Aromatic flavors that marry with the fresh earthiness of the squash… The tart smokiness for the sundried tomatoes and ground beef packaged in a beautiful bright yellow shell that makes your mouth water in anticipation of what’s to come.
This stuffed spaghetti squash recipe is quick, healthy, and budget-friendly, cooked up with just a few vegan ingredients. A meal that is guaranteed to bring a touch of color to your table and happiness to your palate.
Prep Time: 25 min| Cook Time: 50-60 min | Serves: 4 | Difficulty Level: ♦ – Easy Peasy
The filling
- 2 medium Spaghetti Squash
- 12 oz Ground Beef – plant based
- ½ cup Lima Beans
- ½ cup Artichoke Hearts – marinated in oil
- ½ cup Sundried Tomatoes
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Garlic Granules
- 1 tsp Salt
preparing the squash
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse and cut the squash in half, lengthwise, leaving the skin on. Put in an oven-safe dish face up with ½” of water and roast for 40 minutes. Drain the remaining water from the dish, remove the seeds, and set aside to cool.
Moving to the filling
On a cutting board, slice the sundried tomatoes into small strips, “julienne style”, and quarter the artichoke hearts.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef for 2 minutes. Add the lima beans, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, salt and seasoning. Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until fragrant.
Take the squash halves and, with the help of a fork, scrape out 2/3 of the flesh. This will look stringy, similar to spaghetti noodles, hence the name “spaghetti squash”. Add the flesh to the rest of the filling ingredients in the skillet. Return the skillet to the burner and sauté, just to combine the flavors, for 2 to 3 minutes.
Assembly
Set the oven to 375°F.
Fill the squash shells with the stuffing, and place in an oven-safe dish to bake for 15-20 min.
EXTRAS AND TIPS
Although you can execute the recipe with frozen artichoke hearts, I recommend using the kind that are marinated in oil and herbs, as it makes a much tastier filling without requiring the addition of much seasoning. The plant-based ground beef that I use is flavorful on its own, so my advice is not to add a full tsp of salt to the stuffing prior to tasting.
To find out a retailer that sells the “Smart Ground” beef, go ahead and visit https://lightlife.com/product/smart-ground-original/
Instead of baking the spaghetti squash when it’s stuffed, you can opt for a low broil, if your oven offers the setting. When broiling, put the dish on the 2nd rack from the top, since it will brown the surface nicely without burning it too much. Just a reminder that you should be sticking around when broiling food, even if you set a timer; your nose is the one timer you can always rely on.
