Low Carb Lasagna using spaghetti squash!!
Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole
If you come from an Italian family or know an Italian family, you are clearly aware of the fact they all love a good pasta dish.
Pasta is the Italian staple, especially on a holiday or actually every.single.Sunday.
At least in my childhood that's how I grew up. I woke to the amazing aromas of an freshly made marinara sauce cooking on the stove, simmering all morning until Sunday dinner at 1pm. That was our tradition and in fact my mother still makes her sauce to this day even though all her children are grown and on their own.
I think she secretly hopes we'll make a visit on Sunday just for that sauce and often we certainly do.
I would never complain of my childhood around the ever present pasta and bread.
But I did have an issue controlling my portions and that has stayed with me as an adult. Portion distortion is what I like to call it.
Learning to have appropriate servings was something I had to learn in my twenties and to this day I can guess on a serving of something, but then when I measure it out, it is often way more than I thought it was.
I realize there are many conflicting views on weighing and measuring food, but for me the only way I ever had control of my portions to lose weight was having to track and weigh and measure. Eyeballing never worked for me. Ever.
Just eating clean was not enough, even getting rid of sugar was not enough. My portions were out of wack and they needed to be subdued. The only way to teach myself proper portions was measuring it all out.
Not easy, not fun, but necessary. At least in my life, necessary.
Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
So back to my Italian family and their love for pasta, especially on holidays. If you have an Italian daddy like me, who happened to come to this country on a boat when he was 15, you will empathize with me here.
I served this on Christmas!
GASP!
I served my Italian father this and called it a healthier lasagna without pasta.
He asked what it was. I quietly began...."Spaghetti......(I hesitated and cringed)......squash", I said in a whisper.
He sighed.
He ate.
He ate some more.
He finally spoke in his still evident accent and a roll of the R in my name, "I like it Brenda". And he had a second serving!
I felt like I made history that day.
If a stubborn Italian man who loves pasta can learn to enjoy a lower carb mock lasagna, there is hope for us all yet.
Nutritional Information was calculated using my homemade quick marinara sauce.
If you like this recipe, there are many more like this in my Meal Planning Membership! You can have a sustainable low carb/keto lifestyle when you’re well prepared and planning meals is the key! GET STARTED TODAY!
Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole
Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Spaghetti Squash (was 3 pounds with shell) halved lengthwise, seeded
Meat Layer
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 24 ounces marinara sauce divided
Cheese Layer
- 24 ounces ricotta cheese part skim
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded, divided
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the squash on a baking sheet for 1 hour.
- In a large skillet combine the ingredients for the meat layer except sauce and cook until browned and no longer pink. Once cooked add 12 ounces of sauce to meat. Reserve the rest.
- Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl for the cheese layer but reserve 1 cup shredded mozzarella.Set aside.
- Scrape the cooled squash with a fork and evenly add spaghetti squash to a greased 9 by 13 baking pan.
- Top with the meat layer.
- Spread the cheese layer.
- Add the remaining sauce over the cheese layer.
- Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Ashley
About how many squashes did you use to get 3lbs? I don't have a scale so I want to get as close as possible. Can't wait to try this!
Brenda
It was just one.
Michelle
I made this last night for my family of 8. Everyone loved it! Even my grumbling teen at this new no-sugar stuff 🙂 Many came back for seconds...the chef's best compliment! I think I will make this for our next church potluck.
Brenda
Awesome!
Erika
I just made this, and it was scrumptious! I'll never use regular pasta for "lasagna" anymore.
Really, really tasty!
Jo
This recipe says to use 32 ounces of marinara sauce. The marinara sauce recipe says it makes 8 cups. Are you talking about fluid ounces and we should use 4 cups of the marainara sauce for this recipe? Thanks. Jo PS: This would make the division of the sauce be 3 cups to be added to the meat and 1 cup to be added over the cheese layers.
Brenda
Yes that's right. My sauce recipe makes more than you need for this recipe.
Jo
Made this tonight and it was delicious! A hit with the whole family, including 11-year-old granddaughter and husband who has never liked regular lasagna. Portion control is still important, though, if you have diabetes. I ate two portions (it was so good!) and blood sugar went up a little too high so next time I will stick with one.
Brandon
Admittedly I have not tried this yet but I'd like to. I have made Spaghetti Squash before and usually I only need to bake it for maybe 30 minutes. Is there a reason for cooking it longer?
