What can I make with spaghetti squash?
Spaghetti Squash is the weeknight default for good reason, and the gap between fine and excellent comes down to two things: salted water and finishing in the sauce. Recipes using spaghetti squash are below.
4 recipes with spaghetti squash
Squash linguine
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Italian4
Lakror me Kungull Summer Squash Pie
1 Preparation In a mixing bowl mix together the summer squash, sugar, eggs and baking soda.
4
Lamb Tagine
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and carrot.
Moroccan4
Smoky Lentil Chili with Squash
Begin by roasting the squash.
British4
Restaurant-quality spaghetti squash at home
- 1Salt the water until it tastes like a seasoned soup; this is the only chance to season the spaghetti squash itself.
- 2Cook 1-2 minutes short of the box time and reserve a mug of the starchy water before draining.
- 3Finish the spaghetti squash in the sauce over heat, adding the reserved water a splash at a time until the sauce clings.
- 4Add cheese off the heat so it emulsifies instead of turning stringy.
What goes well with spaghetti squash
Spaghetti Squash is at its best with garlic, olive oil, parmesan, tomato, basil and chili flakes. Any two or three of those, plus spaghetti squash, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing spaghetti squash
Dry spaghetti squash keeps for months in a sealed container away from light and heat. Once cooked, cool it quickly, refrigerate within two hours, and use within 3-4 days; cooked grains and legumes freeze extremely well in single-portion bags.
Substituting spaghetti squash
If you are out of spaghetti squash, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Spaghetti Squash recipes: common questions
- What can I make with spaghetti squash and not much else?
- Plenty. With spaghetti squash plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest spaghetti squash recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute spaghetti squash?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover spaghetti squash?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover spaghetti squash without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.