Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole is a Curry house Monday Night Italian dinner favorite. It’s a dish that satisfies literally every food intolerance or allergen! Once all the girls (Megs has 3 sisters), all started becoming more aware of their simple carbohydrate intake I would find alternatives that met everyones liking and preference. Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole quickly became a family favorite. The great part is you can make it a day ahead or in the morning for dinner. It helped a lot when the girls were all young.
I personally love spaghetti squash for it’s versatile ways you can use it! We love to use it to make a Mexican bake using the spaghetti squash and even a spaghetti squash pancake/fritter that is a wonderful change from our traditional potato pancakes we eat for the holidays.
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Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole
This is a family favorite!
Ingredients
Part 1 Cooking Spaghetti Squash
- 1 spaghetti squash cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds.
- Olive Oil for brushing
- Homemade Pesto Sauce , Dairy Free Pesto Sauce, or your favorite store bought pesto sauce
- 1/4 – 1/2 C Nutritional Yeast for that cheesy flavor or Pecorino Romano or Parmasan
- Olive oil for basting
- Italian Seasonings for garnish
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
Part 2: Roasting, grilling or sautéing vegetables
- 1 Box baby pre-washed spinach (super convenient),
- Large box for 9×13 pan small box for an 8×8 pan
- 2 Zucchini sliced, diced or cut into rounds (These may be grilled, sautéed or roasted) Broccoli florets work well too.
- 6–8 Shiitake mushrooms (depending on size)
- Olive oil for sautéing
- Celtic Sea salt
- Fresh minced garlic
Instructions
Method for cooking for Spaghetti Squash
Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees
NOTE: Higher temp for faster cooking, lower temp for slower cooking
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Place cut halves of the spaghetti squash face down on parchment paper (may baste with olive oil but is optional)
- Bake for 45 minutes or it’s soft when pierced with a fork
- Once cooled use the fork or spoon to scrape out the squash shreds into a bowl.
- Add olive oil and pesto to squash shreds, and set aside.
Method for Cooking Zucchini:
- Lightly baste zucchini’s in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Place zucchini’s on pre-heated grill or in a 350 degree preheated oven.
- If roasting, place on parchment lined roasting pan. Roast or grill until just softened.
- Grilling takes about 5 minutes per side, roasting about 20 minutes.
Method for Cooking Spinach and Mushrooms:
- Saute sliced shiitake mushrooms in 2 Tbsp. olive oil with 2-4 minced garlic cloves.
- Cook until softened and nicely browned. Covering helps speed up the cooking. Cook until mushrooms are soft.
- Next add box of pre-washed spinach into the mushrooms. Sprinkle with ½ tsp. of sea salt cover and cook JUST UNTIL WILTED. Remove and set aside UNCOVERED. This method helps the spinach NOT get watery.
- If using a large box of spinach, you will need to do this in 2 batches, or continue adding uncooked spinach to wilted spinach, stirring as the leaves become just wilted. This should take 2 minutes. Set aside in a colander to drain IF NEEDED.
- If there is liquid in the spinach, use a slotted spoon and press any remaining liquid from wilted spinach,
Putting Together Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole:
- Add the pesto spaghetti squash to bottom of a 8×8 or 9 x12 baking dish(small vs large batch)
- Next mix in the vegetables: mushrooms, spinach and or zucchini,
- Sprinkle with Nutritional Yeast and Italian seasonings, Fresh ground Pepper.
- Repeat layering of spaghetti squash, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach
- Top with goat or sheep feta. Then sprinkle with Pecorino Romano Cheeses.
- Fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Bake in preheated 350 oven for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
- Serve with a lovely salad. VERY satisfying!