How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
Pasta lovers who want to cut back on carbs and calories won't regret learning how to cook spaghetti squash. This oblong winter squash has flesh that separates into spaghetti-like strands when you cook it. It's a worthy low-calorie substitute for the real deal, and it boasts a fair amount of vitamins and minerals, too, including vitamins A and C, plus dietary fiber.While one cup of cooked pasta yields about 220 calories, the same amount of spaghetti squash has only 42 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So, there's no need to feel guilty about seconds (or thirds!). Some aficionados actually prefer the taste over traditional pasta. If you haven't tried it yet, this recipe for buttered spaghetti squash might quickly make you a convert.
Transcript
-Hi! I'm Miranda with recipe.com. And today, I'm gonna show
you how to make buttered spaghetti squash. Now spaghetti squash
is a nice low-calorie alternative to pasta and is totally
delicious and really easy to do. So, let's get started.
I have our ingredients all laid out here. I have
1 medium spaghetti squash. It's about 2.5 to 3 pounds,
half a cup of finely shredded parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons
of butter or margarine cut up. I'm using butter today.
Then 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped basil, oregano, or parsley.
I've decided to use basil and then a quarter of
a teaspoon of salt. So, we are going to start
by cutting our spaghetti squash lengthwise. Let's start from the
middle and just try that. So just push right down.
You're gonna use your biceps. It's like a good workout.
So, if you didn't make it to the gym, it's
a-- a good thing to do. So now let's-- Ta-da!
Okay, it split open. Fun part, we're gonna scoop it
out. It's sort of like from the Halloween when you
will just scoop the pumpkin.
Same thing. So, we're just gonna scoop, scoop, scoop all
the seeds and the stringy part out. We're gonna do
that to both pieces. Okay. So now that we're all
scooped out and clean, we are going to place these
in our baking dish, cut side down, so just like
this. And before we pop it in the oven, which
is-- We're heating it 350 degrees. We just wanna pierce
the skin. Because we're doing it cut side down, you
don't want it to explode. It's sort of the same
thing as if,
you know, you were cooking a potato. You want the
steam to have somewhere to escape. So were just gonna
pierce it all over. Don't be afraid to get on
in there and piece, pierce, pierce. Okay. So we're gonna
pop this in the oven at 350 degrees for about
30 to 40 minutes until it's nice and tender. So
let's do that and we'll come right back. Okay, so
it's been 40 minutes and my spaghetti squash is nice
and tender. I've let it cool for just a minute
because I'm gonna be handling it as you can see
as you will be too, but we still want it
to be warm.
So, this process that we're doing right now is we're
just going to remove the pulp and kind of create
these little sort of pasta-like noodle. So see, look at
that. You just pull down and ta-da, you have these
little kind of spaghetti strands. How neat is that? So
we have all of our pulp here nice and hot
ready to go. So we're gonna add in our better
and we'll get it all nice and melty. Now, we're
gonna sprinkle in half of the parmesan cheese, not all
of it, just half, so just a quarter of a
cup and toss that around. Let's add in our basil,
our salt. Oh my goodness, this smells so good. Nice
little toss. Everything is wonderfully melted in and now let's
just finish it by sprinkling with the remainder of our
parmesan cheese and this would be just as tasty tossed
with marinara, even more nutritious than any regular old pasta.
There you have it. Super simple. Simple nutritious. That's how
you make buttered spaghetti squash. Thanks for watching. And for
more great recipes and savings, visit us at recipe.com.
What You'll Need
- 1 medium spaghetti squash (2-1/2 to 3 pounds)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut up
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, oregano, or parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Step By Step
1
Halve squash lengthwise; remove and discard seeds. Place squash halves, cut side down, in a large baking dish. Using a fork, prick the skin all over. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.
2
Remove the squash pulp from shell (see photo, directional). Toss squash pulp with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the butter, basil, and salt. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
3
Makes 6 servings
4
4. Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce: Bake spaghetti squash as directed in step 1. Omit Parmesan cheese, butter, basil, and salt. For marinara sauce, in a medium saucepan cook 1/4 cup chopped onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil. Stir in one 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained; 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed; 1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed; 1/4 teaspoon salt; and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until desired consistency, stirring often. Remove the squash pulp from shell. Spoon sauce over squash pulp. If desired, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Per 3/4 cup squash with 1/4 cup sauce: 84 cal., 3 g total fat (0 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 233 mg sodium, 14 g carbo., 0 g fiber, 1 g pro.Daily Values: 1% vit. A, 19% vit. C, 7% calcium, 5% iron.Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable, 1/2 Starch, 1/2 Fat
Whether you enjoy it as a main dish or a side, you'll be happy you learned how to cook spaghetti squash.
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