If you are like me, you probably didn’t like spaghetti squash and preferred the real thing. This dish opened my mind to spaghetti squash and now I prefer eating it over pasta (most of the time). Try pairing this dish with my cheese garlic bomb bread if you aren’t carb conscious.

There are so many benefits to eating spaghetti squash over pasta, I encourage you to try it! I made this dish when I tried the keto diet because I was trying to reduce my carb intake, but now it’s a dish that I’ll make on any diet but first, how do we cook a spaghetti squash?

Cooking Spaghetti Squash

First, you will want to cut it in half lengthwise. Then, scoop out the seeds. To cut this, choose a large knife that is really sharp and start in the center of the squash. It is easier to cut this like you would a pumpkin.

Next, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don’t over salt though because the salt will draw some of the water out and cause it to be soggy. Most people that I have met that don’t like spaghetti squash, don’t like it because they have had it when it was very soggy and it is more like mashed potatoes.

Line a pan with some parchment paper and turn squash upside down so that the inside is facing down and then, poke some holes in the top of the squash and pop in a preheated oven at 400°F.

The size of the squash will determine how long you should cook it. I prefer to undercook my squash so that it can be re-heated or baked. If you over cook it from the start it doesn’t hold it’s texture very well and becomes mushy.

A good rule of thumb is to cook it for 30 minutes and check it. You should be able to pierce the top pretty easily when it is done. I almost never cook more than 40 minutes, even if it is a really large squash.

Once it is done, take it out of the oven and turn squash over to cool down. Once cool, scrape the insides with a fork to create the “spaghetti” like texture.

Now that you know how to cook the Spaghetti, let’s get to the sauce!

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic Pressed
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 cup Tomato Sauce
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese
• Red Pepper Flakes, Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Spaghetti Squash
• 20 medium Shrimp Pealed and tail off

INSTRUCTIONS 

Spaghetti Squash

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and ribbing. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. NOTE: go light on the salt.
• Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on the baking sheet and use a fork to poke holes.
• Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside, fork tender, but still firm. The time will vary depending on the size of your squash so check after 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and flip the squash so that it’s cut side up. When cool to the touch, use a fork to scrape and fluff the strands from the sides of the squash.

Sauce & Shrimp

• While squash is cooking, put olive oil and pressed garlic in non-stick skillet on medium heat and stir until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
• Pour in cream, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and season with a pinch of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Bring all ingredients to a boil stirring constantly and then reduce to low and simmer. Note: the pepper flakes get spicier the longer you simmer so you may want to leave them out and just top the meal with them later.
• While sauce is simmering, peel shrimp, rinse and pat dry. Season shrimp with salt and pepper or spicy seafood seasoning if you want to turn up the heat.
• Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium high heat with a tbsp. of olive oil. Once pan is hot, place shrimp in pan.
• Once they start to change color and turn pink on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes, quickly flip them over. Finish cooking until the pieces are pink, opaque, and loosely curled, another 1 to 2 minutes/
• Stir cooked shrimp into the thickened sauce and turn heat all the way down until spaghettis squash is done.
• Once spaghettis squash is done cooking, let it cool for 5 minutes and then scrape spaghetti squash out on plate, top with sauce and serve hot.

NOTES

For the Tomato Sauce, you can used basic tomato sauce found in the can or you can use tomato pasta sauce. I personally like to use Ragu Simply Traditional Pasta Sauce with no sugar added.