Spaghetti squash can be a dieter’s best friend if you remember three things: 1) It doesn’t taste like pasta, 2) It doesn’t interact with sauce like pasta, and 3) It doesn’t taste like pasta. Okay, I know that’s actually two points, but the first bears repeating. Spaghetti squash tastes like–surprise!–squash, and if you sit down to a plate of it expecting to bite into a forkful of angel hair, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you’re expecting lightly sweet squashy flavor in fun-to-eat strands of gold, you’ll love spaghetti squash in general and this recipe in particular.
Besides tasting like squash, spaghetti squash has the texture of squash. Though its strands resemble thin noodles, it doesn’t have the starchiness of pasta so sauces don’t cling to it. That means that you don’t want to douse it with lots of sauce because the sauce tends to sink into a puddle underneath the “pasta.” Using just enough sauce to spread the herbs and seasonings through the golden strands is the key to working with spaghetti squash.
The lack of starchiness does have one huge benefit, which is why I mentioned the D-word above: On almost any diet plan, from Eat to Live to Weight Watchers to South Beach, spaghetti squash is considered a non-starchy or “free” vegetable. Many of us start the year off trying to adhere to specific diets, and this recipe is a light and healthy option that should fit easily into any of them.
Spaghetti squash is much easier to cut if you roast it first.
I like the flavor of roasted spaghetti squash much better than steamed, but I was using an older squash that was so hard to cut that I was in danger of losing a finger if I kept trying. So rather than cut it in half to bake, I pierced it several times with a metal skewer and put it in the oven whole.
It was much easier to cut after roasting, and it still had that smoky-sweet roasted flavor. If I had thought about it, I would have put a head of garlic in with it to roast, but I didn’t so I added fresh garlic later.
If you’d like, trim the top off of a head of garlic, wrap it in foil, and bake it along with the squash, checking after 45 minutes to see if it’s softened but not burned. Squeeze out as many of the cloves as you like into the pan when you add the Brussels sprouts and mash them with a fork.
I have to also note that my daughter E, upon looking into the pan as I was finishing cooking, said, “Do I have to eat that?” Our rule is that yes, she has to eat at least a small serving of whatever I cook. (The poor kid is my involuntary recipe tester!) I was really surprised when she finished her small serving and her salad and went back for a little more of each. When questioned, she said that it was “actually pretty good.” Then she poured herself a bowl of Fruitful O’s and soymilk. Oh well, adolescents need their sugar and starch, I suppose.
Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts
- 1 medium onion , halved and thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic , pressed
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 15 ounces chickpeas , rinsed and drained
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- salt and black pepper , to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- sliced almonds , optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Pierce a spaghetti squash 8-10 times with a skewer or thin knife (pierce deeply through flesh into center). Place on a baking sheet on center rack of oven. Bake for 30 minutes and then turn 1/4 turn. Bake another 30 minutes or until outside has browned in places and shell feels soft. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Once it’s cool, cut it in half and remove and discard the seeds and scrape the strands of squash out with a fork. Put the squash into a bowl and set aside.
- While the squash is cooking, prepare the Brussels sprouts. Trim and discard the ends and cut the sprouts in half (quarter larger sprouts). Place on a baking sheet and spray quickly (2 seconds) with olive oil. (This prevents burning; if you don’t want to use the oil, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.) When the squash has almost finished cooking, put the sprouts into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove them when they are just beginning to be touched by brown but are not burning (they will finish cooking in the skillet in the next step).
- In a large, deep, non-stick skillet, cook the onions on medium-high heat until they become golden, about 5-6 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts, garlic, and vegetable broth and cover tightly. Cook for 3-5 minutes, adding more broth or water if skillet becomes dry. Add the chickpeas, basil, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the spaghetti squash, and toss gently to mix. Cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with lemon juice. Serve topped with crushed or sliced almonds, if desired.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Spaghetti Squash Take Over the Blogs:
- Tofu and Vegetable Cacciatore over Spaghetti Squash on this blog
- Spaghetti Squash Primavera on the Fatfree Vegan Recipes site
- Indian-Style Spaghetti Squash Curry on Chef In You
- Spaghetti Sqash Stuffed with Lentils at Tofu for Two
- Spaghetti Squash New Mexican with Black Beans and Lime from the Gluten-Free Goddess
- More Spaghetti Squash Recipes at VegBlogSearch
Claire
January 21, 2011 at 10:18 pmi made this for dinner and loved it. great flavor and great combination of textures.
