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A few months ago, I was introduced to this Paleo Spaghetti Squash Casserole recipe from Alysia at Slim Sanity. Immediately I thought it looked great, but I never expected to make it for dinner unless it was just for me. Nathan isn’t much of a squash fan. Or a casserole fan. So there’s that..
When I started meal planning, I brought it up to him in hopes that he’d agree to try it and what do you know, he went for it! With the awesome selection of ground meats made in-house available to us at Berkeley Bowl, my only request to him was to pick out the kind he wanted to use to make sure he’d like it [kind of like getting your kids to help.. sorry Nath ;)]. The first time we made it, we used 1/4 lb chorizo with 3/4 lb ground turkey and it turned out great! Except we made a few adjustments that I didn’t write down. So this time I made sure to write it all down and share my [un-paleoed] version of the casserole.
Un-Paleoed Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Makes 12 servings
Adapted from Slim Sanity
Ingredients
– 1 medium spaghetti squash; roasted
– 1 28oz. can San Marzano tomatoes; diced & juice reserved
– 1/2 lb ground turkey Italian
– 1/2 lb ground pork Italian
– 1 red onion; diced
– 1 red bell pepper; diced
– 4 cloves garlic; minced
– 1 cup packed spinach
– 1/4 tsp dried oregano
– 1/4 tsp dried basil
– Salt & pepper to taste
– 2 eggs; beaten
– 1 – 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar; grated
– 2 tbsp EVOO; divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice spaghetti squash in half, season with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast face down on a baking tray for 30-45 minutes, until the squash shreds easily. Shred the whole squash and set aside.
While the squash is baking, place a small pot over high heat and pour in the juice from the San Marzanos. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and allow the the tomato juice to reduce down to half.
Place a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and brown the meat. While the meat is browning, prep the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. When the meat is browned, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the pan and toss the onion and bell pepper into the pan. When the onions become translucent, add the diced tomato, spinach, garlic, and seasonings. Slowly start to incorporate the shredded spaghetti squash and reduced tomato juice until everything is mixed well in the pan. Taste test now for salt and pepper before you add the eggs! Finally, add in the 2 eggs and mix well.
Pour everything into a greased 9×11 pan and place in the oven. Baked uncovered for 40-45 minutes until everything has set. Remove from the oven, add the shredded cheese on top, and place under the broiler 5-10 minutes until well browned. Be sure to watch closely because the cheese can brown quickly!
Remove the casserole from the oven and allow to rest about 15 minutes until it has fully set. Slice into 12 equal squares and dig in! Because we used Italian sausage [pork and turkey], this was almost like lasagna. It was really good and definitely tastes more decadent than the numbers prove it to be!
Nutritional Information
Per square
230 Calories / 14g Fat / 11g Carbs / 2g Fiber / 5g Sugar / 15g Protein
Food for Thought
What is your favorite casserole recipe?
YEAAHHH I have been digging in to the spaghetti squash all week!! I may buy some vegan cheese today as this sounds like a good way to mix it up
Do itttt! 🙂
I make these all the time! My mom used to make spaghetti pie with the real deal, but I’ve really liked lightening it up with squash. And it works with any flavor profile!
My mom made spaghetti pie too and I love being able to mix it up.
I love to un-paleo things… with lots of cheese! 🙂 thanks for sharing!
There’s a time and a place to cheese. It just so happens to be most of the time haha
Hmm..you may laugh…but I really don’t think I’ve made a casserole dish of sorts!
This looks great! Thanks for linking up to it on #RECIPEFRIDAY 🙂
So…you guys taking that workshop? hehe
I’d never really done a casserole before trying this one the first time either. So easy to throw everything into a dish and in the oven though!
Taking the sourdough workshop in June (unless another opens sooner).. unfortunately we missed out on the one this weekend but I did convince him to take it!
hehe you are funny! But I totally would add cheese too! Yummmy! That sounds wonderful!I have only had spaghetti squash once this year….may be time to purchase another! Love the pork and turkey mix.
The squash is such a great way to stretch a buck and I love mixing the meats to lighten it up a bit.
Holy hell, that looks delicious! I would opt to make it vegetarian which seems pretty easy–thanks so much for sharing 🙂 I haven’t had spaghetti squash in ages. Yum.
Stopping in from SITS Sharefest–hope you’re enjoying your weekend!
Ha! Thank you 🙂 It’s so easily adaptable which is something I love about casseroles. Thanks for stopping in!
Yumm this looks awesome! I haven’t had spaghetti squash in a while because it’s never at the grocery store anymore 😦
Ugh drives me crazy when there’s something I want but I can’t find it in any store!
Yum, this looks so good! I’ve never made spaghetti squash but it’s on my list of things to try 🙂
Oh try it! It’s so easy 🙂
I keep coming back to this recipe to figure out how I can make it vegetarian. I’m sure I’ll come up with something 🙂 It looks too good not to try!
You could absolutely swap the meat for tofu or tempeh crumbles, add more veggies, or just leave the meat out completely!
Yes I could never be paleo because I’d miss the cheese. My mom tweaked this recipe too by using butternut squash instead of spaghetti squash. Love the tweaking!
I would love to try this with butternut squash but I think that would take a lot more convincing for Nathan. So instead, I’ll just eat lots of butternut squash on the side 😉