My favorite season is here, which means I’ll be cooking squash-and-pumpkin everything for the next three months. I’m so excited! Squash makes me happy because it signals to fall in my mind. This spaghetti squash casserole made with ground beef is the absolute perfect way to welcome the season.
This casserole is easy to make, and if there are just two of you, it’ll feed you for days. You’ll think about freezing leftovers, but it’s so good you’ll end up wanting to eat it for every meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it’s done, and when it is done, you’ll be sad about it. I know from experience.
Spaghetti squash is a versatile fruit (yes, it’s a fruit). Some say the squash’s flavor is a little bland – but I think that’s a good thing. That means you’re not limited in what you can do with this squash; it can take on the flavors of whatever other spices or sauces you are cooking with.
When you cook this type of squash, it produces slightly crunchy spaghetti-like strands that you can use in any recipe calling for noodles – for example, Chicken Spaghetti (paleo), Paleo Drunken Noodles, or Paleo Kheer (dessert)! This squash is also a great way to sneak in fiber and make one pound of meat stretch for several meals (see my Breakfast Cups!). Can you tell that I use this squash a lot?
You can cook spaghetti squash in several different ways (check out my post on how to cook spaghetti squash). I usually cook my squash in the oven because it gives the squash more of a roasted flavor. I cut it in half (or I get Roby to do this), scoop out the seeds, and put the squash on a baking dish cut side down. Sometimes I’ll put a little oil, salt, and pepper on the halves. Then, I’ll pop it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes or until I can easily glide a fork or knife into the squash (roasting time depends on the size of your squash).
Growing up in an Indian household, I’m used to food having a lot of flavors. I’m not saying I need food to be spicy, but if it’s bland, in my book, that = boring. Because spaghetti squash is bland on its own, it’s important to add aromatics to this dish.
I think you’ll really like this casserole. It’s nicely spiced, and it’ll keep you feeling full and warm this fall. Here are my 10 favorite ways to eat spaghetti squash in case you are looking for more ideas.
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 red onion chopped
- 1 serrano pepper minced (more if you like it spicy)
- 5 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper adjust to taste (be sure to season well)
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 14.5 ounce can organic diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 egg 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 the size of the squash).
To prepare meat
- In a pan, add oil on medium heat and then add the onion, serrano pepper and a pinch of salt.
- Once onions turns translucent, add garlic and after a couples minutes add the ground beef and spices. Continue cooking until the beef is done.
Prepare the Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the cooked beef, spaghetti squash strands, green bell pepper and the diced tomatoes.
- Add the whisked egg to the mixture, combine well and pour into a casserole dish.
- Bake the casserole at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden on top.
Sally says
I made this last night. It is delicious! Love all the healthy colored foods, especially the green bell peppers. All those spices made it yummy, too, and helped since I used ground turkey instead of beef. Thanks for sharing!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Sally, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like it 🙂
Lorraine McCall says
YUM YUM YUM. I was getting ready to use my basic prep for spaghetti squash for dinner this evening but decided to make this instead. YUM! Honey Bun loved this meal. It’s really good. Many thanks!
Lorraine
My Heart Beets says
Lorraine, I’m so glad you made and liked this! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Dana Christian says
Do you happen to know the nutritional values for this recipe?
Kim Fury-Slaten says
Hi Ashley:) Can you please tell me the aprox. amount in cups is the squash strands for this recipe?
Can’t wait to make it ….looks delish!
Thank you
Kim
Ashley says
This was top notch! So flavorful! I’m adding it to my recipe rotation 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Hi Ashley! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Mary says
Truly the best casserole I have ever made! I may have posted when originally made years ago! I have also substituted Impossible plant based for vegetarian friends. I like it spicy served with a dollop of sour cream.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Mary, so happy to hear that you like this recipe so much! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Chris says
This was awesome. Thanks! Do you think it could be frozen and reheated?
My Heart Beets says
Glad you liked it! Yes, you can freeze it but just know it may be slightly watery when you reheat it.
Rachel says
This was AMAZING! Made it for tonight’s dinner for a friend on Paleo. Love at first bite! No paprika or chili powder, and actually forgot the egg (whoops) but it was still out of this world. I had a vegan creamy tomato basil sauce on hand (using canned tomatoes, fresh basil, cashews) and we topped the casserole off with that. The result was like a healthy – but sooo much better than – Hamburger Helper. Total comfort food, no guilt attached! 😀 I’ll be back for more recipes! Thanks so much.
My Heart Beets says
Rachel, that’s awesome!! So happy to hear that you loved it! Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try!