Abbeygirl
January 23, 2011 at 7:05 pmThis was SO good!! We like things “tangy”. This was wonderful. I have never roasted a spaghetti squash or brussel sprouts before. Matter of fact, I thought I disliked brussel sprouts. I too used a toaster oven, and my squash filled the hole thing. Then when it was done cooking and while it was cooling I cooked the brussel sprouts. They turned out perfectly. This is a recipe that will be made again and again. Thanks for sharing.
Sara
January 23, 2011 at 8:03 pmI just made this tonight, with asparagus and sweet peas because I have never liked brussels sprouts. It is amazing! Sweet and peppery in all the right places. Also, I have never roasted spaghetti squash before because I hate to cut it (I usually microwave it), but this came out tasting so good, I may have to get more!
(I will have to work on roasting asparagus though, it could have gotten more caramelized.)
Emily
January 23, 2011 at 8:29 pmI made this today and it was yummy! I have made a few of your dishes off your blog and your recipes and instructions always seem to turn out really well. We have some new family favorites! Thank you for sharing!
Tricia
January 23, 2011 at 8:57 pmMy husband and I cook a bunch of recipes on the weekends so we are prepared for the week, and I made this last night. I had one bite and thought it was only so-so, but I reheated it for lunch today and WOW!!! I think letting the lemon juice and chili flakes marinate in the fridge overnight really helped the flavors come out more clearly. It also made a huge portion, which I appreciate as I have been cutting my calories since the new year. Thanks for this!
T
January 24, 2011 at 10:10 amDelicious! I couldn’t bring myself to eat brussel sprouts, so I roasted cauliflower and zucchini instead and added that. So good!
Amy
January 24, 2011 at 12:44 pmI am eating this right now, with a shot or two of hot sauce. I don’t love chickpeas, so I’m thinking about another bean that I could work into this mix, maybe adzuki?
Cassi
January 26, 2011 at 4:02 pmLooks absolutely delicious! And I love roasted brussel sprouts. I didn’t think a lot of people grilled their sprouts, but I’ve seen several blog posts about that, so it must be more common than I thought.
Tara
January 27, 2011 at 8:30 amThis dish is delicious! My boyfriend and I recently made it, chickpeas and brussell sprouts are some of our favorites. We added a few more veggies and made a meal out of it. I love your blog!
Kelly
January 27, 2011 at 5:11 pmMy mouth is watering. I really want to make this for dinner.
How big a squash did you use?
SusanV
January 27, 2011 at 5:16 pmI didn’t weigh it beforehand, but I would say that it was medium to large.
Nancy
January 31, 2011 at 12:46 pmMade this for lunch today. Yummy and filling! Earthy and appetizing! I will be making it again.
I will probably cook the squash in the microwave the next time to see if it makes any difference in taste and texture. Also, I think I will add another half can of chickpeas next time, too. My daughter used balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice and said it was wonderful that way.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Destini
February 2, 2011 at 4:14 pmI have been wanting to try spaghetti squash forever! I love brussels sprouts and chickpeas so i am excited to try this!!!
Nicci (NiftyEats)
February 7, 2011 at 12:06 amI’m still not sure why I haven’t tried spaghetti squash, but I need too. This looks delicious.
Julie
February 8, 2011 at 11:48 amI made this last night and it was amazing – thanks again for another fabulous recipe!!
Jess
February 12, 2011 at 9:27 pmThis was good! I didn’t have an hour to roast the squash, so I just microwaved it whole for 15 minutes while the brussels sprouts cooked in the toaster oven. It turned out great, and saved me loads of time.
The flavor was very onion-y, so for those who don’t love onion, I recommend using half an onion and adding 4 or 8oz of sliced mushrooms instead.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Sheila
February 17, 2011 at 6:07 pmThis was so yummy! The family really enjoyed it ,Even though Brussels sprout are not loved ( I love’em).Very filling and not to heavy.Thank you.
Get Skinny, Go Vegan.
March 1, 2011 at 2:07 pmlove these ideas for non pasta, pasta. My parents always grew spaghetti squash!
milly
March 4, 2011 at 4:34 amdont like chick peas,can i use black eye peas?
