Spaghetti Squash casserole is one of my signature dishes and definitely one of my favorite to make, especially when cooking for the week, when I spend a full day cooking and spread the leftovers over the course of the week. The flavor of this gets even richer when made the day before!

I love starting with a small spaghetti squash — a little squash goes a long way, so keep that in mind. My favorite squash are about 7″ long, which  makes enough for about 4 big servings. This is so heavily vegetable-based, this is great for big, light servings.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 baby eggplant, diced (I use half a small japanese eggplant and used the rest for a stir fry)
• 1 sweet red pepper, diced
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 6 mushrooms, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
• One small–medium onion (depending how much you like onion), chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes)
• 1 lb lean ground beef

Using a very sharp chef’s knife, cut your squash in half. Scoop out the guts and seeds and throw them away. Take the halves of the squash and place them on a microwave safe dish, cut side down with a little bit of water for 6 minutes. If you can’t fit both on the plate, do one at a time. Let them cool while you’re prepping the veggies for roasting.

Toss the diced vegetables in some olive oil, a little salt and pepper and Italian herbs. Spread in a baking pan and roast for 15–20 minutes. While they’re roasting, brown and drain the ground beef.

Scoop the spaghetti strands out of the squash with a fork and place them in a mixing bowl. Combine all the roasted veggies, the meat, the can of tomatoes with juice, and half the shredded mozzarella in the bowl and mix well. Flavor with Italian Herbs (basil, oregano, etc). Place everything in a casserole dish and top with the remaining mozzarella.

Put the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. The flavor is great right away, but it intensifies overnight! It’s also easy to make for groups, and taking the meat out makes it fantastic for vegetarians, or substituting chicken can make it even lighter.  Definitely one of my favorite recipes!