash with its peduncle in a cool, shaded place. It can be stored for 2 months after harvest. Once cooked, spaghetti squash can also be frozen. To do this, the flesh is removed and stored in a freezer bag for 3 months in the freezer. It goes very well with other vegetables such as onion, leek, tomato, cucumber, pepper, garlic and spinach. On the meat side, it is easily associated with ham. When it comes to cheeses, the spaghetti squash likes goat cheese, Gruyere, bush and Emmental.

How to prepare and associate it?

First, the squash must be cleared of the soil. To do this, you just need to brush it. Then you can move on to cooking. Cut it in half and immerse it in boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes or until the knife easily pierces the skin and flesh of the vegetable. Be careful not to overcook your squash, as the filaments can very easily end up in a puree. To stop cooking, it is better to put the vegetable in ice water. After cooling, cut the squash in half vertically and remove the seeds with a fork. Then, remove the flesh by hand and eat it topped with olive oil, bolognese sauce or pesto. You can also fry it like courgette fritters.

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 350 g ground beef
• 200 ml tomato sauce
• 50 g of grated cheese
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• chilli pepper
• Provence herbs
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• Bay leaf

Preparation:

Start by washing the squash and cook it (without cutting it) for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the bolognese sauce. Peel and slice the onion. Brown it in a little olive oil and add the minced meat. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring quite regularly. Once the squash is cooked, cool it and cut it in half. Take the vegetable spaghetti with a fork and drain them well. Then transfer them to the bolognese sauce and mix. Divide the stuffing into the squash halves and place them in a baking sheet. Top with grated cheese and bake at 200 ° C for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Take out of the oven and enjoy hot.

Easy and quick to prepare, the vegetable spaghetti recipe is also customizable at will. So you can adapt it to your own taste by adding mushrooms, red, green and yellow peppers.

Vegetable spaghetti with carbonara

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 150 g smoked bacon
• 80 g grated Parmesan
• 4 egg yolks
• 150 ml of liquid cream
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

After cooking it, cut your squash in half and remove its seeds. Place the two halves on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 180 ° C for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, brown the bacon in a frying pan without fat and put them on absorbent paper to remove excess fat. Then heat the crème fraîche over low heat and slowly add the egg yolks. Once the preparation is thick, add the bacon and continue cooking for a few minutes. Take the flesh of your squash with a fork and mix it with the carbonara sauce. Garnish with bacon and Parmesan cheese. Salt, pepper and enjoy!

Baked spaghetti squash

After showing you how to treat the family to a zucchini gratin, here's how to make a quick and easy spaghetti squash gratin!

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 eggs
• 50 g of ham / bacon
• 200 ml of liquid cream
• 100 g grated Gruyere cheese
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

Wash the squash, cut it in half and cook it in boiling water for 20 minutes. Cool it and remove its seeds. Carefully scrape the flesh of your squash with a fork and set it aside. Beat the eggs, add the crème fraîche. Season, grate the nutmeg and sprinkle with cheese and ham. Finally, pour the vegetable spaghetti into a dish and bake at 180 ° C (thermostat 6) for 1 hour.

Vegetarian spaghetti squash with arugula pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 60 g cashew
• 100 g of arugula
• grated pecorino romano
• roasted squash seeds (optional)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

Start by preheating the oven to 200 ° C (thermostat 6). Then cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and brush the halves with olive oil. Season and bake for 45 minutes on a baking sheet (previously covered with baking paper), skin side up. Remove the flesh of the squash with a fork and reserve the vegetable spaghetti in a dish. To prepare the pesto, mix the arugula, cashews, a little grated pecorino and olive oil. Garnish the spaghetti with the pesto and serve hot sprinkled with pecorino.

Vegetable spaghetti with salmon and fresh soy cream

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise
• 250 ml fresh soy cream
• 2-3 salmon steaks
• 50 g of parmesan
• fresh dill
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

Cut the squash in half and immerse the halves in a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook for 20 minutes. At the end of this time, remove from the heat and scoop the squash halves with a fork (be careful not to burn yourself) and place the vegetable spaghetti in a gratin dish. Cut the salmon steaks and cover the squash layer with them. Season with a little dill and cover the fish with the rest of the vegetable spaghetti. Season with salt and pepper and add the crème fraîche, spreading it all over the place. Finish by garnishing with Parmesan. Bake at 200 ° C, thermostat 6-7, for 20 minutes and enjoy hot.

If you have a crush on seafood, know that this recipe also goes very well with shrimp and mules. Spinach, broccoli and asparagus are also great for spicing up this meal.

Spaghetti squash and Italian sausage in a casserole dish

Ingredients:

• 1 squash, halved lengthwise
• 220 g mild Italian sausage (skin removed)
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 280 ml tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp. tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
• fresh thyme
• salt and ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200 ° C and place the spaghetti squash halves (cut side down) on a baking sheet covered with metal foil. Cook them for 1 hour or until the skin becomes quite tender. Let cool for a few minutes and remove the flesh with a fork. Then, brown the sausage in a large pan over high heat, breaking it up with a spoon for 5 minutes. Drain the fat and add the onions. Stir well for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden and the sausage is cooked through. Add the garlic and a pinch of rosemary. Salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomato sauce and vinegar and bring to the boil. Stir everything well and incorporate the vegetable spaghetti. Pour the preparation into a casserole dish and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Sprinkle with rosemary and serve! Enjoy your meal !