Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Cheesy, gooey spaghetti squash casserole is the comfort food dish your family will be delighted to eat. Sure, squash may be a bit different—they're used to eating pasta bakes after all—but no one will even notice that they're getting a sneaky serving of vegetables in this mouthwatering dish.

All the usual suspects of a great pasta casserole are here: marinara, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Italian sausage. It's delicious, and it holds up better than a pasta dish, too, upon reheating. Serve with garlic bread for an even better experience. You'll love how easy it is to make this family-friendly dinner.

Ingredients for Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Gather all your favorite Italian-inspired ingredients, but get some spaghetti squash in place of the pasta. Here's what you'll need:

• Spaghetti squash: You'll need two spaghetti squash, each about 2 1/2 pounds.
• Olive oil: You'll use this to coat the squash before roasting. It helps the squash stay hydrated during cooking.
• Kosher salt and black pepper: To season the squash.
• Ground round: We like ground round, which is usually 85 percent lean and 15 percent fat, but you can use any ground meat you prefer, even ground chicken or turkey.
• Ground hot Italian pork sausage: No hot sausage available? Use mild or sweet sausage, and add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
• Yellow onion and garlic: These aromatics add a great backbone of flavor to the beef mixture.
• Marinara sauce: Use your favorite. We love Rao's.
• Mozzarella cheese: For the best melting factor, buy a block and shred your own.
• Parmesan cheese: A second cheese never hurt.
• Parsley: Adds a final touch of color and freshness to the casserole.

How To Make Spaghetti Squash Casserole

The full recipe is below, but really this casserole is so easy, you can nearly guess how it's made. Here's a quick recap:

• Roast squash: Split the two squash in half, scraping out the seeds. Brush on olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast about 45 minutes on 350°F until the squash is tender. Check it a few times in the last few minutes of roasting so you don't over cook. When it's tender, pull from the oven, and let it cool slightly. Then, scrape the strands of squash out of the halves.
• Cook meat mixture: Cook the ground round and sausage until browned, then add the onion, garlic, marinara, and some cheese. Stir in the squash, and spoon into the prepared baking dish. Top with the rest of the cheese.
• Bake casserole: Finally, bake the casserole about 35 minutes at 350°F until golden and bubbly. Top with some parsley, and let cool slightly.

Make-Ahead and Storage Tips

The spaghetti squash for this casserole can be roasted (up to the end of step 3) and refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to three months. Once you're ready to eat the casserole, begin the recipe at step 4 with the pre-roasted squash.

After the casserole is baked, it will keep in the fridge for up to one week.

If you have leftovers, transfer to an airtight container, or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Can you freeze spaghetti squash casserole?

You can freeze spaghetti squash casserole, but we recommend against it really. Spaghetti squash can turn mushy and watery after it's frozen and thawed. That's OK if you're freezing just the squash—you can drain it after it's thawed to remove excess water.

If you need to get ahead in some manner, roast the squash before you finish the rest of the dish at a later date. The roasted squash is good in the fridge up to three days, so you'll buy yourself some time and speed up the final casserole steps.

Variations

You can change up this recipe a bit to your personal preferences and still have outstanding results. Here are a few suggestions from our Test Kitchen:

• Make your own marinara, if you wish! Or use your favorite jar of pasta sauce, like arrabiata, vodka, or roasted garlic.
• Add some green. Throw spinach in with the meat sauce for even more veggies.
• Make this "pizza" spaghetti squash. Arrange pepperoni on top before baking.
• Change the cheese. Use different cheese blends, to your liking (fontina, asiago, pecorino Romano, etc.).

More Spaghetti Squash Recipes

If you're a big fan of spaghetti squash, you'll love these recipes:

• Spicy Spaghetti Squash With Shrimp
  
• Easy Roasted Spaghetti Squash