Want a fun way to fill half your plate with vegetables? Look no further! Spaghetti squash appears boring on the outside, but on the inside resembles thin spaghetti noodles once cooked. It’s slightly crunchy and very mild in flavor making it perfect for sauces, seasonings, and add-ins. This recipe brought to you by our lovely intern, Wendy, is an excellent example of how it can be jazzed up with your favorite flavors.
Spaghetti squash is in season now. It contains 40 calories and 7 grams of carbohydrate in each cup. So go ahead, enjoy nature’s noodle! If you have never cooked spaghetti squash before you might find these tips for preparing it helpful.
Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash
A yummy fall treat starring nature's noodle: spaghetti squash.
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 cup buffalo wing sauce
- ½ cup finely diced carrot
- ¼ cup finely diced celery
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbles
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
TO PREPARE SPAGHETTI SQUASH:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- With a sharp knife carefully poke a few small slits in the squash skin; poke in a dotted line along where you plan to slice the squash in half. Then microwave squash 4 minutes and let cool slightly.
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and place on a baking sheet cut side down. Roast for 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees
- When cool enough to hold, scrape the squash out of the skin into a large bowl.
TO PREPARE THE BUFFALO SAUCE
- Mince the garlic
- Finely dice the carrot, celery, and onion
- Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables and garlic for about 5 minutes, until they become soft.
- Stir in the cooked chicken, buttermilk, and buffalo sauce. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down to low.
- Stir in ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese and mix to combine.
FINISH UP BY MIXING THE TWO:
- Combine chicken and vegetable mixture with cooked spaghetti squash in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella and blue cheese
- Bake, covered with foil, for about 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue baking for another 15 minutes, until the entire dish is slightly bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown.
- Let cool before serving.
