Vegan Spaghetti Squash and Meatball Boats

At some point in my adult life I decided in my mind that I hated spaghetti squash.

I have no actual memory of ever actually eating a spaghetti squash or how it was prepared, I just decided I did not like them, and I would never cook one. Period.

Then recently I saw a spaghetti squash recipe in a magazine that looked amazing. Weird, I know…I hate spaghetti squash. This made me question myself and my stern stance on this noodle imposter squash.

So I decided I would buy a few and try to veganize the recipe I saw. I mean I am grown lady now and should be open to trying something again..right?!?!!? But the more I thought about that recipe, the more I knew my kids would 100% reject it ,and if I were going to try to sell the family on a squash as spaghetti, it better at least involve a vegan meatballs some vegan gooey cheese. Those are two things my family normally agrees on!

So I did just that. I made a batch of easy vegan meatballs, I used beyond meat but you can use any meatball you make. Seitan meatballs, lentil meatballs, or frozen meatballs. Whatever is easy and your preference.

I still want to try and veagnize the original recipe I saw, but a vegetable stuffed with more vegetables is gonna be a slow roll in this house. Baby steps, y’all.

As far as the squash goes, I don’t know why I thought I didn’t like it.?!?! Because once its covered in meatball laden sauce, and gooey vegan mozzarella, it is delicious, super filling, and a nice change from pasta! Not that I have anything against pasta, I mean I LOVE CARBS….but I need to get behind this being a healthier option.

I think these vegan spaghetti squash boats would work well for entertaining. As long as you use a gluten free meat substitute, these boats should be pretty allergy friendly ( you can make the cheese sauce with sunflower seeds instead of cashews, too,) healthy and delicious!!

Plus y’all, any food baked as a boat always just seems more fun! And if you thought you didn’t like spaghetti squash too, maybe this recipe can change your mind. It did mine!

This recipe will make enough for 2 large spaghetti squash or you can use I squash and have leftover marinara and cheese sauce. The cheese sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week and used on lots of things. The leftover pasta sauce could be refrigerated or frozen. 1 Squash typically serves 4.

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 large spagetti squash
1 pound vegan ground “beef” ( we used Beyond Beef)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup vegan bread crumbs
1 tablespoon corn or tapioca starch, or one flax egg
1 batch Marinara sauce or use store-bought if you prefer
1/2 batch of easy vegan all purpose cheese sauce

Homemade Marinara Sauce:

1 yellow onion, diced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.4 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/3 red wine (optional)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Prepare the meatballs by mixing the vegan ground “meat” in a bowl with the starch, bread crumbs, garlic and ssteaonings. Using a small 1 inch scoop or a a small spoon, scoop out mixture and roll into small meatballs. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop them in the oven to bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
Carefully cut the spaghetti squash in half length wise (you will need a good knife as they can be kind of tough to cut.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and turn the squash halves upside down on the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the same oven as the meatballs.
If you are making homemade marinara sauce, add the onions and garlic to medium sized sauce pan with a teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes, wine, and seasoning and let simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Once the meatballs are done, add them to the pot with the sauce and let them simmer a bit.
Once the squash is tender remove it from the oven and let it cool a bit. Once cool, scrape the seeds and stringy part off the top. Once they are cleaned up, use a fork and scrape the “spaghetti” strands loose.
Prepare the cheese sauce according to directions.
To make the spaghetti squash boats, leave the squash on the the pan you baked them on. Scoop some sauce and meatballs right into the squash. Top with some of the cheese sauce and pop the pan back in the oven until the cheese sauce is bubbling and beginning to brown.
To serve, you can cut each boat in half after it has cooled a bit. We consider 1/2 of a boat a serving. But you could also cut each boat into thirds if you are serving children.

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