These Spaghetti Squash Boats with Spicy Sausage have all the same great flavors as normal spaghetti, but with half the calories and carbs!
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Ok guys, this is huge.
I love spaghetti as much as the next person, but ohh do I hate those carbs. The first time I ever tried spaghetti squash I was sooo skeptical (and I tend to be super picky) – I mean how in the world would squash taste as good as pasta?? Well clearly vegetables have been surprising me lately and YES, this is another winner folks. Creating the “noodles” from this squash is so incredibly easy. Seriously – if you can boil water, you can make spaghetti squash. Plain. and. simple. All you have to do is cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, bake them {cut side down} for about 45 minutes in the oven then start scraping with a fork!
Boom spaghetti.
Squash has little to no taste so it’s amazing the different flavor combinations you can come up with! I wanted to do something a little different than just a basic marinara that I’m used to having so I thought it’d be fun to make individual squash boats tossed with a creamy sauce and spicy sausage. Turkey sausage that is. Jennie-O has a DELICIOUS spicy ground turkey sausage that is lean and low in fat/calories, but really you could use any type of sausage you’d like! This sauce is so flavorful and seriously so simple to make, the best part is you can make everything all in the same skillet. Toss the spaghetti squash in with the sauce and turkey until completely coated and transfer everything into the squash boats. Top with cheese, bake in the oven and enjoy!
Oh and did I mention, one whole cheesy boat is only 270 calories! I think that alone makes this worth a try, don’t ya think??
I seriously can’t believe it’s now officially Fall, I feel like summer flew by just like that! Trust me I’m not complaining, I’m all about the pumpkin spiced lattes, cozy sweaters, boots with leggings and admiring all the pretty foliage, but when I left work yesterday it was over 80 degrees! Mother nature what the heck is up?? All my scarves are out and ready to be worn, but this weather has me like ready to lay back out by the pool.
Well even though the heat is still pretty high for mid-September, I’m still excited about sharing Fall recipes! Let me know what recipes YOU would like to see this season and I’d be happy to share!
Spaghetti Squash Boats with Spicy Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 ripe spaghetti squash
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 lb. ground hot turkey sausage, I used Jennie-O
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel tomatoes
- 1/4 cup half and half
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 cup part skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
- 2 Tbsp basil, thinly sliced
Instructions
- To make the spaghetti squash, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and cut squash right down the middle. Scoop out all the seeds and place cut side down on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with oil. DO NOT PIERCE WITH A FORK!! Many recipes say to do this, but we are using these cuts of squash later as bowls so you want them to remain intact.
- Bake squash in the oven for 45 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, drizzle oil into a large skillet and saute onion and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add turkey sausage and cook until crumbled and lightly brown, draining if necessary, then add chicken broth, tomatoes, half and half, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil then cover and allow flavors to simmer on low to medium heat until spaghetti squash is ready.
- Remove squash from the oven and scrape out all the strands of spaghetti using a fork. Add all the spaghetti squash to your skillet along with a 1/4 cup of cheese. Toss well until cheese is melted and squash is fully coated with sauce.
- Transfer squash mixture into your now scraped out squash bowls and top with the rest of your cheese. Place them back in the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted and squash is heated through.
- Top with basil, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These look fantastic!! I love spaghetti squash in the fall and cant wait to make this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I am totally going to make this tonight. I am off dairy for health reason so you could probably substitute the half and half with soy, cashew or coconut half and half. I think I might leave the squash in the shell and pour other ingredients over it. My kids love to scrape the shells themselves.
What a great idea! This is very kid-friendly and I think they’d enjoy eating it right out of the squash 🙂 Enjoy!!
wauw that looks absolutely amazing 🙂
Great Fall recipe! I agree, squash is fun to play with when it comes to flavors 😀
This looks amazing!
Oooh really going to try and make this. Sounds so yum
sausage instead of ground beef is such a flavor booster, isnt it?! and of course turkey is the best of Both worlds! –flavor And lower calories/fat. you’re a gem. thanks!
I am totally making this for dinner tonight!!!!
Thank you!
Tara
Hey Kelly, these Spaghetti Squash Boats with Spicy Sausage look fantastic! I love that by replacing traditional spaghetti with spaghetti squash makes it so much easier to indulge!
This looks SOOOO good! I’m a huge fan of spaghetti squash because I feel like I can still enjoy pasta while making healthier choices. What would you replace the half and half with to lighten it up even more without losing the creaminess? Greek yogurt? Non-dairy milk? I wonder because half and half is so thick! Thanks for sharing!
I actually used half and half instead of heavy cream to keep the thickness because I wanted the sauce to be creamy, but you could try Laughing Cow cheese wedges – they melt really creamy and are lower in calories! 🙂