Being plant based, I don’t have trouble getting in enough veggies, but I do find myself going back to the same ones/recipes each week. I love Brussel Sprouts more than the normal person, and do a roasted Brussel Sprout dish every week it seems.

I’ve branched out and decided to try Spaghetti Squash and I did some recipe research. It seemed every recipe was calling to use the Spaghetti Squash, well, like you would Spaghetti, as a low cal noodle like base covered in a meat sauce. I wanted something different and decided to go for a Spaghetti Squash Casserole. This dish was super easy to make, made 8 decent sized servings, and each serving comes in at a whopping 100 calories.

Spaghetti Squash is a seeded variety of winter squash, and is usually yellow or orange in color. The darker the color (orange ones) are higher in carotene. It can be baked, steamed or microwaved, and it’s seeds can be roasted. Even though it is extremely low in calories it is high in folic acid, carotene, potassium and Vitamin A.

Here is the recipe I used for the dish:

1 medium to large Spaghetti Squash

4 On the vine Tomatoes

1 Package of Cheese (I used a mixture of Galaxy Nutritional’s Mozzarella and Daiya’s Pepperjack Vegan Cheeses.)

1 Bunch of Fresh Basil

Salt, Pepper and other seasonings as you like (I also added Garlic Salt and Oregano to mine)

1. To prepare the squash, punch a few holes in it with a knife all around the squash. Place on a plate or paper towel in the microwave and heat for around 13 minutes or so. Keep checking it because you don’t want it to over heat and explode in your microwave. When it’s ready it should be soft to the touch, and give a little when you press into it with your finger. Take it out of the microwave and cut in half. Using a spoon scrape out the seeds and everything in the center and toss (or save the seeds to roast), then using a fork scrape out the flesh of the squash into a bowl. It should come out like a small noodle like texture. Scrape all the way down to the skin of the squash

2. Preheat oven to 375. Grab your casserole/baking dish and spray with a light coating of cooking spray. Slice the tomatoes into small slices. Assemble a small layer of the squash, then a layer of the tomatoes, then basil, salt, pepper and other seasonings. Top with a layer of cheese (using about half of the bag), then another layer of squash, followed by the tomatoes, followed by basil and seasonings. Then finish with the top layer being all cheese.

3. Bake in the oven for about 30-45 minutes until it is bubbling around the edges, and the cheese is melted. Take out of the oven and let cool then cut into 8 servings. Enjoy