Creamy, skinny spaghetti squash in a light alfredo sauce. A mouthwatering, healthy meatless meal!
Some of you are probably thinking, “what the heck is this thing?” and “is that really spaghetti in there?” It’s a spaghetti squash and nope, no pasta here. This is the squash’s natural texture when baked… cool, huh?
It’s not only beautiful but absolutely delicious. Spaghetti squash has a very slight sweetness that really complements any savory flavors you stuff into it. In this case, I absolutely loved the Food Doodles take on it with a rich-tasting yet light alfredo sauce.
Topped with a bubbling hot, creamy mixture of milk, garlic, Parmesan and a teensy bit of butter, this squash alfredo was nothing short of sca-rumptious!
Pick up a pretty spaghetti squash, bake it up, and whack it in half. Pull out the seeds, give it a good rake with a fork and pour in your silky smooth cream sauce. Pile on the Parmesan – the more the better! – and broil until browned. Then, all that’s left to do is dig in!
You’ll love this healthy vegetarian squash alfredo. It’s fun to make and experiment with something new, especially if you haven’t introduced many meatless meals into your weeknight lately. Try it tonight!
Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk, I used fat-free
- 1 Tablespoon cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons extra for topping
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Crushed red pepper flakes and fresh parsley, for optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- First, prep the squash. Cut spaghetti squash in half using a large sharp knife, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet covered with water. Bake until tender, about an hour.
- As an alternate way of baking: Poke a few holes deep into the whole squash with a paring knife. Bake for 60 minutes, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes before slicing in half with a large serrated knife. Scoop out the seedy inside leaving the spaghetti strands.
- Once squash is cooked, use a fork to gently scrape the “spaghetti” strands into the center.
- For the sauce, melt butter in a small pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, cooking for another minute while stirring. Whisk in milk until no lumps remain. Once hot, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.
- Spoon sauce equally into each spaghetti squash half. Gently pull up the spaghetti strands to coat as much as possible with the sauce. Top with extra Parmesan and place under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.
- Top each half with a pinch of red pepper flakes and fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Serve hot.
- Enjoy!
I’m not much of a spaghetti squash person but this alfredo here has totally sold me on it!
This looks seriously delicious. You’re so creative.
Ok- I’ve been wanting to try spaghetti squash for ages and this looks like the perfect recipe to start with. Love it!
I like how you put it all in the shell of the squash — I usually mutilate it so bad when shredding the squash, it’s not that pretty. Maybe I’ll have to learn to be more delicate, love this presentation! :)
Looks yummy!
I’d love to try this…it looks so delicious! Btw, I just love the title of your blog – it sums up how I feel. : )
I love spaghetti squash and I love alfredo!!
I have been wanting to try spaghetti squash for a long time but have not found a good way to use it, until now. This looks delicious!
Love the idea of using a spaghetti squash with alfredo sauce!
Such a creative idea! You have the best “skinny” recipes!
I’ve been itching to try spaghetti squash for the longest time, this looks awesome!
How very unique and how beautifully photographed.
This is such a great idea, Georgia! It looks wonderful!
I think Spaghetti Squash is one of the most terrific foods around. Versatile vegetarian cusine that is both sophisticated and earthy. Your recipe is quite inventive and I will definitely try it this way. Thanks for sharing.
This looks wonderful!
To take this over the top….add a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg!!
this looks and sounds so good. i love spaghetti squash…never had with alfredo.
How abosolutely creative! I love it
My mom always made spaghetti squash for us, and this looks like such a fun adaptation of her favorite. Thank you for sharing another great recipe, sweet friend!
I haven’t had spaghetti squash in so long! Topping with alfredo is a great idea. Mmm!
Such a great idea! I love spaghetti squash but I feel like I always make it the same way every time. Can’t wait to give this a try!
What a great twist for spaghetti squash! I am a lover – have two in my possession right now – will definitely be giving this a try!
What a wonderful idea!
I’m almost speechless over this deliciousness.
I want this cheesy delicious to jump out of my screen :D
Cheers
CCU
Made this for dinner tonight. Was super good! I added some spinach to it as well just to sneak in more veggies. Next time I’m going to add some chicken and see how that works. Glad I found this recipe!
This is genius! I love love love spaghetti squash.
So I’m cooking the squash for a total of 2 hours? I thought it typically takes about 60 min. total cooking time. Let me know, i would love to try this….
As the recipe states, only just over an hour of cooking time is required.
I’ve been searching for a recipe like this Georgia! I just bought some spaghetti squash too. :)
I’m almost 30 and have NEVER eaten spaghetti squash, but I’ve been pinning spaghetti squash recipes like crazy. This looks simple, different, and delicous!
I made it tonight. It was very good but even though i cut the garlic to 2 cloves i still thought it was too much garlic
Made this tonigh! Was soo good!
Yum! Definitely must try this, thanks for the great idea!
This looks awesome! I’m on a huge spaghetti squash kick right now and can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Why am I misunderstanding this? Do you cut in half before you bake or after? The recipe first says cut in half scoop out seeds and bake then let rest cut in half and scoop out seeds.
