Try this delicious alternative to spaghetti. You don't have to be a vegetable lover to really enjoy this dish. Spaghetti squash is a bright yellow, football-shaped vegetable with pale yellow stringy flesh that resembles spaghetti when cooked. It has a slightly sweet flavor. We're topping it with a yummy tomato sauce. Works perfect as a vegetarian main course or as a side dish.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes-for the spaghetti squash
Ingredients
- 1-3 pounds spaghetti squash (approx.)
- 1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 3 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4- inch pieces
- 1/4 cup fresh snipped basil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking pan with foil.
- Using the tip of a sharp knife, pierce the squash in several places. Place on baking pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan, cook the onions in olive oil until tender. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and cook for 3 minutes.
- Uncover and cook for another 6-8 minutes, stirring often, or until the zucchini is crisp to tender. Keep warm.
- Remove the squash from the oven and carefully slice in half. Remove the seeds and discard. Use a fork to shred the squash into long strands in a bowl.
- To serve, Place the spaghetti squash on a serving platter or individual plates. Pour the sauce over the squash.
- Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Makes 6 servings
Food Fact: Spaghetti squash, also called vegetable spaghetti, is so-named because of its flesh which, when cooked, separates into yellow-gold spaghetti-like strands. They are available year-round with the peak season from fall though winter.
Healthy Benefit: Spaghetti squash is a healthy alternative to pasta. It is praised for containing few calories and no fat or sodium. Topping it with tomato sauce boosts the levels of vitamin C.
Shopping Tip: Choose spaghetti squash that are hard and smooth with an even pale yellow color. Avoid squash with bruised or damaged spots and avoid greenish squash--which is still immature. Store uncut spaghetti squash for up to three weeks at room temperature.
Prep Tip: It's easier to shred the spaghetti squash if you use an oven mitt or dish towel to hold the halved squash at an angle. Use a fork to rake the stringy pulp from the warm shell into a bowl.
Skinny Facts (one serving): 72 calories, 3.8g fat, 1.8g protein, 9.3g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 302mg sodium, 5.7g sugar
Fat Facts: The skinny and fat facts are the same for this recipe.