Debbe
Love the uses of spaghetti squash in place of pasta. I really appreciate all the work you put into your recipes and that you share them. Awesome! (Minor FYI of typo. The paragraph after the second last picture, last sentence says "emphasize" instead of "empathize". Your writings are always done with care to detail, I thought you might appreciate the notice. Not being picky by any means, just letting you know. Feel free to delete this part, as it has nothing to do with your hard work on the recipes and willingness to generously share them.)
Brenda
I love that you mentioned it and caught that for me! I really appreciate knowing I made a mistake as I try to watch and double check but sometimes I do miss them so thank you!
Darlene G.S.
I made this yesterday...I have died and gone to heaven.
This was excellent. I wouldn't change a thing.
Brenda
Thanks! SO glad you loved it!
Nutmeg Nanny
I LOVE spaghetti squash. I think I actually might like it better than spaghetti. This casserole looks perfect for this cold winter weather.
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
Great story. Great recipe. Can't wait to try it. I hope to have the same results with my family 😉
Angela {Mind Over Batter}
I'm Dominican where there is absolutely no limit on portion size, so I know what you're talking about. I don't blame your dad for getting seconds of this dish - It looks amazing!
A
This looks fabulous! Did you have any problems with the squash turning everything into a watery mess? I often find my spaghetti squash dilutes everything else...
Thanks in advance!
Brenda
I didn't notice it much as it adds to the sauce in the recipe.
Heather | girlichef
High praise, indeed. There's nothing I could argue with about this dish...spaghetti squash is my favorite variety of squash. This is some good comfort food with a healthy twist!
Lora @cakeduchess
So cool that your Italian dad loved this!! Not easy to please an Italian with something that isn't typically what they would make (I'm surrounded by Italians;). Fantastic way to enjoy something rich a little lighter!!
Ginny McMeans
You are a very brave woman Brenda! So glad your Italian father liked your Christmas meal. It looks wonderful!
Kate @ Diethood
That looks amaaaaze!!! Beefy and cheesy! I love it!
Sundays is definitely pasta days around here, too! 😀
Lauren@HealthyDelicious
Holy #%$^#* that looks good!!!
Yasmine Vargas
I like to add ground fennel to the lasagna meat. This makes it taste like there is Italian sausage in there(fennel is the main seasoning for Italian sausage). Your taste buds will be tricked!
TaraMisu
Or just replace the ground beef with Italian sausage that's what I'm trying right now
Cookin Canuck
I've been cooking with spaghetti squash this week too, and I love the idea of incorporating it into a lasagna casserole. I need to make this for my family!
Rose | The Clean Dish
Wow what a tasty looking lasagne!! I grew up with Italians (in Germany) so I feel pretty confident in judging a good past dish -- this here looks like a total winner!!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes
My husband and I are both Italian and yes, nothing beats a good pasta dish! I will have to try the spaghetti squash sometime.
Martha @ A Family Feast
Yummy - I won't even miss the pasta!
The Food Hunter
I've got to try and incorporate more squash into my meals
Carrie
This looks fantastic! My husband and I eat spaghetti squash 2-3 times a month, but I've never tried it in a casserole. I'm going to have to put this in the rotation!
By the way, number 7 on the instructions states "7.Add the remaining sauce over the cheese payer." Is "payer" = "layer"?
Thanks!
Brenda
Thank you!
Paula - bell'alimento
What a great way to use spaghetti squash!
Annette Stacy
I have a question. I tried spaghetti squash and it was crunchy. We did not like it in the recipe I made which called for it. Is the squash suppose to be crunchy? I am wondering if I just cooked it wrong. Please respond, this will determine whether I try this recipe or not. Also, I love your website. You use simple foods to make it work. I like that. Thank you much for sharing.
Cass at That Old House
If your squash was crunchy, it was not cooked long enough. The sweet spot for spaghetti squash is between the crunchy and mushy stages. If it happens to you again, scrape out the strands, put them in a covered bowl, and nuke 'em till their done. There's (almost) always a way to fix a cooking boo-boo.
Cass
Laura Cifelli
If your spaghetti squash was crunchy it definitely is not cooked long enough. As someone else said microwave it. I would put it in a bowl if you've already scraped it out of the shells cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the microwave for a few minutes. I also try to drain mine in a cool lender for a while so that it gets some of the moisture out.