Veggie Parmesan Spaghetti Squash Bowls, a gluten-free, vegetarian meal for when you are craving something indulgent, but still super good for you.
So here we are today with my veggie parmesan spag squash boats. Everything you want in life served inside nature's perfect little bowl. Yum!
Lightly breaded zucchini and eggplant piled high inside spaghetti squash. Covered in fresh marinara sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. A complete meal packed inside of a spaghetti squash. How amazing is that?
This is an indulgent meal for a few reasons, first of all, it contains cheese and a good amount of it. Any meal with cheese is a bit of a treat for me. Also, it requires a bit of prep time, but oh man is it worth it!
You are going to start off with one of the miracles of the plant world, spaghetti squash. A squash that turns into spaghetti strands. What!?! ????
Roast your squash with a little olive oil, or to save time on prep simply pop the entire spaghetti squash into your slow cooker (no need to cut in half, no need to add water, no need to poke holes) cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Cut in half, scrape out seeds, and proceed.
Scrape those gorgeous strands and toss with sea salt and dried basil. You want to punch up the flavor during every step of the process. Because flavor = smiles.
Prepare your veggies by coating in egg and then dredging in a hemp seed, almond flour, garlic powder mixture. Roast them in the oven (they get to roast right alongside my spaghetti squash) until crisp.
Side note: almond flour coated veggies are amazing! If you don't have almond flour you can certainly use breadcrumbs or gluten-free breadcrumbs. Adding the hemp seeds provides a nice dose of omega 3 fatty acids, good for your brain. You know, something to counteract the cheese 😉
Speaking of cheese…
It's time for the first layer. Pile on freshly shredded mozzarella. Just look at that beautiful cheese.
Then drizzle with a bit of marinara, alternatively, you can toss the “noodles” fully with marinara, but I don't like mine soggy. After the marinara pile in your veggies.
And then guess what comes next?
A bit more marinara (I tend to reserve some for dipping later) and more cheese. This time both mozzarella and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Pop back in the oven for 20-30 minutes until warmed through and cheese melted.
There you have it. Full of veggies, plant powerful, a miracle of the natural world, and also fresh out of your kitchen.
This is a definite MUST try recipe. Tell me what you think in the comments below. I'm off to make another batch, it's Friday night and I can't help myself.
Thanks for reading Abra's Kitchen! To see what goodness I'm whipping up be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you make this recipe tag #abraskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation 🙂
Veggie Parmesan Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
- 1 small eggplant
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Cut spaghetti squash in half, scoop out seeds, brush the flesh of the squash with 1 tbsp olive oil, and place flesh side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to one hour, or until tender.
- While squash is cooking prepare veggies. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice zucchini in 1/4 inch rounds, and eggplant in 1/4 inch rounds set aside.
- In a medium bowl beet the eggs. In a separate bowl or plate toss the almond flour with 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper, hemp seeds, and garlic powder. Dip each veggie round into the egg mixture and let excess drip off, and then drip in the almond flour mixture to coat, place on lined baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes per side. Remove from oven and set aside.
Prepare your boats
- When spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle scrape the flesh to make strands, and toss with dried basil. Scrape spaghetti strands to outer edge of squash to form a center cavity for your veggies.Top with 1/2 the cheese, drizzle in a bit of marinara sauce.Pile the veggies inside the squash alternating zucchini then eggplant. Top with more sauce (I usually reserve about 1/4-1/2 cup of sauce for dipping) and remaining cheese
- Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until warmed throughout and cheese melted.
- Eat immediately and if you don't feel like sharing, I won't tell 🙂
Notes
- You may not be able to fit all of the veggies inside your squash, I tend to save about 30% for another meal.
- For a major prep hack, pop your spaghetti squash in your slow cooker, no need to cut in half, poke holes, add water, or any such thing. Pop in whole, turn on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
