Baked Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Spicy, slippery, slithery, and simple, spaghetti squash is just perfect this way. It’s a guilt-free way to enjoy a good “pasta” while actually reaping the benefits of a vegetable! And apart from the baking time of the squash, the sauce is a quite easy quick fix, with as little ingredients as possible.

Spaghetti squash must be the tastiest not-pasta (with the slippery slide into the mouth). Not to mention that it’s always been the highlight of squash season in our home. But what’s the big deal about spaghetti squash, and why do we like it so much?

For one thing, besides being an excellent non-carb alternative to pasta, spaghetti squash comes along with many other nutritional benefits. It is rich in vitamins C,  A, B-6, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid and vitamin K. Spaghetti squash is also a good source of the mineral manganese, which is important for maintaining both bone and tissue health, as well as playing an important  role in calcium absorption, metabolism, and the regulation of blood sugar.

Have a look at what one serving of this dish contains:

For the sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 spaghetti squash

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

pinch of cinnamon

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp allspice

pinch of cayenne or chili flakes (optional)

2 tbsp grated mozarella (alternatively, you can use a vegan cheese. Click here for my recommended vegan cheese recipe)

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup water (or organic vegetable broth)

salt, to taste

1. In a casserole pot, saute the onion until softened (for around 5 minutes), add in the parsley. Stir for an additional minute.

2. Add the crushed garlic and spices,stir for one minute.

3. Dissolve the tomato paste in the cup of water (or organic broth), and add the mixture to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for around 20 minutes .

For preparing the squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (or 356 fahrenheit). Meanwhile, cut the squsah in half, scoop out the seeds, and brush some of the oil (avocado, coconut, or rapeseed) onto the squash’s surface.

2. Bake the squash for about 50-60 minutes, until it is fully cooked.

3. Remove the baked spaghetti squash from the oven, and fork out all the “spaghetti” strands, scooping them out of the shell.

4. Add the “spaghetti” to the sauce pot, mixing well. If you wish, you may want to spoon the spaghetti back into the squash shells (or you can just serve it in an oven-friendly dish). Sprinkle some cheese at the top, and return to the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. (For the vegan option, you may want to skip the cheese, or try our vegan cheese recipe).

Enjoy! 🙂