Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole is an easy, low carb pasta-like dish that the whole family will love! Tender spaghetti squash strands combined with lean ground beef, marinara sauce and multiple cheeses to create a bubbly, cheesy marinara spaghetti bake! This dish is great to prep for meal prep and eat all week.
Growing up, my mom used to make spaghetti on a weekly basis. It was my brothers favorite food and one that was always easy and comforting. Every now and then, she would spice things up with spaghetti squash bake with all the gooey cheese instead of just the standard spaghetti. It was always a treat in our house and a meal we all looked forward to! I wanted to recreate that dish but make it bit more lighter. I am still surprised at just HOW much lighter this dish is without sacrificing any of that cheesy, marinara flavor. Lean beef, cheesy marinara spaghetti goodness – It is out of this world good!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH CASSEROLE
- Only 7 ingredients! With one being a seasoning. That is it!
- Packs MAJOR VOLUME. Major. One serving size is 1/8 of the dish and it is HUGE.
- Healthy but indulgent – you don’t have to pick one or the other. This dish is packed with quality protein and vegetables but it is rich in flavor and oh so cheesy!
- Low in calories and awesome macros – only 220 calories and 15g of carbs for one huge serving!
- Great for meal prep – make once and you have dinner for the week
- It’s easy and cheesy – I just had to say it. It is all I could think of when making it! So easy. So cheesy. So good!
WHAT YOU NEED
- Spaghetti squash – I used a large spaghetti squash and got about 5-6 cups (750g) from it once baked.
- Lean ground beef – I used 96% lean ground beef to keep this dish lighter in fat, but feel free to use a different beef or even ground chicken or turkey!
- Cream cheese – again, I used fat-free to keep this dish lighter. But if you can’t find fat-free or just want to use something else, 1/3 reduced fat or full-fat cream cheese would work.
- Cottage cheese
- Marinara sauce
- Tony’s creole seasoning – love the flavor of this seasoning! But you can use another like seasoning if you prefer.
HOW TO MAKE
When I say this baked spaghetti is easy to make, I am not joking! The hardest part is just going to be getting your spaghetti squash cooked and shredded – besides that, everything else comes together relatively quick and easy.
- Cook spaghetti squash and pull out strands if you haven’t already. I will usually do this the night before so I have the strands ready to go. If you still need to cook: preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut spaghetti squash in half length wise, and then scoop out the seeds from the center of both halves. Place halves of squash flesh side down in a 9×13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. Let cool, then use a fork to pull out strands of the flesh.
- Cook ground beef in a skillet, breaking up as you go.
- Combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, seasonings and marinara sauce. Add beef and spaghetti squash and mix until all ingredients are combined.
- Add spaghetti squash mixture to baking dish and bake!
WHAT TO EAT WITH
Just like any other casserole, I would throw alongside some sides that sound good with it! Here are some of my favorite things I have enjoyed eating this baked spaghetti squash casserole with:
- Seasoned green beans or broccoli
- Upside Down Egg White Pizza – YOU MUST TRY IT!
- Garlic bread, garlic knots, or toast!
- Side romaine salad with pickled red onions
- Spinach salad with feta
MORE SPAGHETTI SQUASH RECIPES
- TUSCAN SPAGHETTI SQUASH BAKE
- CHEESEBURGER SPAGHETTI SQUASH BAKE
- CHEESY SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE SPAGHETTI SQUASH BAKE
- HOW TO COOK A SPAGHETTI SQUASH
- SPAGHETTI SQUASH STUFFING BAKE
WANT TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If you try this baked spaghetti squash casserole and love it, please rate this recipe!
You can also tag me on Instagram, @LaurenFitFoodie. It makes my day seeing your yummy recreations!
Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole is an easy, low carb pasta-like dish that the whole family will love! Tender spaghetti squash strands combined with lean ground beef, marinara sauce and multiple cheeses to create a bubbly, cheesy marinara spaghetti bake! This dish is great to prep for meal prep and eat all week.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. 96% lean ground beef
- 5-6 cups spaghetti squash, shredded, drained of water, and loosely packed (750g)
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp Tony's Creole seasoning, separated
- 8-oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened (224g)
- 1/2 cup low-fat 2% cottage cheese (117g)
- 1 (24-oz.) jar marinara sauce – I love Rao’s
- 3/4 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese (84g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray a 9x13" dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Bring a skillet to medium heat. Add the beef and season with 1 tsp of creole seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Crumble the beef as it cooks. Once beef has cooked through, turn off heat and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese, cottage cheese, and 1 Tbsp of creole seasoning. Using a hand mixer, blend until everything is combined. Add the marinara sauce and stir until it has mixed in thoroughly. Then, add in the beef and spaghetti squash strands (make sure you drain the water from them first!) and fold in until all ingredients are combined.
- Add the spaghetti squash mixture to the baking dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Notes
MFP entry: LFF Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1/8 of dish (286g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 15.3gSaturated Fat: 7gCarbohydrates: 11.8gFiber: 1.9gSugar: 6.5gProtein: 19.8g
This casserole had a great flavor but was very soupy. I actually cooked it an extra 20 min. Next time I will add 1/2 the amount of marinara sauce.
Hey Kathey! That is interesting because mine was not soupy at all. I am wondering if it was from your spaghetti squash being too liquidy? It’s important to bake it so it’s not mushy at all – I know when I added mine to the bowl I wasn’t adding any additional liquid with it. But yes, adding 1/2 the marinara sauce and 1/2 the cottage cheese could help as well.
This recipe was so good!!!! So creamy and cheesy. Even my husband enjoyed it. I am a busy mom so I loved how easy it was to make too. We will definitely be keeping this one in the rotation! Thank you Lauren!
Hi there! Do you cook the spaghetti squash first before adding it to the casserole? I am assuming yes but It does not say so just want to be sure! thanks
OMG sorry ! It says to cook it ! my apologies
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I’ve been trying to find a recipe that makes spaghetti squash taste yummy and not like cardboard- and this is it! Perfect blend of creaminess! I didn’t have any Tony’s seasoning on hand – but made some from my spices in the pantry and it still turned out great! Will def make this again.
Love hearing that Lauren! Isn’t it amazing what the right ingredients can do!? Glad you were able to make the seasonings work too!!
I’ve stocked up on the BOGO fat free Mozzarella. Would that still work?
Of course having a little fat in the cheese is always going to make the dish a little better 😉 but I think it would still taste great with FF mozzarella! 🙂
Hi! Can this recipe be frozen after it’s fully baked? It was so tasty!
Hey Tiffany! I haven’t tried it for this recipe particularly, but I am usually successful with freezing my other casseroles, defrosting in fridge the night before, then reheating in the oven again! I usually do 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until the center is warm casserole is bubbling again. If you try it for this one, let me know!
This was SOOOOOOOOOO delicious and packed with flavour & cheesy goodness!! My whole family loved it, including my picky 5 year old. Will definitely be adding this into my regular rotation of meals!
Hi Lauren! Any suggestions on what to use instead of the Tony’s seasoning? Can’t find that here in Ontario. I know you say any seasoning we like but I’m wondering if you have tried it with another or without any seasoning at all. Im mostly just making this as an excuse to make the upside down egg white pizza as a side lol! Thanks 🙂
The only other seasoning I have tried it with is the Hidden Valley ranch powder, and that was amazing! But really, any seasoning blend you love will work, it just needs something to give it some flavor!
This is my second time making this and I LOVE IT! My husband doesn’t usually love veggies in his food but he LOVES THIS!
Just a FYI for me… if I cook the spaghetti squash before hand and keep it in the fridge… (or prep all of this the day before and THEN cook) it takes about 2 times the amount of cook time. Which is fine! But just a good heads up:)
Does this freeze well?