Do you ever cook with spaghetti squash? My friend Amber recently gave me a big box of CSA vegetables from a local farm, and in it was a ginormous spaghetti squash. I think it was at least 8 pounds, twice the normal size. Spaghetti squash is called such because the cooked flesh shreds into strands like spaghetti. You can use it as a lower carb and gluten-free replacement for spaghetti noodles in many recipes. Also, it being a winter squash, uncooked and whole, a spaghetti squash will last for months. The squash is very happy baked, shredded, and then tossed in a sauté with garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan. Some chopped greens thrown into the mix make it a meal.
What types of dishes do you like to make with spaghetti squash? I’d love to hear about them. Please let us know in the comments.
Spaghetti Squash and Chard Sauté Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 3 to 4 lb spaghetti squash
- 3 to 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large bunch of chard, center rib removed, leaves chopped
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method

1 Preheat your oven to 375°F. Use a very sharp paring knife and poke the spaghetti squash all over, at least an inch deep, about 12 cuts (this is to prevent the pressure from building up as the squash cooks). Place the squash in a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet and bake in the oven for one hour. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Then cut the squash in half, lengthwise. (If the squash is not easy to cut, return it to the oven for another 15 minutes.) Scoop out the seeds, discard (or save to roast later - see roasted pumpkin seeds recipe).

2 Use a fork to scrape the inside flesh of the squash into long thin strands. Place the spaghetti squash strands in a large bowl and set aside.

3 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the garlic, chili pepper flakes, and rosemary and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown.

4 Add the spaghetti squash to the pan and toss to coat with the oil and garlic mixture. Add the chopped fresh chard leaves and parsley and toss with the spaghetti squash. Cook until the chard leaves have wilted, a few minutes.

5 Remove from heat and sprinkle on vinegar. Add the grated Parmesan and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.








This is absolutely lovely! Awesome side!
Looks absolutely delicious! I’ve been wanting to try this squash. Thank you for the recipe!
Looks nice. :) Greetings from Poland!
I’ve mostly just straight used spaghetti squash as spaghetti – usually with a nice meat sauce. Sometimes though, I combine it with some shredded chicken and Moroccan spices and sautee the whole thing in some olive oil.
It’s been a while since I have but great reminder as a gluten free option!
I love to saute a variety of vegetables like mushrooms, broccoli, zuchinni, asparagus, carrots, onions, bell pepper–whatever you have on hand. Top the cooked spagetti squash with the sauted vegetables and then pour marinara sauce over all. Sprinkle with a little parm–to die for! A good vegetarian meal, but meat lovers will love it as well.
I have spaghetti squash fairly often, but find it simplest to cook in microwave rather than the oven. Depending on size, about a dozen minutes instead of an hour or more in oven.
Hi; I love using spaghetti squash. I’ve used it with alfredo sauce in addition to regular marina sauce. My picky neighbor loved the Alfredo version & couldn’t believe it wasn’t spaghetti.
My favorite is to mix in sautéed onion, garlic, tomatoes, feta, sliced black olives and basil. Recipe can be found n allrecipes.com. Yum!
Going to try that recipe next weekend! My fav spaghetti squash method is to roast chopped peppers, zucchini and cherry tomatoes in olive oil and red wine vinegar, then use this as a sauce for my ‘spaghetti’ along with generous black pepper and parmesan cheese. Try it – you will love it.
I usually use it just as a substitute for spaghetti as well, but a couple of times I used it to make a sort of cold Asian type salad, tossing it with some cooked shrimp & pork, sliced snow peas, some shredded carrot and whatnot, and dressing it with some toasted sesame oil & soy sauce. I loved it, but my husband doesn’t care for spaghetti squash (on principal, I think), so I hardly ever make it.
This is gorgeous! I’ve never actually made spaghetti squash but have been wanting to try. This sounds like a fabulous recipe!
Love cooking with spaghetti squash and I like your recipe with the Swiss chard. Our favorite way to prepare it is with tomato, basil, and feta, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil — a tasty side dish for just about anything. Can’t wait to try the way you have prepared it here. :)
Looks so yummy, I wish our CSA still had winter squashes! We found a recipe for spaghetti squash carbonara that was amazingly good, and perfect for the gluten free members of the family!
I basically use it wherever I might would have spaghetti or glass noodles. So Thai salads, Tom Yum soup, and of course all italian style dishes. Also very good as a salad with sun dried tomatoes, spinach, feta, red onion and a greek style vinaigrette.
I nuke my spaghetti squash in the microwave for around ten minute, I cut it in half and remove the seeds and cook it cut side down. I turn mine into a chili boat and top it with shredded cheese and nuke it again till the cheese melts along with some garlic bread and dip nacho chips in the chili, mmm, mmmm, mmm!
That sounds really good. I better stock up on some squash!
Yum! I hadn’t thought to use chard! We cook spaghetti squash, then toss with olive oil, feta (or Parmesan, but we prefer feta!), chopped Kalamata olives, maybe some chopped sundried tomatoes, some chopped garlic, and pile it all in a casserole dish, sprinkle more cheese (feta or Parmesan) on top and bake until everything is hot.
We do it like butternut – cut in half, remove seeds, bake cut side down in a pan coated with olive oil until soft. It roasts and caramelizes and is great “plain” as an oven dinner side dish.
I’ve read about it but have never ever seen it around or eaten it before. Very pretty strands they produce. :-)
I was thinking of making this dish tonight with one change. Spinach instead of chard. I’ll give it a try. I’ve got nothing to loose
Cheers
Louise
I love love love me some spaghetti squash!
I like to stuff spaghetti squash with couscous and pine nuts. Saute celery onions garlic seasoning and mix with shredded squash and cooked couscous. Return to shell for presentation.
Hey, nice recipe…I didnot know this recipe spaghatti out of squash that to made with fork….bookmarked definitely I wll try this out!!
Sounds yummy. I met spaghetti squash for the first time in January. I made a very meaty, zesty (packing heat), bolognese sauce and ladled it on top of a pile of baked spaghetti squash (no pasta needed) and the rest is history. I’ve made it a few times since and just tossed the baked squash right into my simmering pot of bolognese and we eat it as a stew, again, without any pasta. It is a nice take on a comfort food classic. I could easily add other veggies to the sauce, maybe even skip the meat, and it would be divine. Who knew veggies in red sauce could be so delish? ps: the hour-in-the-oven method of baking spag squash is so easy – you can forget about it until the timer goes off.
I just don’t like spaghetti squash. I don’t like the texture of it; I don’t think it has much in the way of flavor. But then again, I think that about most squashes.
Usually have enjoyed Spaghetti Squash hot, with olive oil and spices. Was on a Canival Cruise recently, and they had a cold salad with spaghetti squash cut into chunks with a cinnamon spice. It was delicious.
While I have used spaghetti squash in many different ways, my favorite variation is inspired by vegetarian cookbook author Molly Katzen. It’s a casserole of the squash “shreds” tossed with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and garlic, with tomatoes and herbs, stirred together with ricotta and mozarella cheeses, topped with grated parmesan and breadcrumbs. (I usually add some diced red bell pepper into the sauted vegs.) It’s then baked in the oven until hot and the topping crispy…
Delish!
I always mean to cook with spaghetti squash more and this makes me think I really need to get on it ASAP!
I make patties out of spaghetti squash – with a bit of flour, egg grated parm, fresh thyme – light fry in veg oil. the same with the swiss chard -chopped up press out liquid-
Microwave method works well, especially if you’re pressed for time.Toss with melted butter,garlic and thyme to taste and you have a meal
I bought a huge spaghetti squash yesterday so I could make this today, looks very good!