Italian Baked Spaghetti Squash

This Italian Baked Spaghetti Squash is full of flavor, is SUPER EASY to make, and is a trememdous vegetarian dinner idea for your meatless meals. This is one of our family’s favorite spaghetti squash recipes. 

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a recipe for stuffed spaghetti squash. I tried it and loved how it turned out and was inspired to create more versions of the stuffed spaghetti squash.  I figured I couldn’t go wrong with Italian flavors, and I was right.

Spaghetti squash is pretty awesome.  If you’ve never tried it, you really are missing out.  When it cooks, the flesh of the squash can be pulled away from the skin in long, skinny strands that resemble spaghetti.  Now the name makes sense, right?

So you’ve got this vegetable that can be used very much like pasta, only with a lot less carbs and calories and amped up nutrition.  Now, don’t expect it to taste or feel exactly like pasta in your mouth.  It doesn’t.  It takes like squash and the texture is like squash.  If you like squash, you’ll likely enjoy spaghetti squash.

The longest part of this dish is the actual cooking of the spaghetti squash.  Of course, that’s hands off, and the rest of the recipe is a breeze. Edited to add: since getting an Instant Pot, I often speed up the cooking time by cooking my spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot pressure cooker!

I’ve made a few versions of this dish, and while the recipe I’m sharing with you is my favorite, there are many ways you can tweak this to your liking.  One time I made it with great northern beans in the mixture, which makes a more substantial dish.  Go ahead and add some if that’s what you are looking for.  Of course you can also make this vegan by leaving off the cheese or using a vegan cheese substitute.  It’s really good both ways.

Recipe Ingredients–What You Need

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 10 ounces sliced white mushrooms, chopped
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (I used the packed-in-oil kind, drained)
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning blend (or a combination of your favorite Italian spices, such as basil, oregano, rosemary, etc.)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend, shredded (optional)

How to Make Italian Baked Spaghetti Squash

1. First, cook your spaghetti squash.  You can use any method in my how to cook spaghetti squash tutorial. Here is the oven method. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.  Cut your squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds and loose flesh.  Put the squash, shell side up, on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.  Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and green pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 
3.  Add the tomatoes, seasonings, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.  Remove from heat.
4. Using a fork, scoop out the flesh of the spaghetti squash and place in a large bowl.  
5. Add the mushroom mixture to the squash and stir to combine.  
6. Put half of the mixture back into the shell of one squash half and the rest of the mixture into the shell of the second squash half.  {Stop here if you are not using cheese. Serve hot.}
7. Top each shell with 1/4 cup cheese.  
8. Put the shells back onto the baking sheet and broil in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

 

Recipe Tips

1. I prefer a medium-sized spaghetti squash for this recipe. If you use an unusually smaller or bigger spaghetti squash, you may want to adjust the filling and/or cheese amount for the best ratio.
2. Some people like spaghetti squash strands to be more “al dente” while others prefer them more cooked. You can adjust your cooking time to your preference. As the recipe states, the spaghetti squash will be in the middle, more towards the al dente side.

If think you’re going to LOVE this Italian Baked Spaghetti Squash recipe! If you try it, please leave a star rating below. It’s so helpful for other readers to see that a recipe is tried and true! You may also love this Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Spaghetti Squash or this Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Bowl recipe.

I’d also love to keep in touch. Please follow along on Instagram and Facebook.

Print

This recipe was first published in March 2013. New photos and a video were added February 2020.