Spaghetti squash has become very popular lately with low carb dieters. I am not one of them but I do enjoy this variety of squash and used it recently to make a super simple dish. My crockpot did all of the cooking.
This is what a spaghetti squash looks like. They are smooth ovals with slightly pointed ends and a yellow rind. When cooked the flesh separates into long thin strands and can be substituted or used in addition to traditional noodles to lower the calorie and carbohydrate content of popular pasta dishes. Follow my recipe for a simple spaghetti marinara here.
Squash Spaghetti
Folks, I hesitate to even call this a recipe because it can be made with only two ingredients. But hopefully you will appreciate this easy method of cooking a whole squash.
1 2-3 lb. spaghetti squash
1 jar marinara sauce
Wash the outside of your squash and put it in your crockpot. Add 1-2 cups of water. Using a fork or sharp knife make several small punctures in the squash. This is to ensure the squash does not decide to explode!
Put the lid on the crockpot and turn the temperature to low. Cook for 4-6 hours until the squash is tender and pierces easily. Lift the squash from the crockpot with tongs or other utensils and place it on a cutting board. I like to put the cutting board in my clean sink because the squash might release some liquid when you cut into it.
When the squash is cool enough to handle, cut it in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
Empty the water out of the bottom of the crock pot and place the squash halves back into the crock. This way you can scrape the flesh directly into the pot with little mess as I’ve done here.
Once you’ve scraped out all of the “spaghetti” strands from both halves and discarded the shell you can add a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Put the lid back on the crock pot to heat everything through. A friend of mine likes to add frozen, prepared meatballs to this. You could also add some greens as I have done here with a pile of Swiss chard from my garden. Depending on what you add it may take 1-2 hours to heat everything through again. When everything is heated through, simply stir and serve.
Obviously, this is not a fast food recipe but the hands on time is very short.
Please let me know if you try making this “Squash Spaghetti” and how it turns out!