Great recipie! I prepated my squash in the microwave…poke holes in a whole one squash & cook for 12 min. Rotate every 3 minutes. Cut open and scoop seeds out!
This recipe is amazing!! We made it two times last week because we loved it so much! Once on a Tuesday & then again on Saturday when we had guests. We have 3 little boys (6,4, &2) & they ALL had at least 2 helpings…one of them had 4 helpings!! The second time I made it, I served broccoli as well as grilled chicken/onions. BEST combo ever!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe!!!! It’s a keeper!!
*KAREN – re-read the instructions. I had the same confusion initially as I was scanning over the directions. She specifically says “ALTERNATELY” after the 1st method to give you another method of cooking the squash. Hope that helps you :)
This looks great, do you have nutritional information for it??
Julie, thanks…I feel foolish. Now I see what you mean. I guess I just read it too fast. Going to try this weekend :)
You can find nutritional info at the link for the original recipe, here: http://fooddoodles.com/2013/01/10/skinny-spaghetti-squash-alfredo/
Yum! Yours looks awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the link :)
My mom eats spaghetti squash all of the time. I’m going to make this for her when she visits! And, gorgeous new site design, by the way! :)
This was amazing I just made it tonight, cut back on the flour and parm cheese and substituted I cant believe its not butter for butter and it was incredible! I added garlic salt and tos of garlic powder..LOVED IT
Absolutely amazing! The sauce tastes just like the fat-filled cream version. It’d be great on whole wheat pasta, too!
You don’t need to bake a squash for an hour to get it like that….who has time to wait. Take your squash stab it a bunch of times with a knife when you are finished place it a microwave safe plate. Put it in the microwave for 12 minutes. After that time flip the squash over and microwave it for 8 minutes. When it is dont take it out of the microwave and cut in half. Done.
For EVERYONE that made the squash, did you see a difference in her alternate ways of cooking- does it turn out any different if i cut the squash first vs poking holes and then cooking? The 2nd way sounds easier, but since its my first time ever making, thought i would ask….
I tried this recipe last night and it was fantastic!! I liked it so much that I decided to share it on my blog later today!!!! Thank you for sharing
Hi Georgia!
This is so delicious! The sauce turned out perfect for me, not too runny and not too thick. I made it a couple of weeks ago and my boyfriend loved it. Today when we went grocery shopping he picked up some spaghetti squash because he wanted to have this for dinner tonight. He also loved those macarons from the sucre giveaway!
I’m so glad you and your boyfriend enjoyed this dish! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Made this tonight, and the alfredo sauce is delicious! I’m a big spaghetti squash fan, and I’ll definitely be adding this into the rotation. I did have some issues getting the parmesan cheese to melt into the sauce. I think I may not have had the sauce warm enough before adding. Very tasty though!
I love spaghetti squash – love it! I usually pile on tons of red sauce (sometimes veggie sometimes meat)) but never a sauce like this! This looks absolutely delicious.
Oh this looks so delicious, I love that this is healthy too!
Super good! Made it a few times already!!
Made this tonight. Yum! I deviated from the instructions-I culled out the squash after cooking one hour. Only used half and all mixed the ingredients in a bowl with squash. Poured into a glass pie plate , sprinkled parm and broied on low until slightly burned on top. Saving the other half for another dish.
spaghetti is my favorite food,,
:)
I tried this and it was really good. I did take all the squash out and put it in a baking dish after it was done in the oven. Then I poured the sauce over it. I ate some of it like it was then I tried some of it with some cubed chicken that I browned lightly in some olive oil. I really liked it that way better. Thanks for the recipe as I will definitely make it again.
Is there anyone that has tried to make this gluten and dairy free. I really want to try it but can’t have gluten or dairy. I’m not sure what to replace the Parmesan cheese with or cream cheese. If anyone has ideas I would love to hear them. Thank you.
Does anyone know that calorie content of this recipe?
In case anyone was wondering, for 1 serving (if it makes a total of 2) it’s 10 WW points…. need to find a way to get it a bit lower!!
Thank you……thank you…..thank you. Just finished making this and not only was it easy to make but it also was DELICIOUS!!!M
I can officially say this was delicious! I love spaghetti squash in the first place, but never would have thought to pair it with alfredo sauce. So good and so easy! Thanks for the great recipe Georgia!
Just made this, and it was a huge hit! Delicious and simple to make. Will be a frequent flyer at my house!
Made this last night, it was so delicious! My husband loved it too! I like that it’s baked in with the spaghetti squash, gives it a fun flair.
You can cut it open (remove seeds) and place in a microwave safe dish with a little water and cover it with saran wrap with a hole poked for a vent and cook for 10 minutes. One half at a time. It is easy and comes out just as wonderful as the oven.
When I told my fiancé we were having spaghetti squash, his first thought was spaghetti with squash in it? Second thought was, where are the carry-out menus. When I put this on the table, he was blown away. Sooo good! Thank you!
