This easy stuffed spaghetti squash recipe has all your favorite lasagna ingredients stuffed into handy (and healthy!) spaghetti squash boats. It’s an easy weeknight meal the entire family will love!
I love finding ways to add an extra-healthy touch to a typically indulgent dish. While I’m certainly not against a hearty slab of lasagna every once in a while, putting all of the dish’s typical ingredients into a vessel that also just so happens to be a delicious vegetable ups the nutrition-factor AND presents the dish to the kiddo in a new and unusual way. You may recognize this tactic from my ever-so-popular Papaya Breakfast Boats recipe. Kids get such a kick out of eating out of something other than a plate or bowl.
So, here’s the scoop on this Easy Stuffed Spaghetti Squash: Lasagna-Style!
What You Need to Make Lasagna-Style Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
You don’t need much to make this delicious family meal, mostly all of the typical ingredients you’d use to make a classic lasagna, with spaghetti squash taking the place of the pasta.
You’ll need:
- Garlic herb butter (Trader Joe’s has a great one!)
- Spaghetti squash
- Italian sausage
- Marinara sauce
- Ricotta
- Mozzarella
- Fresh oregano
And a few other basic things like salt, pepper, onion and garlic.
How to Make It
Aside from a little bit of cooking time on the front end, this meal is very much “set-it-and-forget-it.” My favorite kind of meal!
The first thing you’ll need to do is give your spaghetti squash a little head start on cooking. This will take the majority of the cooking time, about 30-45 minutes. You could also do this part in advance when you meal prep for the week!
If you don’t choose to prep your squash in advance, you can start on the filling while they’re cooking. You’ll be preparing the “lasagna” part of this dish over the stove top, to make sure the meat gets fully cooked and all of the ingredients get nice and integrated.
Once your filling is ready and your squash boats have gotten their cook on, it’s time to stuff ‘em!
Sprinkle on the mozzarella and then it’s time to bake. The stuffed boats will only need to be in the oven for 10-15 minutes, with another 4 minutes or so of broiling to get your cheese nice and bubbly. Everything is already cooked through, we’re just putting on the finishing touches right now.
How to Serve Your Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Unless you have some hungry teenagers on your hands, you’re probably going to want to divide your stuffed squash halves in half once again after they’re cooked. Serve them with a little sprinkle of fresh oregano and some fresh bread to scoop up any extra filling, and you have yourself a delicious, well-balanced dinner.
Bonus if you can find some sleek black dining plates like these to serve [affiliate link], they’re such a fun change-up to the typical white china this time of year!
Other Easy Weeknight Meals Like This One
You asked, so I’m answering. Many of you have mentioned to me that you need more ideas for weeknight dinners (hence this tasty recipe) so I also want to point you in the right direction of some other great weeknight meals I have here on the site. Here are some of my other favorite weeknight meals, especially for this time of year:
- This Butternut Squash and Sausage “Stoup” is a more filling take on your typical puréed soup version of this favorite fall ingredient.
- Cashew Shrimp is an easy weeknight meal for any time of year!
- Looking for leftovers? Try this hearty Double Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie with Fresh Herbs and pop any extra into the freezer for future use.
- Try these Weeknight One-Pan Apple and Herb Pork Chops the next time you’re looking for a weeknight meal that’s also a showstopper.
What are your favorite weeknight meals for fall? Let me know in the comments below!
Easy Stuffed Spaghetti Squash: Lasagna-Style!
favorite lasagna ingredients stuffed into handy (and healthy!) spaghetti squash
boats. It’s an easy weeknight meal the entire family will love!
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef's knife
- Deep skillet
- Wooden spoon
- Rimmed sheet pan
- 1/2 cup measure
- Teaspoon measure
- Tablespoon measure
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash, halved with some of the insides scooped out to form a well Reserve any of the extra insides to stir into the filling.
- 2 tablespoons garlic herb butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 of a large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 cup marinara sauce See notes for recipe, or use a jarred version.
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 ounces shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place spaghetti
squash halves on a rimmed baking sheet facing up. Brush the garlic herb butter
evenly over each of the spaghetti squash halves. Roast in the preheated oven
for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash is fork-tender. - While the squash is cooking, prepare the filling. Place a deep skillet on the stove over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until fragrant and translucent, then add the garlic and stir to combine. Let cook for a minute or two and then add the Italian sausage and cook until browned.
- Add in the marinara, ricotta and oregano and stir to combine. Let the mixture heat up and come to a gentle bubble, then turn off the heat.
- When your squash is fork-tender and you’ve pulled it out of the oven, lower the oven heat to 350 degrees. Then, carefully scoop the filling into each of the halves and sprinkle with mozzarella.
- Return the squash to the 350-degree oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, then turn on the broiler and cook for another 4 or so minutes, until the cheese on top is browned and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before cutting the halves in half and serving.
Notes
- You can find a great recipe for homemade marinara here!
- You can roast your spaghetti squash up to two days in advance. It will reheat in the oven when you bake the filling.
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