Roasted Tomato Spinach Spaghetti Squash

on Sep 14, 2020, Updated Dec 04, 2021

5 from 4 votes

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With less than 10 ingredients, this roasted tomato spinach spaghetti squash is a hearty, satisfying vegetarian meal that’s easy to make.

I’ve been in total denial that summer is coming to an end. It’s taken a while, but I am finally accepting it.

Labor Day and back-to-school weren’t enough to convince me.

The spaghetti squash in my produce box last week was the official sign.

Root vegetable season is long and has its ups and downs.

There will be times of cozy comfort food joy and other moments when I will think, squash again?!

But spaghetti squash is just the variety that I crave when my overall squash consumption is up. What I like about it is that it’s different and doesn’t involve peeling, cubing and roasting like its cousins.

This means you can use as a pasta alternative.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and SpInach

This roasted tomato spinach spaghetti squash is one of my favorite ways to eat this root veggie as my mealtime main.

Rather than baking the squash and stuffing it, I use a fork to rake out the flesh and treat it like pasta. But it’s a much lighter and far less carbohydrate-heavy noodle.

Spaghetti squash varies in size. So if you end up with a large one, it might be too much to serve to one person as a stuffed boat. This is another typical way to serve it

I find that spaghetti squash recipes go farther when you have the flexibility of serving them on a plate or in a bowl rather than stuffed.

What is Spaghetti Squash?

Shaped like a smaller, skinnier version of a watermelon, spaghetti squash is different than other varieties. It’s best when you slice it in half and roast it. Then you comb out the noodle-like strands with a fork.

It has a very mild flavor with a slight nuttiness. This squash needs other ingredients to enhance it. That could be anything from sauce to seasonings to adding lots of other vegetables. It’s good to do a combination of these.

I like to think of squash as a blank canvas that’s full of fiber and nutrients while being low in calories and carbs. Also, it is keto-friendly.

Comb out the roasted spaghetti squash flesh with a fork

The Magic of Marinated Tomatoes

Just remember, it’s ok that this squash doesn’t have much flavor on its own as long as you treat it as an opportunity.

Once tomato season is over, I get my fix using roasted marinated tomatoes that you find in jars in the Italian food aisle of the grocery or at the olive bar. They add so much with no effort other than chopping them.

And these tomatoes are great stirred into this squash because they give it strong roasted tomato flavor with a little garlic.

Along with the tomatoes, I sauté baby spinach in a skillet of garlic and olive oil and then I fold in the spaghetti squash. I can’t resist adding greens wherever it makes sense.

The Ingredients

This is what you need to make this roasted spaghetti squash:

Spaghetti Squash: This veggie typically ranges from 2-5 pounds. For this recipe, try to find a squash that’s about 3 pounds.
Roasted Tomatoes: Try the olive bar or the Italian food section at the grocery with the antipasti. These are the roasted marinated tomatoes packed in oil.
Baby Spinach: It will look like a lot of spinach when you first add it to the skillet, but it won’t take long for the heat to wilt the leaves.
Garlic: Since spaghetti squash is so plain on its own, I like adding aromatics like garlic and seasonings to give it more flavors.
Olive Oil: You rub the squash with olive oil before you roast it. Then you also use olive oil when sautéing the garlic, tomatoes and spinach.
Parmesan: I finish the dish with shaved Parmesan. If you are vegan, you can leave this out and sprinkle on nutritional yeast instead.
Salt & Pepper: Taste the dish to determine how/if it needs more salt and pepper to bring out the flavors.

How To Make Roasted Tomato Spinach Spaghetti Squash

The hardest part about cooking spaghetti squash is cutting it in half. You need a sharp chef’s knife to slice it lengthwise.

After that, it’s pretty easy. All you have to do is just scoop out the seeds.

Then rub the cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

Place the squash cut-side down on a sheet pan .and roast for about 40 minutes until it is golden. When it’s ready, you can easily pierce it with a paring knife.

I like to line the sheet pan with aluminum foil to make clean-up easy.

Once the squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to remove the flesh.

Next heat olive oil in a skillet and add minced garlic followed by spinach and chopped jarred roasted tomatoes.

When the skillet is fragrant and the spinach has wilted, add the spaghetti squash, stirring to combine.

Season with a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

I finish this roasted tomato spinach spaghetti squash with parmesan, but if you want to keep it vegan, use nutritional yeast instead.