Turkey Bolognese Spaghetti Squash Casserole Recipe
If you have never been able to like spaghetti squash, let’s try again. My husband and son are just not fans, whereas my daughters and I love it. I think if you go into spaghetti squash expecting a pasta alternative, you’re going to be disappointed. I never feel like I am eating spaghetti when I twirl strands of squash on my fork, whether it’s zoodles or spaghetti squash. But I do like it for what it is.
Tomato sauce is a familiar, well-loved food that could help the palatability of spaghetti squash, which tends to be a little bland and sweet. But if I pair tomato sauce (also naturally sweet) with spaghetti squash, I generally like to balance out all that sweetness with spicy (adding crushed red pepper to the sauce), or an umami ingredient like Parmesan, roasted eggplant or mushrooms, or something bitter like kale.
I was thinking about how to make a baked spaghetti squash recipe, kind of lasagne style. Besides a veggie lasagne (I have a roasted veggie lasagne and a vegan lasagne on my site), I love Ina Garten’s addition of turkey sausage to her lasagne. I do not love how much cheese she adds though. It’s way too heavy for me. So I tried a lightened up turkey sausage spaghetti squash bake and it turned out totally amazing.
The same way I add eggs to ricotta in a lasagne, I had to add eggs here to bind it all together. But arrowroot or flax eggs make a good sub. The key with baked spaghetti squash casseroles is really just to bake them uncovered for a long time to get all that moisture to evaporate, otherwise it’s a soupy mess. The result is a casserole you can cut and serve, and because the spaghetti squash is technically a vegetable, this is a complete meal in my eyes. See this quick Youtube video for how I like to cut spaghetti squash.
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Since it’s officially fall, sweater weather, and PSL season, it’s also casserole time! Yes, my husband and Mr. Picky (my son) approve of this casserole and I am willing to bet it will convert a few people out there. See the bottom of the recipe for some suggestions on how to swap out the eggs or meat. It’s just as good vegan, I swear! Let me know if you guys make this recipe or any of my recipes by tagging me @pamelasalzman #pamelasalzman. I just love seeing your creations!! XO
Turkey Bolognese Spaghetti Squash Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash about 3 ½ to 4 pounds
- Unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling squash
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound fresh not precooked mild bulk turkey sausage (out of the casing*) or use ground turkey
- 2-3 cups prepared marinara sauce divided
- 2 large eggs beaten (preferred) or ¼ cup arrowroot or 2 “flax eggs”**
- Grated parmesan or pecorino cheese optional
- To finish: fresh parsley or fresh basil chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Rub the inside of each half with a drizzle of olive oil and season with ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Arrange cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 to 45 minutes until tender. DO NOT OVEROOK! Test them by inserting a fork between the flesh and the skin and try to rake the strands. Set aside cut-side up until they are cool enough to handle. Leave oven on if baking casserole immediately and RAISE TEMP TO 400°F.
- Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
- Warm a large skillet over medium heat, and add the sausage and sauté, breaking up the meat into small pieces. Sauté until cooked through and browned slightly, about 5-6 minutes. Add the remaining tomato sauce (use less or more depending on your taste) and bring to a simmer.
- Using a fork, pull the strands of squash crosswise from the peel so that it resembles spaghetti.
- Toss squash strands with the beaten eggs (or arrowroot) and then the turkey sauce and transfer to an 11 x 7 (thicker casserole) or 13 x 9 (thinner casserole) baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese if desired. Bake until firm and not mushy or watery, about 45-50 minutes. If you want to brown the top a little, you can broil it for a minute. This is a great make-ahead meal and even freezes well.
Notes
**To make 2 flax eggs combine 2 Tbs. ground flax meal with 6 Tbs. warm water and let sit 15 minutes before adding to the squash.
You can also omit the meat; or swap in 1 pound of COOKED lentils seasoned to taste with or without sausage seasonings, or 1 pound browned crumbled tempeh, or a high quality plant-based sausage product like No Evil. There are lots of options here.
27 Comments
10/10 !!!! why did i wait so long to make this recipe! Used minced turkey added italian seasoning + dried fennel + sauteed shallots + garlic. Another fab recipe pamela!
Haha! Better late than never!
could this be assembled and sit in fridge over night before re heat? making for a friend and not sure they will re heat right away
Sure! Just make sure your friend knows how long this bakes for (45-50 minutes).
This was so, so good. The first time I made as written, the second time I subbed in lentils… everyone loved it, especially my three kids who (generally) don’t like spaghetti squash. Thank you, Pamela!
Yay for mom! That’s so great to hear 🙂
Is it ok to use ground white meat chicken for this? Don’t have turkey. Nor do I have sausage seasoning but I have Italian seasoning.
Absolutely! You can also add crushed red pepper flakes and fennel seeds if you have it. Make sure to taste for seasoning before combining the chicken mixture with the spaghetti squash in case it needs additional salt.
This was delicious and my husband couldn’t get over how good the kitchen smelled when baking! I actually made half with an Eataly bolognese I had on hand, and half with Trader Joe’s lentils, and both were tasty. It was definitely key to broil and my parmesan layer crisped up nicely. Thank you SO MUCH for this healthy fall dish!
Fabulous adaptations!!
Enjoyed this for dinner tonight! I had printed off the recipe and forgot to make a note about adding some crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce, but that will be the only thing I do differently next time I make this. Not sure I can add anything that hasn’t already been said in the post or in the comments, other than to ditto how delicious it is and everyone says the recipe is a keeper!
Great! Yes, I agree a pinch or more of crushed red pepper would be great. You can also use spicy sausage if you can find it.
Made this today and it is fantastic! I used ground turkey and just added a simple sausage seasoning recipe I found online. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Great!!
Thank you for this! If freezing, what do you rec? Fully bake, par bake? Thank you!
Since the ingredients have already been cooked, you can do either. I would just defrost fully before baking. I tested freezing a fully baked casserole.
Pamela – how far ahead of time can I make the spaghetti squash ? Day before??
This was delicious! Even the squash skeptics came back for seconds.
I’d like to try making this with tempeh. Do I add sausage seasoning to the tempeh when browsing or another type of seasoning
I must try this! I am a Canadian reader and recently discovered your blog. I bought “Quicker than quick” – such great recipes! I have made the turkey meatballs, wild salmon California bowls, inside out vegetarian spring roll bowl, sheet pan shrimp with broccoli, and the Moroccan sheet pan chicken to name several. Delicious and my family loved
Thank you!!
can you us what kind of sausage you use and where you buy it ? I would love to make it. I live in the LA area too.
I either buy the fresh, mild Italian sausage made in-house at my Whole Foods or I buy ground dark meat turkey and add Italian sausage seasoning.
This looks delicious. I am curious what you mean by “sausage seasonings”. I own (and love) both of your cookbooks. Do you share a spice blend in there?
Thanks for the inspiration!!
Hi Kay, I use the premade mild Italian sausage seasoning blend that my Whole Foods uses to season ground turkey to make turkey sausage. Penzey’s also sells one and you can find many recipes online for seasoning pork to make sausage.
Great sausage seasoning recipe
1 1⁄2
teaspoons salt
3 1⁄2
teaspoons paprika
2⁄3
teaspoon garlic granules or 2/3 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄3
teaspoon fennel seed
1
teaspoon ground black pepper
1⁄4
teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, for spicy (optional)
I made this today – oh my word – I could have eaten the whole pound of lentils straight out of the pot!!
So so good – thanks for sharing.