I’m trying really hard to stay healthy (read as: cut carbs) but it’s just so hard. I love carbs. I especially love bread and pasta and rice and all those delicious things that add inches to my thighs when I eat too much. We’re on week 2 of 2017 and I’m doing pretty well so far. I’ve been going to the gym, taking a healthy breakfast to work — and actually eating it, I’ve been packing my lunches, filling up on veggies, fruit and protein. Yes, I’ve been having some cheat meals. But come on, I need to live a little!
I don’t have anything against veggies, I just prefer to have the carbalicious version. In the warmer months, I was all about the zoodles, zucchini cut into a noodle-like texture. If you loved zoodles, you’re going to really like spaghetti squash. Yea, it’s another vegetable, but it’s naturally stringy and makes for … you guessed it … the perfect spaghetti noodle substitute. While you can go with the classic tomato sauce and meatballs, I invite you to try some different variations. Most recently, I experimented with Pesto Spaghetti Squash. If you love pesto, this is recipe for you. The most time consuming part of the Pesto Spaghetti Squash recipe is roasting the spaghetti squash, 50 minutes to be exact. Other than that, it’s smooth sailing and so healthy. As matter of fact, if you don’t take any part of this recipe except how to roast spaghetti squash, I have no issue with that!
Feel free to use pre-packaged basil pesto, or if you have some extra time, whip up my parsley pesto. My parents wanted grilled chicken in their squash, while I opted for meatless. It’s delicious either way. If you feel you need some added protein, grill some chicken or sauté some shrimp and Ta-Da!
Ingredients
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 1-2 tablespoons Olive Oil, for brushing
- Salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup Pesto (use my Parsley Pesto Recipe LINK or use pre-packaged)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Cut spaghetti squash in half, the long way (it's easier to cut if you've microwaved the squash, whole, for 1 minute)
- Remove the seeds, and the squishy insides. Don't worry, the "spaghetti" comes from the flesh
- Place face-up on parchments paper lined baking sheet
- Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
- Bake for 50 minutes on a middle rack
- Meanwhile, if you're making pesto, this is the time to do it
- Remove squash from the oven
- Using a fork carefully pull at the flesh until it becomes shredded -- resembling spaghetti noodles and place in a medium bowl. Save the squash shells.
- In a medium bowl, mix the shredded squash and pesto until combined
- Scoop the pesto squash back into the shells and serve
1 Comment on Pesto Spaghetti Squash
Comments are closed.