When you are yearning for the comfort of lasagna, this is the ideal healthy alternative. By utilizing spaghetti squash, you can include a vegetable while still enjoying the flavor of a hearty pasta dish. These mouthwatering boats of roasted spaghetti squash are stuffed with Italian sausage, a hearty tomato sauce, and mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan cheeses.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 medium spaghetti squash
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ large onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Cut squash in half lengthwise with a large kitchen knife. Scoop out seeds and membrane. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a baking dish, cut-side down.
- Bake in the preheated oven until soft, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Keep the oven on.
- Meanwhile, begin preparing sauce. Combine ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and parsley in a medium bowl. Mix well.
- Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in the hot oil until onion is soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add sausage and cook and stir until browned, 5 to 7 minutes, breaking up meat into small pieces as it cooks. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer over low heat for 25 minutes; stir in basil and simmer for 5 minutes more.
- Remove flesh from the cooled squash by scraping with a fork, creating spaghetti strands. Reserve the shells. Drain the squash strands in a paper towel-lined colander to soak up excess liquid.
- Toss squash strands with the tomato sauce mixture. Spoon into the 6 squash shells. Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the ricotta cheese mixture and 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese. Place in the baking dish.
- Roast in the preheated oven until heated through and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.
- Want to make ahead and freeze? Follow the directions up to the last baking. After the boats are put together, flash-freeze on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then place boats in a freezer bag (I like to do 2 boats in a gallon-size freezer bag) for a quick weeknight meal. Just put them in the refrigerator when you leave for work and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until warm.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 409 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 35 g |
| Cholesterol | 50 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 982 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 23 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Awesome, crumbled some bacon, Swiss and Italian sausage(had no mozzarella) put in casserole dish. Will do again.