Pasta is one of my all time favorite foods but the carbs add up and eating plain spaghetti noodles just isn’t that healthy. Whole grain wheat noodles are a better choice but spaghetti squash takes it one step further, being unprocessed and full of great nutrients such as folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. With a bit of red pasta sauce, which is full of vitamin C, and some meatballs or soy, which has protein, you’ve got a healthy fast and affordable meal. I’d even consider renaming it sorority squash because it can be an all time favorite for college students looking to stay trim.
In just 15 minutes you can make a whole plate of spaghetti with spaghetti squash just like the one you see pictured above. You won’t end up using as much water as you would boiling noodles and you won’t have to feel guilty about taking in so many carbohydrates because spaghetti squash is low in calories, averaging just 42 calories per cup (155 grams). Keep an eye out for these special squash at your local grocery store, I got mine from Safeway in May since it is usually grown throughout the winter months. Prepare everything else to go with as you would a normal spaghetti dinner.
- buy a spaghetti squash from your local grocer, don’t try making this dish with any other kind of squash because it just won’t turn out the same, spaghetti squash may also be referred to as:
cucurbita pepo
vegetable spaghetti
noodle squash
spaghetti marrow
squaghetti
gold string melon
金糸瓜 (kinshi uri)
fish fin melon - using a knife, stab four holes into the center of the gourd (be careful not to cut yourself, make sure your knife is sharp)
- put the squash into your microwave and set for ten to twelve minutes, alternatively you can boil the gourd for 20 minutes (don’t poke holes if you choose to boil)
- take the gourd out and let it sit and cool for several minutes, use a knife to cut it in half long wise and consider using an oven mitt to hold the squash because it may still be hot
- use a large spoon to scrape out the seeds and either throw them away, compost them or roast them as you would with pumpkin seeds
- use a fork to gently scrape the spaghetti-like strands of squash out into a bowl, these are your spaghetti noodles! I find that scraping long wise against the grain works well vs. trying to create strands with your fork. Spaghetti squash naturally forms noodle like strands as pictured below
Once you have scraped out all of the squash simply dish it out into individual bowls, add some sauce and meatballs, a bit of Parmesan cheese and enjoy! I have found that one average sized eight inch spaghetti squash will feed three to four adults. The video tutorial below will show you exactly how to prepare spaghetti squash, cutting it and scooping out the noodles.