Mel
March 6, 2011 at 10:56 pmI’m keen to try this, although I only have summer squash. Do you think it would be an ok substitute for the spaghetti squash?
SusanV
March 6, 2011 at 11:10 pmI think it would be different, but delicious. You can just thinly slice the raw squash and add it as you would the spaghetti squash. Or, if you have a spiral slicer or a mandolin, you could shred the squash for a texture much like spaghetti squash. If you try, please let me know your results.
Mel
March 7, 2011 at 4:40 amThanks! Will do… 🙂
Samantha
March 28, 2011 at 5:01 pmI was out of chickpeas 🙁 so rather than trek to the store, I added mushrooms and the squash seeds (toasted). And, of course, il sangue Calabrese demanded more red pepper flakes! Very good with my improvisations- will try again with the chickpeas, which I love dearly! Thanks!
KathyinMD
April 1, 2011 at 7:30 pmSusan, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this since printing it out a couple of months ago. I’ve pretty much lived on it while struggling with pancreas issues. Thank you so much for this wonderful, tasty dish and the new squash cooking technique!
Katie
April 22, 2011 at 6:12 pmHi Susan,
Delicious recipe. What do you think about freezing it?
Thanks!
Caiti
August 29, 2011 at 12:37 pmThis sounds like pure love.
Allison
September 30, 2011 at 11:18 pmI made this tonight in my fall/winter resolution to prepare at some point each of the odd squashes i have never prepared before in the produce section of our local upscale whole-foodsy like market. #1 on my list was spaghetti squash and chose this recipe! It was amazing! I think spaghetti squash will top the list of “most fun” squash to prepare especially when you scoop out the strands!
Carolyn
October 6, 2011 at 7:57 pmThis was perfect! Brussels Sprouts were so yummy! My favorite recipe thus far.
Carolyn Holme
January 19, 2012 at 9:20 pmThis is delicious!! Thank you again. Your recipes are easy and the I can find the ingredients!
Robyn
February 7, 2012 at 11:19 amThanks for posting this! I tried it last night and I love it! I used cayenne instead of red pepper flakes and had way too much squash, so I made a supplement dish of squash, mushrooms, and cabbage.
This was delicious, thank you for the advise!
Sharon Mitchel
February 24, 2012 at 8:33 pmSusan, This is a wonderful way to cook spaghetti squash! Sooooo easy! I’ll never struggle to cut one in half again before roasting! THANK YOU!
The dish was very good. I had a little over a pound of brussels sprouts so used them all which was fine. I really should have let them roast just a bit longer. This made plenty for the two of us for dinner with leftovers for another meal!
A real winner!
Kristina
April 13, 2012 at 3:31 pmGoing to try this one tonight.
Melissa
July 17, 2012 at 4:47 pmI am going to make this for dinner tonight! I’ll let you know how it comes out!
Melissa
July 18, 2012 at 2:07 pmDELISH!!!!
Amber
August 10, 2012 at 5:36 pmNever eaten spaghetti squash before. Was hesitant because cooking all squash seems very intimidating to me but this recipe seemed simple enough. I roasted the squash and tried it for the first time by itself before I added it to the mix. BEHOLD!!! spaghetti squah is delicious!!!! BY ITSELF!! The end result of this recipe is also amazing 🙂 Very comforting!
Radhika Sarohia
October 18, 2012 at 2:22 pmMade kind of an improvised version of this since I was missing the brussel sprouts. I also didn’t have enough time to fire up the oven so I stuck the squash in the microwave beforehand instead, which worked out fine. Will be making this again, I’d never had spaghetti squash before and it is delicious. Thanks for the recipe
TC
October 31, 2012 at 6:12 amSusan,
I tried this spaghetti squash recipe with Brussels sprouts and it was beyond absolutely delicious – I would absolutely recommend this recipe.
thanks for sharing =)
TC
Alexandra
January 8, 2013 at 8:10 pmI am in the process of making this tonight. I have never cooked a spaghetti squash before, so didn’t realize I had not roasted it long enough until I ate some. I added some water to the pot, put the lid on, and am hoping that will cook it the rest of the way. Will post with my thoughts on taste after I try it fully cooked!