Classic pasta dishes are something that I miss something fierce when deciding to lower my carb intake, and that's where spaghetti squash steps in as an absolute lifesaver.
I know I've shared several spaghetti squash recipes here, but I can't express my love for it enough. If you haven't used it as a pasta substitute, what are you waiting for?? The texture is really amazing - the strands of "spaghetti" have a mild natural flavor (so it pairs well with basically anything) and the texture is that of an al dente pasta... it's not mushy!
This recipe also puts a lighter and healthy twist on the other classic lasagna recipes, resulting in a generous portion being only 350 calories and 12.7g net carbs.
But despite all of this healthy stuff going on, there's also a lot of flavor going on as well. We both LOVED this dinner and will be adding it to our low(er) carb routine! Enjoy!
PrintLow Carb Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bake
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 whole spaghetti squash, approx 3 lbs
- 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 16oz container low-fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup grated Romano-Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup chopped broccoli (frozen, thawed with extra moisture patted off)
- 1 ¼ cup low sugar marinara sauce of choice, or more (see notes)
- 4 oz part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Carefully prick the squash all over with a sharp knife. Place squash on a baking sheet lined with foil and place in preheated oven. Bake for 60-90 minutes or until the inside flesh feels very tender when pierced with a knife (the skin will remain firm). Remove pan from oven and, using oven mitts, carefully cut the squash in half to vent the steam and lower oven to 350F.
- Towards the end of the squash's bake time, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and add the ground turkey, breaking into pieces with a spatula.
- Season generously with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, then cook until no pink remains.
- Add 1 cup of the marinara sauce and allow to simmer while completing the next steps.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, grated Romano-Parmesan cheese, and broccoli. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper, stir to combine, then taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Remove and discard the seeds/seed flesh from the squash, then use a fork to fluff out the spaghetti strands. Spray a large square baking dish with cooking spray, then add the squash. Mix in the remaining ¼ cup of marinara to add a little extra flavor to the squash, and then top the squash with the ground turkey and sauce mixture. Spread the cottage cheese mixture on the top, spread evenly, and then top with the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes until heated through and cheese melts and begins to bubble slightly.
Notes
Exactly how much sauce you need will depend on the size of your squash, which can vary greatly. Just add extra until the squash has a nice coating of sauce to add flavor, though please realize the nutrition facts below were calculated from the recipe as written.
If you don't like broccoli, you can leave it out or sub with a different veggie. Sometimes I like to add sliced mushrooms to the turkey mixture as well!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 120 mins
Net carbs per serving (subtracting fiber) = 12.7g
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