The top ten most popular recipes on this here blog of mine are as follows:
- One Minute Peanut Butter Cake (this guy has 740% more views than #2)
- Penne Rosa with Shrimp
- 90 Second Nutella Chocolate Cake
- Baked Homemade Pizza Rolls
- No-Bake Butterfinger and Pretzel Cheesecake
- Baked Coconut Chicken Strips
- German Chocolate Filled Cupcakes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples
- Mama’s Meatloaf
- Bakey Cheesy Pasta
I cringe a little linking to that last post because it was one of my very first recipes on the blog. At that point, I didn’t even know what my blog was going to be when it grew up (actually, I still don’t). The writing is heinous, the recipe is unclear and the photos suck (I should really just rework the dang thing), but the actual dish? It rocks. It’s one of our favorites and is a frequent star of our weekly menus.
While the original Bakey Cheesy Pasta is delicious, I wanted to try something new, and so I took to reworking the recipe. And the result was a decadent, vegetarian, cheesy, gooey casserole that is big on flavor and comfort. The main swap was simple—in place of a whole box of pasta I subbed in perfectly roasted spaghetti squash. Bonus: because the base is made from spaghetti squash instead of pasta, you get a hefty dose of vitamin A and vitamin C.
The only small issue was a texture difference. This version is a bit more thin than its pasta-y counterpart. The pasta soaks up all the sauce in the original, but since this one is pasta-less, there is no soaking. I just made sure to cook out as much water as possible from the veggies and let the casserole rest before serving and everything was a-okay. We also served it with a few slices of garlic toast to soak up the small amount of sauce leftover. Yum.
I’m not sure this entirely replaces Bakey Cheesy Pasta. But this will definitely be put in heavy rotation.
Baked Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Casserole
This baked cheesy spaghetti squash casserole is a decadent, vegetarian, cheesy, gooey casserole that is light on the calories but not on flavor or comfort.
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 medium green pepper, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Slice spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard seeds. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over cut sides of squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place squash, cut side down, onto a roasting pan and roast in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until squash flesh is tender. Set aside to cool.
- After squash is baked, reduce oven temperature to 350°.
- Heat remaining olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add in garlic, onion and green pepper and cook until very soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add mushroom slices. Season with salt and pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, until mushrooms have released most of their water, about 10 minutes.
- Using a fork, scrape flesh of squash out from shell and add to mushroom mixture in saucepan. Cook for 3-4 minutes more or until mixture looks dry.
- Remove from heat, stir in pasta sauce until everything is well-coated. Mix two cheeses together. Spoon half of the spaghetti squash mixture into a 9 x 9 baking dish or 1 quart casserole dish. Top with half of the cheese mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti squash mixture and remaining cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browned. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 220Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 675mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 5gSugar: 11gProtein: 9g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
I tried this recipe over the weekend and it was a huge hit! The last time I had spaghetti squash, the texture threw me off a bit but this recipe was really great. I’ll definitely be making it again! Thanks!
Cassie, I am a first time commenter but have been reading for some time. I just had to tell you that I made this recipe for dinner tonight and was thoroughly impressed. Anything that gets more veggies into my boyfriend and is delicious to boot is a winner in my book!!
Bakey Cheesy Pasta is the first recipe I tried from your blog and I ended up recommending it everywhere that anyone requested an easy, but delicious dish to make. I haven’t made it in a while since I’m staying away from pasta, so I’m thrilled that you’ve updated it to make it healthier. Woo! 🙂
Hey, just a comment on the peanut mug cake recipe having a ton more views than your other recipes… I actually found this blog through Stumbleupon.com when I ‘stumbled’ upon that very recipe. I’m sure someone else has told you about this before, but I’d say most of my girlfriends found that recipe by you on stumbleupon.com as well! We all love it an use it regularly, by the way!
Guh, I love me a food baby on occasion too! This looks like it might be the trick to getting my boyfriend to try spaghetti squash once and for all. He calls it the “deceitful” vegetable, saying it’s spaghetti, but it’s noooot. Did I mention he’s occasional a four year old? Well he is. But I love it, so he can get over it.
This looks amazing! I’m a huge fan of putting spaghetti squash with cheese, somehow with just marinara I’m not a fan, but with cheese… yum!! I love how packed full of veggies this is, and I’m betting I could even add a little bit of pasta to satisfy the pasta monster inside me that isn’t quite fooled by squash 😀 I’ll be trying this some time, hopefully soon!