Italian Spaghetti Squash Bake #RecipeMakeover

On this, Day 4, of Recipe Makeover week I decided to share with you a way to enjoy the ooey gooey goodness of baked Spaghetti that gives you and your family an extra serving of vegetables and is gluten free. This dish is so delicious that even your most die hard carnivores, pasta lovers and veggie haters will happily gobble it up.

I love using Spaghetti Squash in place of pasta.  Does it taste like Spaghetti? Nope but in my humble opinion it tastes just as good as spaghetti.  Especially when you add delicious flavorings, melty cheese and yummy broccolini and mushrooms.

You can prepare it in about the same amount of time as it would take using pasta by cooking the squash in the microwave.  While the squash is cooking, saute the broccolini and mushrooms with some crushed red pepper and garlic in a little olive oil.

Remove it to a bowl and allow to cool before adding the cheeses and Italian Seasonings.  Stir to combine and set aside while you shred the "spaghetti" from the squash.

Add the squash to the vegetables and toss to combine.  

Place the vegetable filling into the scraped shells and sprinkle with more cheese.

Bake for a few minutes to warm through then put under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese.

I adapted this recipe from one found at Eating Well.   They called it Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with Broccolini.  I added mushrooms, used fresh mozzarella, substituted red wine for the water and used Tuscan Herb olive oil to saute the vegetables.

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Italian Spaghetti Squash Bake

adapted from Eating Well

1 (2-3 lb) spaghetti squash, halved and seeded

1 T. Tuscan Herb Olive Oil

1 bunch Broccolini, chopped

6 oz. sliced mushrooms

4 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of crushed red pepper

2 T. dry red wine

6 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, grated

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 t. dried Italian herbs

pinch of salt

couple of grinds of black pepper

Place squash, cut side down onto a microwaveable dish.  Add a little water to the dish and cook on high temperature until the flesh is tender, about 10 minutes.  

While squash is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the broccolini, mushrooms,  garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, add the wine and continue cooking and stirring until broccolini is tender, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl to cool, then add the 2/3 of the mozzarella and 2 Tablespoons of the parmesan cheese, herbs, salt and pepper.  Toss to combine, set aside.

Using a fork, scrape the squash from the shell in strands and add to the vegetable/cheese mixture. 

Toss together loosely and then divide between the shells, and sprinkle with remaining cheeses.  Bake in a preheated 450* oven for about 10 minutes, just until heated through and then place under a broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Print Recipe

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