, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE
in Recipes, Dinner, Meal Keto cheesy chicken spaghetti squash
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 900 g spaghetti squash
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb 450 g ground chicken or ground turkey
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tbsp ½ tbsp garlic powder or minced garlic cloveminced garlic cloves
- 1 pinch 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 cup 240 ml heavy whipping cream
- 2 oz. (4 tbsp) 55 g (55 ml) cream cheese
- ¼ cup (2⁄3 oz.) 60 ml (20 g) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1¾ cups (7 oz.) 425 ml (200 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Slice spaghetti squash in half by cutting lengthwise with a sharp knife. Be careful, it can be quite hard. Scoop out the seeds and fibers with a spoon.
- Place halves with the cut side up in a large baking dish or baking tray. Brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake the spaghetti squash until soft, for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size. If you need more help dealing with the pumpkin, scroll down for more detailed instructions with pictures.
- Heat a large frying pan and add the butter. When it starts to sizzle, add the ground meat and the spices. Fry until browned, for about 15 minutes.
- Reduce the heat slightly and add cream, cream cheese, parmesan, and two-thirds of the mozzarella. Let simmer for a few minutes until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
- When the spaghetti squash is ready, remove from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 450°F (230°C). Loosen the flesh with a fork but without scraping it out. Gently press down the flesh and pour over the creamy chicken sauce. Top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese gets a nice golden color.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper and finely chopped parsley.
Can I use other types of squash?
If you don't have access to spaghetti squash, you can also use butternut squash. However, keep in mind that it contains much more carbohydrates than spaghetti squash. 2 lbs (900 g) of butternut squash contains 92 g net carbs.
How long to cook spaghetti squash?
Depending on the size of your pumpkin, it might take more or less time to bake in the oven, so adjust the time accordingly. If you have a larger pumpkin around 2.5 lbs (1 kg), it will take more time in the oven.
Don't throw away the pumpkin seeds! Get rid of all the threads around the seeds, clean and rinse them properly. Sprinkle with some oil, salt and pepper and roast them in the oven on 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.
Do you like some heat? Add a few drops of hot sauce or tabasco when serving the cheesy chicken spaghetti squash.
How to prepare and bake spaghetti squash
Step 1: Cut the spaghetti squash with a sharp knife.
Step 2: Scoop out the seeds and fibers with a spoon.
Step 3: Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Step 4: Scrape and loosen the pumpkin flesh with a fork.
Spaghetti squash with a tomato based sauce made from fresh tomatoes, garlic, onion and olive oil, served with prawns and zested lemon rind is a yummy dish too!
--Kristin
Until tender but not mushy dot wit butter the gently fluff with a fork and add a combination of asagio cheese parmasion ? and Romano gently fluff and enjoy
Made it with ground turkey thigh meat (available from the butcher), and with the addition of ~ 1 tbsp of homemade basil pesto.
Squash took longer to bake than recommended time, so I finished it in the microwave - still came out perfectly al dente.
Will make it again.
I added bacon to mine and a little Cajun Spice.
I will make this again for sure!! Yummy!
I would not recommend omitting the cream. If you need this to have less dairy, try coconut cream instead.
be frozen please?
Yes, you can freeze the chicken and cheese.
Thanks for your feedback! I brought this to the attention of our recipe team for review.
Awesome!! I am very glad your family enjoyed this one!
Great idea!
I completely agree that tasty meals which require little effort are the best! Happy to hear that you enjoyed.
Tonya, I asked our recipe team to double check the numbers for this one. Thanks!
Tonya, when making this recipe Jill measured the cooked pumpkin flesh to get the accurate nutrients and it was 2 cups from 2 lb spaghetti squash.
Modifications: I cut a channel in the middle of the eggplant before roasting, to form two boats. I roasted the inner flesh too. About 15-20 minutes was enough. Then I mixed the roasted inner flesh in with the chicken mixture. The rest of the preparation was the same. It came out very well and seems slightly easier to manage, carb-wise, than spaghetti squash. I imagine zucchini would work too, similar to the zucchini boat recipes on DD.
Great planning to prepare a dish for an easy meal of leftovers. Thanks for sharing the tip.
Hi, Mary! If you're making the default 4 servings, you would want to use 2 pounds of spaghetti squash. (For one serving, it would only be 1/2 a pound.)