Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (2024)

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This Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe is an easy recipe using cheeses, ground beef, and jarred spaghetti sauce to make delicious, low carb spaghetti squash boats for dinner.

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (1)

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It’s spaghetti squash time! While you can usually get it year round, spaghetti squash is usually harvested in the early fall, which means fall and winter are when you’ll get the best price at the grocery store. We love spaghetti squash in our house, so we’re buying it often, but especially in the cooler months. We enjoy it as a side dish, such as in our favorite Bacon-Parmesan Spaghetti Squash Recipeand we love it as a main dish such our Baked Pesto Spaghetti Squash Recipe— which is great with chicken added to it.

The recipe we’re sharing today is another great version. ThisEasy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe is very similar to our popular3-Ingredient Twice-Baked Spaghetti Squash Recipe, however, this one adds ground beef for our meat lovers. There is also some onion and garlic added for even more flavor. It’s an easy dinner idea with only 7 ingredients and by using spaghetti squash instead of pasta, this is a low carb dinner too (as long as you use a low carb spaghetti sauce).

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (2)

How to Cut Spaghetti Squash

The hard exterior of spaghetti squash can be intimidating and even if you have great knives, you might find it to be a challenge to cut it.

For this recipe, you’ll need to cut each spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. To make it easier to cut your spaghetti squash, we recommend using the tip of a sharp knife and carefully poking in a dotted line around the entire spaghetti squash from the stem down to the bottom and up again to the stem. Then, place the spaghetti squash in the microwave for 5 minutes. This will soften the hard shell of the spaghetti squash just enough to make it a bit easier to cut. Cut your squash fully into two halves, along the dotted line that you created previously. Scoop out all of the seeds and discard them.

How to Roast Spaghetti Squash

There are many ways to cook it spaghetti squash, but my favorite method is to roast spaghetti squash in the oven. To do this, place each half, cut side down, on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F until the spaghetti squash is tender, about 45 minutes.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Microwave

If you are short on time, you can cook spaghetti squash in the microwave. To do this, place your cut spaghetti squash on a microwave-safe baking dish (a size that will fit in your microwave), cut side up. If your spaghetti squash is small-medium sized, you can probably cook two halves at the same time for about 18-20 minutes. But your spaghetti squash is larger, you may need to cook each spaghetti squash half separately for about 10 minutes each.

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (3)

After you have cooked two spaghetti squashes, take a fork and loosen and separate the spaghetti squash strands from all four shells.Place them in a mixing bowl. Set the empty spaghetti squash shells in a baking dish or on a baking sheet.

Add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese to the bowl with the cooked spaghetti squash.

In a large skillet, cook together the ground beef, diced onion, and minced garlic. Combine the cooked ground beef mixture with your spaghetti sauce and set aside.

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (4)

Divide the spaghetti squash and cheese mixture between the four emptysquashshells.

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (5)

Do the same with the meat mixture — divide the meat between to the four spaghetti squash shells, placing it right on top of the spaghetti squash/cheese mixture.

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Top the meat mixture with extra shredded cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and begins to brown.

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Remove from the oven and your Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce is ready to serve, right from the shells.

In general, each spaghetti squash boat will serve 1 person, but thismay depend on the size of your spaghetti squash and appetites.

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (8)

If you like spaghetti squash, there are LOTS of other ways to use it for meals. We have an entire article withEasy Spaghetti Squash Recipes for Dinner. You’re sure to find more recipes that will be perfect for you and your family!

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (9)

Here’s the full recipe for this Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe – ready for you to print. If you like this recipe, we’d love your support by sharing it on Facebook or pinning it on Pinterest.

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Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (10)

Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe

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5 from 6 reviews

  • Total Time: 80 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
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Description

This Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe is an easy recipe using cheeses, ground beef, and jarred spaghetti sauce to make delicious, low carb spaghetti squash boats for dinner.

Ingredients

Scale

2 mediumspaghettisquash
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus extra for topping
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
24 ounces jarred spaghetti sauce (lowcarb if you are following a low carb diet)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet (or oven-safe baking dish) with parchment paper or grease with olive oil or cooking spray. Cut eachspaghettisquashin half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and discard. Place spaghettisquashhalves, cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 45-50 minutes or until tender.

After the spaghetti squashis cooked and cooled slightly to allow you to handle safely, use a fork to gently scrape the insides of each shell to loosen and separate the spaghetti squash strands. Add the spaghetti squash to a large bowl and set aside. Place empty shells back onto the baking sheet and save for later.

Cook the ground beef, diced onion, and minced garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat until the ground beef is thoroughlycooked and browned. Drain off and discard any remaining grease from the meat. Combine the spaghetti sauce with the cooked ground beef and set aside.

Combine both cheeses with the cookedspaghettisquash. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Divide the spaghetti squash mixture equally among the 4 emptysquashshell. Divide the meat mixture among the 4 shells, topping the spaghetti squash. Top the meat with extra shredded cheese.

Place the spaghetti squashboats into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Remove from the oven, let cool a few minutes and serve.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 spaghetti squash boat

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Easy Baked Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce Recipe (2024)
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