Ground Beef Spaghetti Squash Low Calorie

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Posted: 09.18.18 Updated: 04.29.21

Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole without all the carbs!! This spaghetti squash casserole is a riff on one of my favorite pasta recipes and it is totally family friendly, packed with cheesy goodness, loaded with flavor, and keto friendly! 8 net carbs serving.

One of the things I love most about this time of year is the whole comfort food situation.

People don't seem to like casseroles in the dead of summer, but they are 100% totally acceptable the minute it starts to cool off.

Sure, I miss the sunshine and my pool, but did you take a close look at this cheesy spaghetti squash casserole? Doesn't it look dreamy?

One of my favorite pasta recipes is million dollar spaghetti so I took the idea and swapped out spaghetti squash for traditional pasta.

Total win!

This is probably one of the best spaghetti squash recipes I've made yet!

How to make million dollar spaghetti casserole without all the carbs:

To start, you're going to cut a spaghetti squash in half. This probably sounds like an easy task, but if you've ever worked with spaghetti squash before you'll know that you need to bring your muscles and a sharp knife to this game.

Spaghetti squash are HARD on the outside. Dig that knife in (carefully!) and cut all the way around. You can do it, I believe in you. 😉

Now, scoop out the seeds, drizzle some olive oil on the inside of the squash and place it flesh side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast it for about an hour.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape long strands of squash out.

If you go lengthwise down the squash you'll get short strands of spaghetti. If you go across the width of the squash, you'll get long strands. It's kind of counter-intuitive, but just play with it. It all tastes the same either way.

Low carb meat sauce:

Brown up your ground beef and then dump in your favorite low carb marina.

I prefer Rao's and use it almost exclusively. There are only 4g net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. You can find it at most any grocery store, usually up on the top shelf. It's a little pricey, but it's seriously the best!

Let your meat sauce simmer away while you get to work on the million dollar aspect of this recipe: dairy goodness!

Add some cream cheese, sour cream, and fresh parsley to a small bowl and stir until well combined. This mixture is so creamy and amazing.

The traditional million dollar spaghetti calls for cottage cheese as well, but it adds a fair amount of carbs so I skipped it. If you have room in your carb allowance, go ahead and add a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese to this mixture. You won't regret it!

Assemble the spaghetti squash casserole:

Add half of the spaghetti squash noodles to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

Top that off with half of the meat sauce and then spread on all of the cream cheese mixture.

Doesn't that look amazing??

Next, add the final layers of spaghetti squash and meat sauce and top that all off with some grated mozzarella and a little parsley.

Pop this in a hot oven for 20 minutes to allow the cheese to get all warm and melty.

I like to serve this with a big side salad topped with my homemade ranch dressing.

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Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, 2-3 pounds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 24 ounces marinara, store bought or homemade
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Instructions

For the squash:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half length-wise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Place spaghetti squash flesh side down on the prepared baking sheet at bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
4. Use a fork to scrape out long strands of squash, scraping across the width of the squash.

For the meat sauce:

1. Brown the ground beef over medium heat in a large skillet.
2. Drain the grease and add the marinara to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat to heat through.

For the cream cheese mixture:

1. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and parsley to a small mixing bowl and stir well to combine.

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Place half of the spaghetti squash in the prepared baking dish.
3. Top the squash with half of the meat sauce and all of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Add the remaining spaghetti squash followed by the remaining meat sauce.
5. Sprinkle on the grated mozzarella.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot.
7. Serve immediately.

Notes

Scrape the spaghetti squash length-wise for short strands of squash or width-wise for long strands of squash.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 413 Total Fat: 35g Saturated Fat: 14g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 98mg Sodium: 547mg Carbohydrates: 10g Net Carbohydrates: 8g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 6g Protein: 21g

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Source: https://thatlowcarblife.com/spaghetti-squash-casserole/

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