This was amazing! Made it for the fiancé and I last night, we ate it ALL! lol, He says its a keeper and wants it again asap :) I needed to add a little more flour to get the sauce to thicken, and I also added parsley to the sauce :) So good!
just happened upon your site. I think it’s great you have diabetic friendly options! really helpful and i can’t wait to try this once the weather cools off!
I had never cooked with spaghetti squash before tonight. THIS WAS DELISH! I used the first option of cooking and it turned out perfectly. I also forgot cream cheese so I didn’t add that and it was still thick. I also got some of the water out of the squash by spinning in my salad spinner. You knocked it out of the park with this one.
Husband tasted, husband approved.
This looks awesome. I have a spaghetti squash in my fridge right now that I’m going to use to make this recipe!
Made this dish and it was delicious! I might actually reduce the amount of sauce a bit, though. The “spaghetti” seemed like it was drowning in the sauce.
This was soooo good. It’s definitely a keeper!
Do you cover the squash with foil or anything or do you just put water in the dish and bake uncovered? I am confused on the wording… Cover with water in the pan, or cover with water?
Hi Julie – Just place the squash in the pan, cover with water until the water level reaches just below the rim of the baking sheet, and bake uncovered.
Just made this for dinner, and we both LOVED it! Instead of the parmesan (I didn’t have any) I used half sharp cheddar and half mozzarella, and added feta. The feta was perfect in it, actually. I almost just used store-bought alfredo, but I’m glad I didn’t.
I’ll definitely be making this again…especially since squash is so cheap and in season right now.
How many people can you feed with this recipe? I have a potluck to attend and was thinking of making this.
The number of servings are just below the recipe title.
Looks great! Any suggestions for what to substitute the flour with for a gluten-free version?
I’m not sure, sorry. You could maybe try almond flour?
My biggest issue was that my sauce was to liquidy – Not sure how I can thicken it up for future.
After adding the milk, you can whisk in a slurry (1 tsp. water combined with 1 tsp. cornstarch in a small bowl) to thicken up the sauce.
How deep is the pan you use to bake the squash in? Is it only submerged a little or completely ?
It’s just submerged a little; I used a standard large baking sheet.
Hello! I tried this recipe last week and loved it so much that I included it in my latest blog post (myappleaday.com). Swing on by and check it out! Thanks for the awesome recipe! It’s a keeper. : )
So great! My sauce was a little thin as well, but I just added a sprinkling of corn flour and thickened it up. When I saw the sauce, I was skeptical that it would be good but actually, the flavor was fantastic. I sprinkled a healthy sprinkle of hot chili flakes on the top. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
Thanks; maybe I will try this tonight! I’m gluten-free, though, so I’m hoping GF all-purpose flour will work in place of the regular flour.
I made this tonight. It was sooooo good. My picky eaters even liked it.
I made this tonight and it was heavenly!!! do you mind if i post the recipe on my blog, in my own words and using my own pictures? i will give full credit to you.
Feel free to post on your blog, all I ask is that my recipe is not copied word-for-word. So glad you enjoyed this!
I made this receipe and it was fabulous. I made a few modifications – used garlic spread instead of garlic and butter and added garlic herb cream chese and it was very flavourable – yummy!!
My whole family loved this! Thank you for such a great recipe!!!
Make this gluten free by using almond flour. I used almond milk, halved the parmesan & added chicken, it was fantastic! This is definitely a keeper!!
Did this tonight and was it great!! Thank you.
Made this tonight! It was so good. I wouldn’t necessarily call this “skinny” Alfredo but definitely better than the real kind with pasta on top of that! Would definitely make this again!
I made (a modified version of) this tonight and it was great! I used soy creamer and vegan cream cheese to reduce some of the fat and calories and it was awesome! Also added some white pepper, onion powder, a tiny bit of paprika to kick the flavor up. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Very delicious, enjoyed every bite. Shared half with a friend she also enjoyed it. Will be making it again real soon !!!!!!
My husband ABSOLUTELY loves this recipe! Can’t hardly get him to eat spaghetti squash any other way.
Wow! This is delicious. And so easy. I’m the mother of a teenage daughter with Diabetes and and also an RD. I am always looking for healthier recipes for her and this is perfect! She doesn’t miss the pasta and she loves it! Thanks!
made tonight!!! Amazing really good !!! Used heavy cream instead. Really good!
It’s like having a food-gasm! I added shredded chicken to the sauce and it was just super scrumptious! :)
Trying this tonight! Looks yummy!
I just want to let everyone know that I have now been making this recipe consistently for more than a year…it’s amazing! I usually add some cooked chicken to it for some protein. SO GOOD!
Delicious and filling! I served it with some leftover turkey. When adding the cream cheese bring it almost to a boil, constantly whisking till the cream cheese is melted. The sauce should be thickening at this point. Mine did. Then remove the pot from heat and add the parmesan cheese. Hope this helps those who found it runny.
Will be making this again. Thank you!
I made this dish for my husband and me and Wow! What a hit! We loved it and plan on making this more often. Thank you.
That looks amazingly good! I would have had a slice for dinner too!