I love Thai food and I love casseroles, so it only makes sense that this Thai ground beef spaghetti squash casserole exists in my world. It’s delicious, comforting and it’ll have you looking forward to leftovers.
This dish has that sought after umami flavor, which enhances the taste of the entire casserole – ensuring that every bite will be as savory as the last. For those who aren’t familiar with umami – it’s a unique flavor that isn’t sweet, sour, salty, or bitter. It’s often described as savory. The mushrooms and fish sauce help to naturally add this flavor. I also use a handful of other ingredients in this casserole, including spaghetti squash, organic mushrooms, coconut aminos, onions, ginger and Thai red curry paste.
I love using spaghetti squash in my recipes (see this casserole and breakfast bites) because it’s such a bland fruit (yep, it’s a fruit). It’s a great way to add fiber to your meal and stretch one pound of ground meat to easily feed a family of six or in my case, a family of two…for like a week. Make this, love it and eat it often.
Thai Ground Beef & Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Thai Ground Beef & Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2-3 Thai bird’s eye chili minced (adjust to taste)
- 5 large garlic cloves minced
- 1- inch knob fresh ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper adjust to taste
- 1 pound grassfed ground beef
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 8 ounce package sliced mushrooms, chopped
- 2 eggs whisked
- green onion garnish
Instructions
To prepare squash using the oven method:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and add a little oil, salt and pepper to cut sides.
- Place squash cut side down in a baking dish.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until you can easily pierce the skin with a knife (cooking time depends on size of squash).
Prepare the casserole:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a saute pan, add oil on medium heat and then add the onion, Thai bird chilies, and a pinch of salt.
- Once onions turn translucent, add the garlic and ginger.
- After a couples minutes add the curry paste, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then add the ground beef.
- Once the ground beef is almost brown, add fish sauce, coconut sugar and coconut aminos. Give it a good stir and then add chopped green pepper and mushrooms and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the beef is done, combine it with the cooked spaghetti squash strands and mix well.
- Add the whisked eggs to the mixture, then pour into a casserole dish.
- Bake casserole at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden on top.
- Garnish with green onion and serve.
Lena Abraham says
Ashley, this is amazing! I strained the squash after roasting it and broiled it for 5 min after baking because I like it crusty on top… flavors are awesome. I will try your chicken tikka masala biryani Sunday! So glad I found your site! Btw, your kids are adorable ❤️
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Lena!! I’m so happy to hear that you like this so much 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of my chicken tikka masala biryani – please lmk how it turns out!
Sandra Hirsch says
This is FANTASTIC! It’s everything a great dish should be – a little spicy, warm and umami! Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Sandra, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how the casserole turned out for you 🙂
Carms says
Still my favourite “casserole” for three years running. 💕making it tonight!
My Heart Beets says
That makes me so happy to hear 🙂 Thank you!!
Lisa says
You nailed it as always Ashley! I satisfied my Thai food craving with this one. Perfect blend of sweetness & savory spice. I happen to like everything EXTRA hot and added some chiles, and in place of coconut sugar, I used raw honey. Other than that, I followed your recipe to the “T”. This dish was sooooo yummy. And it makes a nice amount for leftovers. I love when I have an idea for food, all I do is come over to your blog and I am always inspired to cook. Everything I’ve ever made of yours has been DELICIOUS and always a crowd pleaser! Thanks Ashley 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Lisa!! So happy you liked this Thai Casserole 🙂 And thanks for the sweet words, you made my night!
Jen says
I just made this and it is fantastic! The flavors are incredible. New to your site – thanks for a great recipe. Looking forward to trying more!
My Heart Beets says
Jen, so glad you liked the recipe! And happy that you found my website 🙂 Hope you’ll let me know how any other recipes turn out for ya!
Jessica says
This was AMAZING!! Even my husband, who didn’t like vegetables at ALL just a few years ago is in love with this dish. It has a lot of flavor, and once you’ve made it a few times, it’s a really short prep and you can throw it together really quickly. (if I cook everything while the spaghetti squash is baking, I can have it baking in 30 minutes) My husband actually asked me to make it again, which he has never done since beginning our junk-free diet. You did a fantastic, amazing job with this. Kudos and thank you, thank you, thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Jessica, your comment made my day! Thanks so much for letting me know how this turned out for you guys 🙂
Angela says
This was great! I’m curious — what do you do with the second tablespoon of oil?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Angela! Glad you liked the recipe! I wrote 2 tbs – one was for the spaghetti squash prep. I changed it to 1 tbs so that it’s less confusing, thanks for pointing that out 🙂
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
This sounds amazing! I love making spaghetti squash casseroles as well but never thought to do a Thai one. Printing to make – thanks!