Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Herbs and Mozzarella are a healthy and fast dinner with big taste! Homemade made easy!
This time of year everyone is busy, so these Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats will get a nutritious dinner on the table without a lot of fuss.
In our quest to eat healthier and exercise more, dinners have had to be faster and more wholesome. That means more veggies and more lean protein without compromising flavor. But since we are in the business of food, we refuse to compromise on flavor.
One night we threw together this dish, not thinking about the blog or creating a spectacular recipe. As I’ve said before sometimes “dinner is just dinner” and meant to be nourishment not gourmet dining. But occasionally we hit gold with the just the right balance of flavor and nutrition.
On the way home from a hike, I stopped at a farm stand and picked up a spaghetti squash. As much as we LOVE pasta, we are trying to cut back. So I decided we’d have stuffed spaghetti squash instead of spaghetti.
We stuffed the squash with what we had on hand…Italian chicken sausage, cheese, and tomatoes and herbs from the garden. Just simple, tasty ingredients and not a lot of fuss. And it tasted SO GOOD while also being incredibly filling. In fact, we decided that the recipe could easily serve four people if we could find smaller spaghetti squash…
I found these small spaghetti squash at Wegmans. I didn’t measure them, but I’d say they were about 7 inches long. So cute and just perfect for spaghetti squash boats!
Since then we’ve eaten these Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats at least once a week, so I knew I had to post the recipe here.
Now, before you get all worried about all the fresh ingredients, lets have some truthful meal prep talk. This may surprise you, but most of the time when I cook, I don’t sweat that whole measuring thing. It’s because it takes TOO MUCH TIME.
So aside from creating recipes for the blog, I just wing it. If it looks right and tastes right…its right.
When I’m chopping and grating, I don’t measure, I taste. So don’t feel like you have to follow this recipe exactly. There is no need to measure each herb or veggie you chop. Take a shortcut and buy pre-shredded mozzarella. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, used canned. If you just stick with the equation spaghetti squash+ sausage + veggies + herbs + cheese you will land at =delicious dinner!
For me this means I have more time for work, exercise, holiday planning….lets just sum it up as life! Good thing because I have had such a busy week of errands, Halloween, family birthday parties, and planning for much needed girl time in NYC with my sister…dinner has to be simple. There are just too many things going on to get stressed about dinner.
I hope this recipe for Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats will make dinner less stressful for you too!
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Herbs and Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 2 small spaghetti squash
- 12 ounces Italian Chicken Sausage , removed from casing
- 1 medium onion , diced
- ½ cup tomatoes , seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley , chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano , chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage , chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives , chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil , chopped
- ¼ cup parmesan , grated
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cups mozzarella cheese , divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Poke holes into the spaghetti squash and microwave for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
- Carefully cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook sausage, stirring often.
- Set aside sausage leaving pan drippings.
- Saute onions in the sausage drippings until golden brown.
- In a bowl combine, sausage, onions, tomatoes, garlic, herbs, cream, parmesan and 2/3 of the mozzarella.
- Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Lightly oil a casserole dish and place spaghetti squash halves in it.
- Spoon stuffing into squash and top with remaining mozzarella.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and browned and the stuffing is piping hot.
Nutrition
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Jess Wright says
We do spaghetti squash A LOT at lunchtime! My little boys love, love, love them. This version looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it.
Vintage Kitty says
Thanks Jess! Hope you and your family enjoy the recipe!