Paleo Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

Paleo Spaghetti Squash Bolognese is a good dinner recipe for those who have to (or want to) avoid eating pasta.  

Spaghetti Squash happens to be a good substitute for pasta.  It’s a squash that becomes stringy like spaghetti when cooked.  It becomes tender, and it acts as a delicious base for sauces.  In this case, a delicious homemade bolognese (meat) sauce is spooned on top.

This recipe comes from a cookbook called, Practical Paleo– a New York Times best seller- by Diane Sanfilippo. It’s a great Paleo diet book and cookbook.  I love that it’s color coded to note which recipes contain eggs, etc.  There are 120 easy recipes.  Even if you don’t follow the Paleo diet specifically, it’s a good book for those who are gluten free, sugar free or dairy free too.  30 day meals plans support autoimmune conditions, digestive health, cancer recovery, alzheimers, heart health and more.

What is Bolognese Sauce?

Bolognese is a meat-based sauce used in Italian recipes. Finely chopped onion, celery and carrot are sauteed with ground beef and ground pork.  In this recipe, some bacon is added in, and the bacon fat is used for sauteeing. 

Classic bolognese has milk and tomato paste added to the sauce.  Tomato paste is added in here, but coconut milk is substituted for dairy milk to keep in line with the Paleo diet.  If you don’t need to be dairy-free, it’s okay to use regular milk instead of coconut milk.  Of course, a little bit of wine is added to the sauce too.  That helps give it a richer flavor.  The sauce simmers for a good 30 minutes, while you’re finishing up preparation of the spaghetti squash.

How to find the best spaghetti squash:

Look for an average-sized squash (4 to 5 pounds).  A good spaghetti squash is light yellow in color and will be firm with no bruises.

How to cook spaghetti squash:

Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise so that two shallow halves remain.  Scoop out the seeds and inner portion of the squash, and then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.  Place both halves face down on a baking sheet.  Roast for 35 to 45 minutes- until the flesh of the squash becomes translucent in color and the skin begins to soften and easily separate from the “noodles” that make up the inside.

Allow the squash to cool enough so you can handle it, and then scoop the flesh out from the inside of the skin into a large serving bowl.  Set aside until the sauce is finished.

Is spaghetti squash a carb?

It’s not considered a starchy vegetable, but it does have carbs.  1 cup of spaghetti squash has about 42 calories, 10 grams carbs, 1 gram protein and 2 grams of fiber.

Let me know if you try this alternative way of eating spaghetti for dinner.  We happen to love it at my house.  Tip:  If you’re not dairy free, add a good grating of fresh Parmesan cheese on top!

You might also enjoy these Bolognese recipes:

• Weight Watchers Spaghetti Bolognese
• Gnocchi Bolognese
• Pasta with Garden Bolognese Sauce

5 from 6 votes

Paleo Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

By RecipeGirl.com (shared from Practical Paleo)

A traditional meat sauce made dairy free with the use of coconut milk instead of cream.

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr

Total: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

SaveSaved Pin Print

Save this recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save

Ingredients

• ▢ One 4 to 5 pound spaghetti squash
• ▢ sea salt & black pepper, to taste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons bacon fat (or butter)
• ▢ 1 medium onion, finely diced
• ▢ 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely diced
• ▢ 1 medium celery stalk, finely diced
• ▢ 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• ▢ 8 ounces ground veal or beef
• ▢ 8 ounces ground pork
• ▢ 4 slices bacon, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup full fat coconut milk
• ▢ 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ ½ cup dry white wine (optional)
• ▢ sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375℉.

PREPARE THE SPAGHETTI SQUASH:

• Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise so that two shallow halves remain.  Scoop out the seeds and inner portion of the squash, and then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.  Place both halves face down on a baking sheet.  Roast for 35 to 45 minutes- until the flesh of the squash becomes translucent in color and the skin begins to soften and easily separate from the "noodles" that make up the inside.
• Allow the squash to cool enough so you can handle it, and then scoop the flesh out from the inside of the skin into a large serving bowl.  Set aside until the sauce is finished.

PREPARE THE SAUCE:

• While the squash bakes, prepare the sauce.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the bacon fat or butter, and saute the onions, carrots and celery until they become translucent.  Add the garlic an cook for an additional minute.
• Add the ground veal (or beef), pork and bacon an cook until browned through.  Once the meat is done, add the coconut milk, tomato paste and white wine (optional) and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the sauce is well combined and any alcohol is cooked out (if you added it).  Add sea salt and pepper to taste before removing the sauce from the heat.
• Serve over the roasted spaghetti squash.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 612kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 41g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Cholesterol: 99mg, Sodium: 393mg, Potassium: 1030mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 3115IU, Vitamin C: 13.2mg, Calcium: 112mg, Iron: 4.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!