Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce

Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce

Have you ever tried to make spaghetti squash as a dinner recipe? It’s a fabulous substitute for classic spaghetti. This recipe has a Greek meat sauce served on top with some delicious garnishes too. If you prefer, you can top your spaghetti squash with a lovely bolognese sauce instead.

🛒 Ingredients Needed:

• olive oil
• onion
• ground beef or turkey
• water
• tomato paste
• red wine vinegar
• garlic
• pickling spices
• cinnamon stick
• salt and pepper
• spaghetti squash
• unsalted butter
• avocado
• cherry tomatoes
• Parmesan
• fresh parsley

✏️ How to make Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce:

*The complete, printable recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post.

PREPARE THE MEAT SAUCE:

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion to a plate, leaving the oil in the pan.
2. Brown the meat in the reserved oil over medium-high heat, stirring to break it up into even crumbles. Return the onion to the pan. Add the water, tomato paste, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Tie the pickling spice and cinnamon in a small piece of cheesecloth and add to the stew.
3. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding additional water if it threatens to scorch. Discard the cheesecloth.

PREPARE THE REST:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash, cut-side-down, on the prepared pan. Bake until the flesh can be easily scraped into strands with a fork, about 50 to 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Using a fork, scoop out all the flesh into a bowl and fluff the spaghetti-like strands. Toss in the salt and pepper. Place on a large, warmed platter or the cleaned squash shell.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until it turns light brown. Pour over the squash strands. Toss with the fork to blend.

➡️ Tips and Substitutions:

• You can skip the pickling spices and cinnamon if you’d like a more traditional tasting red sauce.
• The addition of browned butter is amazing. But you can certainly skip that part if you don’t want both butter and sauce on top of your spaghetti squash.
• Avocado and tomato and amazing garnishes for this meal (you must try it), but if that doesn’t appeal to you then you can leave those garnishes off.

✔️ Make Ahead Tips:

You can absolutely prepare this recipe ahead. Make the meat sauce, then place in a covered container in the refrigerator. You can also bake the spaghetti squash ahead of time, and store that in the fridge too. When time to serve, heat up the squash in the oven or microwave, add the browned butter and heat the meat sauce on the stove to serve on top.

Favorite Spaghetti Recipes:

• Baked Lemon Spaghetti
• Spaghetti with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms and Pancetta
• Spaghetti Tacos
• Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
• Spaghetti Carbonara