Low Carb Beef and Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake!

photo by SharonChen





- Ready In:
- 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 lb minced ground beef
- 1 (24 ounce) can prepared low-carb spaghetti sauce
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1⁄4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat oil in large pan; cook onion, garlic, carrot and celery, stirring often until onion and celery are clear.
- Add hamburger and cook until no pink remains.
- Drain, then add sauce, and oregano and simmer, covered, about 15 mins or until mixture has thickened slightly.
- While beef mixture is simmering, cut the squash in half and carefully remove the seeds.
- Be sure to cut around the edge so you don't cut into the squash itself.
- Place face down in microwaveable casserole dish, add 1 inch of water and cover.
- Microwave on high for approx 10 minutes, or until it begins to soften.
- (Alternately, you can cook the same way in the oven for 30 min).
- Let cool and carefully remove inside of squash with fork or spoon.
- It will look a lot like cooked spaghetti and come out in strands.
- Let squash strands drain well.
- Stir spaghetti squash into beef mixture, then spoon into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for 15 mins or until browned slightly.
- Top with parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste when serving.
Questions & Replies

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Reviews
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A diamond (or at least ruby), but VERY rough. First: I do not think this needs any cheese, certainly no cheddar. And you can use any ground poultry or sausage instead of beef.<br/><br/>Directions for cooking the squash are too vague AND too complex. IGNORE STEPS 6-9 AND 12. Here's what you do instead: Use a 3.5 to 4 pound spaghetti squash. When you first walk in the kitchen, puncture it 4 times with a small but sturdy knife (careful wiggling it out), and stick it straight on the oven rack at 375-400. It will be done in around an hour, while you do steps 2-4 and maybe other tasks.<br/><br/>I also recommend in Step 11 that you (A) give the strands a few snips with kitchen shears right in the bowl/pan ; and (B) save out a small container of the squash for another use, until you decide if you want/need it all in this casserole.<br/><br/>There -- probably worth re-posting the recipe!
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Quick, easy & very tasty. I've been on a squash kick lately & especially love spaghetti squash incorporated into easy everyday meals. Increased the beef 1/4 lb & 1 more garlic clove. I'm not a fan of microwave cooking so I did squash in oven @ 375 F for 30-40 mins instead. I only had 1/2 squash which still worked ok but I think I'd prefer as it's written. Great low carb recipe, thanks for sharing.
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If following the recipe, the best you can hope for is a VERY, VERY bland meal. I added extra garlic, a bunch of salt, and crushed red pepper in hope to add flavor. It STILL didn't have any. I could probably take the basics of this recipe and completely rewrite it, but the effort isn't worth it. Skip this. Try something else.
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Tweaks
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I agree with above on needing better squash directions. I also used ground turkey instead of beef, which doesn't have a lot of flavor, so I added some taco seasoning, taco sauce, and mexican mix cheese. Husband loved it and didn't question what that funny spaghetti was! Great way to get a lot of veggies in!
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A diamond (or at least ruby), but VERY rough. First: I do not think this needs any cheese, certainly no cheddar. And you can use any ground poultry or sausage instead of beef.<br/><br/>Directions for cooking the squash are too vague AND too complex. IGNORE STEPS 6-9 AND 12. Here's what you do instead: Use a 3.5 to 4 pound spaghetti squash. When you first walk in the kitchen, puncture it 4 times with a small but sturdy knife (careful wiggling it out), and stick it straight on the oven rack at 375-400. It will be done in around an hour, while you do steps 2-4 and maybe other tasks.<br/><br/>I also recommend in Step 11 that you (A) give the strands a few snips with kitchen shears right in the bowl/pan ; and (B) save out a small container of the squash for another use, until you decide if you want/need it all in this casserole.<br/><br/>There -- probably worth re-posting the recipe!