I am excited to share one of my favorite quick and easy low carb dinners, spaghetti squash pasta. My husband loves when I make this dish, and I enjoyed introducing it to my friend Jenny who joined us for dinner this week.
Side note: Jenny and I are doing the 24 day Advocare cleanse (currently on day 6) and this dish is completely cleanse friendly… But more about this later.
Along with this dish being cleanse friendly, it is also low carb and vegan. It’s packed with veggies, and nutrients without lacking flavor. It is a very hearty and satisfying dish – Enough to satisfy the hungriest of guys. Promise, they won’t even miss the meat 😉
Now if you are like me, I have a weakness for pasta, any and all pasta! Seriously. So, when doing a cleanse, or low carb diet, I just HAD to find a way to curb this craving without cheating. Now I knew spaghetti squash was a good substitute for pasta, so I looked up the easiest way to prepare it. I then added in all my favorite pasta ingredients and sauce, and voila! My dish was created and I’ve been making it regularly for a couple of years now.
Here are the ingredients you will need for this dish:
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- Olive Oil
- 16 oz Tomato Sauce
- Cherry Tomatos
- 2 Yellow, or Orange Peppers
- Fresh Spinach or kale (your preference)
- Oregano
- Fresh garlic
The first step is preparing the squash. It is so easy. Take your squash and cut it in half long ways. You will then take the seeds out with a spoon (just like you would when carving a pumpkin). Put them face up on a cookie sheet, and bake on 400 for 40 minutes. You can also drizzle with olive oil here, or skip it if you don’t want to use oil. When finished your squash will look roasted, and the inside will be tender.
Make sure you let the squash cool for a bit. You are now ready for the spaghetti. Simply take a fork, and start pulling away the inside of the squash. It will come out easily into spaghetti like pieces. Pretty much no tecnique is needed, the spaghetti squash does this on its own.
Soon you will have a full casserole dish.
Once this is done, stick the casserole dish in the oven on warm while you prepare the sauce.
Put your tomato sauce in a pot and keep on low (you can use any sauce you like here). I used a garlic tomato sauce for a bit more flavore this time.
Now it’s time to start sautéing your veggies. Cut your pepper long ways into strips and you cherry tomatoes in half. Chop up fresh garlic finely and add to a sauté pan all together. Here is where you add the oregano and olive oil (again, only if desired).
Once the veggies are nice and tender, you can add them directly to your sauce.
Time to sauté your greens. I like to use kale or spinach, usually I use whatever I have on hand. Do this in the same pan you just sautéed your veggies in to save time on cleaning. One hint here on the amount of greens: Always use more than you think you need because it will shrink significantly. This will only take a minute or two tops – You don’t want your spinach or kale too limp, just lightly cooked. Once the spinach is done, immediately place on top of the pasta.
Top with the veggies and pasta sauce and your dish is complete!
This yummy pasta dish is great in the fall, but I make it year round. There are endless possibilities and modifications to this pasta, and it’s easy to get creative with it, depending on what you already have in e fridge.
You could also try using
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Zucchini
- Squash
If you are not doing low carb, or vegan I suggest adding sausage, or ground turkey for your meat lovers. I would also definitely add some shredded parmesan cheese!
Anyway you make it, it’s sure to please the tummys you are feeding. Enjoy!
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