When fall arrives, spaghetti squash starts to appear on store shelves. While available year-round, it’s peak season is from early fall through winter. Low in calories, carbs and fat, spaghetti squash is packed with essential vitamins and minerals like Vitamins C, B, and potassium. It can be boiled or microwaved, but we love to roast spaghetti squash.
When brushed with a little olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted, spaghetti squash becomes buttery and savory with a lightly nutty sweet flavor. The fun part is taking a fork and pulling the spaghetti squash from its shell. Magically, strings of squash appear that look like noodles. It’s a delicious alternative to pasta that can be eaten as a side or main dish.
Whether eating it as is, topping it with a pat of butter, sprinkling with a little Parmesan cheese or adding your favorite sauce, spaghetti squash is a versatile fall vegetable.
Ingredients
- 1 3-4 lb spaghetti squash
- Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 pinches black pepper
- Paring knife
- Chef’s knife
- Kitchen towel
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 and wash the spaghetti squash.
2. Lay a cloth down and set the squash on top for cutting. The cloth helps to hold the squash in place, so it doesn’t slip while cutting.
3. To slice the spaghetti squash, begin by taking a paring knife and score the squash from the middle to the bottom.
4. Turn and score it from the middle to the stem.
5. Take a chef knife and, starting from the middle, cut from the middle to the bottom.
6. Turn the squash and cut from the middle to the stem. Then flip the squash over and repeat steps 3, 4, 5, and 6 on the other side.
7. Once both sides have been cut through, carefully cut through the bottom and the stem.
8. Gently scrape out the seeds and pulp with a spoon.
9. Brush the inside of both halves with olive oil.
10. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
11. Turn the squash face down on a cookie sheet and roast for 45 minutes.
12. When the squash is cooked, pull the spaghetti squash out with a fork to form strands.
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