Baked Margherita Spaghetti Squash

Baked Margherita Spaghetti Squash

I love it when a healthy dinner turns into a great blog post.  Unfortunately a hungry daddy has to wait few extra minutes for his dinner, because mommy needs to photograph his plate first!

I was talking to a relative this week about cooking spaghetti squash and how just the slightest bit of overcooking can make it mushy and not "spaghetti" like.  That can be a real bummer for those that are choosing a gluten-free diet when you're missing things like pasta and bread.

I usually wrap the sliced squash in tin foil and bake it like a potato, but today I tried a new method of just placing it face down on a cookie sheet.  It was easier, faster, and the texture of the strings or "noodles" came out just right.  I added fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella, and the perfect, gluten-free side dish was born!

Baked Margherita Spaghetti Squash

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 45 minutes / Servings: 2

Baked Margherita
Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large Roma tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Using a large knife or a cleaver, slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise down the middle.  Use a spoon to remove the seeds and center strings.
3. Drizzle the two halves with olive oil and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
4. Place the squash, open side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, check to see if the squash is soft and easily comes up with a fork into a spaghetti like texture.  If it's too hard to remove, cook for another 10 minutes.   Remove from the oven, scrape and fluff the stringy squash with a fork.  Leave the squash in the skin.
5. Turn the oven up to broil. Add the tomatoes and fresh basil into the squash, stir and top with the mozzarella cheese.  Place in the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving the squash.