Low-Carb Spaghetti Squash Casserole
"It's wonderful when something so healthy tastes so good! Serve a salad and some garlic bread with this and you have a great meal! From Dr. Andrew Weil."
photo by Starrynews
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 5mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 large carrot, sliced on the diagonal
- 2 stalks celery, sliced on the diagonal
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, peeled, seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 28 ounces tomatoes, diced (if using fresh, peel and seed)
- red pepper flakes (or one small hot red pepper, minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (I use a tablespoon of fresh when I have it)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped (or more)
- 3⁄4 lb part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
directions
- Place the spaghetti squash in a large pot of water (it should float) and bring to a boil; lower heat, cover and boil gently for 50 minutes.
- Another option is to bake the squash first-- cut it lengthwise and place the halves skin-side down in a baking dish with an inch of water; cover the dish with foil and bake at 350º F for about 45 minutes, or until meat is tender.
- While squash is cooking, peel and slice the carrots, celery, onion and bell pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the onion and carrot, with some water to prevent sticking. Sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables with some red pepper flakes and a dash of salt, if desired. Sauté, stirring frequently, till vegetables are barely tender, about 10 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven (if you are cooking squash on top of the stove)to 350 degrees F.
- Add crushed tomatoes, basil and oregano to taste, and a sprinkle of ground allspice. Squeeze in 2-5 cloves of garlic. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, grate the mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Remove squash from pot or oven and allow to cool until you can handle it. If it is whole, cut it in half lengthwise, then remove seeds with a spoon and squeeze any excess water out of meat.
- Remove meat and break it up into strands with a fork or potato masher. Mix squash well with vegetables and put half in the bottom of a large baking dish. Top with half the cheeses, the rest of the squash, and then the rest of the cheeses.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Let cool 15-20 minutes before serving.
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Reviews
-
I truly liked this recipe, thank you. As with any recipe there are tweaks to be made to make it your own, I added mushrooms a little more garlic, doubled the red pepper flakes, and replaced the olive oil with 1 slice of heavy smoked bacon. I stored this in my Recipe Box, it is a keeper! -
This is an awesome recipe! It's something that both my husband and I enjoyed, which doesn't happen often, as we have such different tastes. I try to make a batch of marina sauce every week, and used that with the squash. Used a blend of smoked Gouda, smoked Cheddar and Parmesan. I made it two nights ago.. and am making a double batch right now to have for quick lunches this week! Thank you for sharing the recipe! -
Cooked squash in microwave (sliced in half, removed seeds, 1/4 c water in bottom of bowl, covered, zapped for 10-12 min). Used preshredded cheeses and a can of rotel tomaotes. This casserole makes a great vegetarian main dish and didn't take long with the shortcuts. -
This was edible and unfortunately that is the best thing I can say. It was a lot of prep work and cooking time to end up with basically spaghetti sauce with some vegetables. -
This is delicious! It smelled so good while cooking. I baked the squash whole at 375 for an hour, after using a fork to put holes in it. It was ready just a little bit after I finished the sauce and prepped the cheeses. I used the optional red pepper flakes - loved the added zip! - and omitted the optional salt, as well as using no salt added tomatoes. We really enjoyed this with a salad. Thanks for sharing! Veg*n Swap 34
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Tweaks
-
I truly liked this recipe, thank you. As with any recipe there are tweaks to be made to make it your own, I added mushrooms a little more garlic, doubled the red pepper flakes, and replaced the olive oil with 1 slice of heavy smoked bacon. I stored this in my Recipe Box, it is a keeper!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Chef Kate
Annapolis, 60
<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
