There aren’t many options when you crave Italian food yet don’t want to eat any carbohydrates. Even without the flour and oil, we found this dish to be robust and filling. It’s a fantastic Whole30® low-carb alternative to the traditional spaghetti and meatballs.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 2 |
| Yield: | 2 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ onion, minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (Optional)
- 1 (13.5 ounce) jar Whole30® spaghetti sauce (such as Trader Joe’s® Puttanesca or Costco’s® Blue Parrot)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush spaghetti squash halves with a thin layer of avocado oil and place cut-side down on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until soft, about 45 minutes.
- While squash bakes, combine ground beef, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper in a bowl. Mix with your hands until everything is well incorporated. Shape mixture into 1 1/2-inch sized balls and place in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Add to squash in the hot oven and cook until meatballs are no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.
- Pour spaghetti sauce into a saucepan over medium heat. Carefully transfer cooked meatballs into sauce, shaking off any excess grease from baking. Cover saucepan and simmer on low heat until warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove spaghetti squash from oven and scrape out flesh using tongs and a fork. Place 1/2 of the squash in a bowl and cover with 1/2 the meatballs and 1/2 of the sauce. Repeat with remaining squash, meatballs, and sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 902 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 56 g |
| Cholesterol | 143 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 2723 mg |
| Sugars | 19 g |
| Fat | 57 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |