This creamy spaghetti squash is a delicious way to make spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is topped with a creamy and cheesy sauce and served warm. This is the perfect side dish or main entrée.
Looking for a unique way to serve spaghetti squash? This creamy, cheesy dish is a hit! The squash is baked until tender and topped with a creamy, flavorful sauce, which I could honestly eat plain.
The sauce is similar to an alfredo sauce – it has a cream sauce base, yet contains spinach for some extra nutrients. There is information listed below on how you can make a lighter version of this spaghetti squash.
Reasons to Love This
- This is an easy way to transform plain spaghetti squash into something flavorful and delicious.
- This recipe is easy to make and is kid-friendly.
- The creamy spaghetti squash can be served as an entree or side dish! Serve as a side to these mouthwatering healthy turkey burgers or top it with some buffalo chicken tenders for a balanced meal!
What is Spaghetti Squash?
Spaghetti squash is a vegetable that resembles angel hair pasta noodles once cooked. The interior shreds into fine, tender strands. Spaghetti squash is often used as a substitute for pasta noodles, as it is low in calories and carbs. The squash has a very neutral flavor, which means it pairs well with almost any sauce or topping.
Ingredients Needed
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
- Spaghetti Squash: select a medium-sized spaghetti squash
- Olive Oil: sub with avocado oil or coconut oil
- Spinach: choose fresh, green leaves that are not wilted. Chop into small pieces. You can also use frozen spinach, just be sure to defrost and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess water. You can also leave out the spinach if preferred!
- Garlic: freshly minced garlic works best. You can sub garlic powder (1 tsp)
- Heavy Cream: this can be substituted with half and half for a lower calorie/lower fat option
- Parmesan Cheese: use the freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Cream Cheese: optional substitutions are low-fat or fat-free cream cheese.
- Salt/Pepper: add to taste. You may wait to add until after cooking
- Optional Add-Ins: chopped mushrooms, olives, sausage, cooked chicken cubes
How to Make
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F. Prepare the spaghetti squash. Wash it under warm water and cut it in half length-wise. Remove all seeds from the center.
Place the spaghetti squash cut side down in a baking pan. Add about 1 inch of water so the bottom of the squash is sitting in liquid. Bake for 40 minutes or until squash is soft.
About 10 minutes before the squash is done cooking, start to prepare the cream sauce. Remove all stems from the spinach and chop into small pieces (about ½ inch by ½ inch). Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the minced garlic and chopped spinach.
Cook until the spinach is completely wilted and soft. Stir frequently. This will take about 5 minutes.
Add the heavy cream, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.
Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven and shred it into spaghetti-style noodles using two forks. Leave the squash inside the shell.
Once the sauce is shredded, pour the cream sauce mixture evenly over both halves of the squash (if the sauce has been sitting for a while and has become thick, reheat it on medium heat so that it thins out and is easier to pour). Mix well until all parts of the squash are coated.
Serve immediately. Garnish with salt and pepper as desired. Enjoy!
Leftovers/Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Remove the squash from the skin and store in an air-tight container for up to 2 months.
Reheating: Microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring frequently. This can also be placed in the oven at 325 for about 20 minutes or until warm. Experts recommend reheating to a temperature of 165F for optimal food safety.
Expert Tips
- This is very customizable. Leave out the spinach if you have picky eaters, or add spinach to only half of the sauce.
- Double the sauce recipe if using an extra-large spaghetti squash. You can also throw some healthy spaghetti sauce on top for a creamy tomato based version of this meal!.
- Save all of your leftover cream sauce ingredients and make this a couple of weeks in a row!
- Make sure the cream sauce is hot and thinned out before adding it to the spaghetti squash.
Serving Suggestions
- This can be served as a side dish or the main entrée!
- Main entrée: add chicken, ground turkey, sausage, or steak strips to the squash for extra protein.
- Serve as a side with some grilled chicken kabobs and fresh fruit.
- Serve as a side with pizza, sandwiches, grilled steak, or air fryer salmon.
Nutrition Information
Spaghetti Squash is a vegetable that’s low in calories, yet high in vitamins and minerals, making it a nutrient-dense food. One cup of plain spaghetti squash provides 42 calories, which makes it the perfect alternative to pasta, for someone trying to lower their calorie intake.
Spaghetti squash is a low-carb food, containing 10 grams of carb per cup. It also contains 2.2 grams of fiber and is high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, and Fiber.
Modifications
- To make this low calorie/low fat: use a low fat cream cheese. Replace the heavy cream with half and half.
- Add extra veggies such as chopped mushrooms or zucchini to bulk up the nutrition content.
- Add a protein such as chopped chicken (cooked) or chopped sausage to make this a complete meal.
More Delicious Recipes
Creamy Spaghetti Squash
Equipment
- 1 Oven
- 1 stove
Ingredients
- 1 medium Spaghetti Squash
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1.5 tablespoons cream cheese
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Prepare the spaghetti squash. Wash it under warm water and cut in half length wise. Remove all seeds from the center.
- Place the spaghetti squash with the cut side down in a baking pan. Add about 1 inch of water so the squash if covered. Bake for 40 minutes or until outside is tender.
- About 10 minutes before the squash is done cooking, start to prepare the cream sauce. Remove all stems from the spinach and chop into small pieces (about ½ inch by ½ inch).
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan. Add the minced garlic and chopped spinach.
- Cook until the spinach is completely wilted and soft. Stir frequently. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream, cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven and shred into spaghetti style noodles using two forks. Leave the squash inside the shell.
- Once the sauce is shredded, pour the cream sauce mixture evenly over both halves of the squash (if the sauce has been sitting for awhile and has become thick, reheat it on medium heat so that it thins out and is easier to pour). Mix well until all parts of the squash are coated.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with salt and pepper as desired. Enjoy!
Allison
I never write reviews but this is seriously the best spaghetti squash recipe!!!
Alison
Wow this is amazing. I can’t say enough good things about this. Making it on repeat for the new few weeks.