An easy meal with roasted spaghetti squash, and easy marinara sauce, layered with a little cheese and baked till bubbly and delicious.
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, roasted and removed from shell
35 oz. Marinara Sauce*
1 lb of ground beef
~ .75 lb of Italian sausage
1 tbsp olive oil, for browning
1/2 a yellow onion, diced
3 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C shredded parmesan (or an additional 1/2 C of mozzarella)
salt + pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In 1 tbsp of olive oil, saute chopped onions and minced garlic for 2-3 minutes or till fragrant and translucent.
Add the ground beef and Italian sausage. Brown and drain excess fat.
Return meat mixture to pan and add marinara sauce, tomato paste, and seasonings. Sauce should be stir-able― not too thick. Don’t forget you still have to add the squash! Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat down to low. Add the spaghetti squash. Stir till well incorporated.
Prepare baking dish: spray bottom and sides of a 9x13 casserole dish.
To layer casserole: Add meat sauce/ squash mixture to bottom of pan. Top with half of the cheese. Repeat and finish with a layer of cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or till bubbly. If casserole starts to brown prematurely, tent with foil and remove for the final few minutes. To brown the cheese, broil for 3-4 minutes just watch closely!
To Freeze: Assemble casserole just don’t bake! wrap with plastic wrap followed by foil and store in freezer for up to 3 months. No thawing necessary- remove plastic wrap and bake at 375 degrees covered with foil for 1 hour.
Notes
Look for a sauce with NO added sugar. All you have to do is look at the ingredient list and make sure it doesn’t mention sugar. We really like Rao’s Homemade Sauce.
If interested in preparing an additional pan for the freezer add 1 1/2 C of crushed tomatoes and double the tomato paste and seasonings.
CoursesDinner
Recipe by Hey Marissa at https://heymarissa.com/healthy-spaghetti-squash-casserole/