A simple, step-by-step guide to making the perfect spaghetti squash noodles.
Do you crave pasta on the daily, but hate the high-carb price tag that comes with it? If so, we’ve got a solution for you: spaghetti squash. Before raising an eyebrow—(“But spaghetti squash is a vegetable!“)—hear us out. When roasted in the oven with a little olive oil, the stringy spaghetti squash flesh easily transforms into tender, angel hair-like noodles that can mightily withstand the heartiest of sauces. Dress your noodles however you like—adorned with delicate herbs, doused in marinara sauce, covered in ooey-gooey cheese. Trust us, your family will never catch on.
We spoke to Carlene Thomas, RDN, LD, to get some expert pointers for roasting and preparing the perfect spaghetti squash noodles.
How To Cook Spaghetti Squash in 5 Easy Steps
Step 1: “Cut the squash in half length wise and remove the seeds. Scoop it out like a pumpkin so all of the stringy guts and seeds are removed.”
Step 2: “Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Drizzle olive oil, sea salt and black pepper on the inner part of the spaghetti squash. Place face down on a baking dish.”
Step 3: “Your squash cooking time depends on how big your squash is. For this squash (see size related to hand above), it took about 40 minutes. You’ll know your squash is ready when you can pierce it with a knife and easily scrape the interior flesh to ‘fluff’ the spaghetti with a fork.”
Step 4: “Okay, so the squash is out, now time to make the noodles happen. Take a fork and run it down and along the interior squash flesh. Scrape down the sides, pulling the fork towards the middle of the squash.”
Step 5: “Transfer the noodles to a dish and toss out the remaining shell/skin and top with your sauce of choice. One squash will make two meals for the husband plus myself. Our favorite topping is a tomato sauce with tomato chunks and a sprinkle of fresh oregano and cheese. As the husband says, ‘There is nothing I don’t like about this.’”
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Carlene Thomas RDN, LD is a dietitian nutritionist, recipe developer and blogger on HealthfullyEverAfter.co. She loves developing recipes that focus on seasonal and local ingredients that create impressive results without the hassle. Carlene also works with brides to get healthier before their weddings with “wedding wellness,” not wedding diets.
