When it comes to dinner in our household, we’re looking for something with big flavor. Sometimes that presents itself as a rich and hearty casserole of sorts, other times we end up with a delicious, delightfully healthy dish that we can’t wait to make again and again, knowing we’re getting a well-balanced, flavorful meal. This dish falls into the second category, as we used spaghetti squash as the base, cutting out the empty carbs we’d be shoveling into our mouths if we’d gone with pasta…trust us, you will love this.

So, after looking at our squash and brainstorming a little bit, we ended up making a maple bacon spinach “sauce” that we drizzled over our “spaghetti,” then topped everything off with bleu cheese crumbles, walnuts and a balsamic reduction. Yum. Seriously, you won’t even notice you’re not eating pasta, as this stuff is amazing – plus, there’s no feeling guilty about going back for seconds! Win-win!

Spinach Bacon Spaghetti Squash

6

45 minutes

Ingredients
  • 1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise
  • 6-8 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
  • 2/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled, divided
  • 1/3 cup balsamic reduction [make if needed]
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 400º F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  2. Scoop out seeds from inside each half of your spaghetti squash, then drizzle olive oil on each side and season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Place squash halves face side down on your lined baking sheet and roast for 30-35 minutes, or until fork tender.
  4. Remove squash from oven until cool enough to handle.
  5. Cook bacon until crispy in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add champagne vinegar to deglaze your skillet, making sure to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of your pan.
  6. Then reduce heat to low and mix in maple syrup. Add in baby spinach and cook for 4-6 minutes, or until wilted.
  7. Remove mixture from heat. Use a fork to shred cooled spaghetti squash into “noodles.”
  8. Place noodles in a large bowl and toss with spinach bacon mixture. Add chopped nuts and 1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles. Mix everything together, then transfer to serving bowls.
  9. Top with blue cheese and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Live Eat Learn