Spaghetti squash and I are best pals.
I mean, seriously, let’s talk about this magical little veggie. It’s low calorie with only 31 calories per cup. That means you can eat a huge portion – let’s say 3 cups if you are ambitious – for under 100 calories. The same amount of pasta would have six times as many calories. It’s also low carb, gluten free, plant based, Paleo friendly, clean eating friendly – I mean it works on pretty much any diet. Win. And then let’s talk about the most important thing – it’s delicious and super versatile. You can use it to replace pasta in almost any recipe, it’s delicious in Asian stir-fries, it makes an excellent side dish, it can be even be used as a pizza crust! (Looking for spaghetti squash recipes, click here.)
Now that you are hopefully convinced that spaghetti squash is the best thing ever. Let’s talk about how to cook it.
Roasting Spaghetti Squash
Roasting is probably the most popular way to cook spaghetti squash. In my opinion, this is the most flavorful way to cook it, especially when you choose to do it in halves or pieces since you can season it and you get some of the great roasted vegetable flavors. Here’s what to do. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. To roast a whole squash, pierce it all over with a fork (like you would with a potato) and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 50-60 minutes until tender. To roast halves, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Spray with cooking spray (or add some olive oil) and season with salt, pepper and/or spices. Place flesh side down on a baking sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes until tender. To roast squash pieces, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Then cut into fourths. Spray with cooking spray (or add a touch of oil) and season with salt, pepper and/or spices. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15-25 minutes until tender. With all the methods, carefully scrape out the squash into strands when it finishes cooking.
