The weather is chilly and the season for comfort food is upon us! One of my favorite go to dishes this time of year is spaghetti squash with a meat sauce. This can easily be made with ground turkey, chicken or beef. If you are in a rush to get dinner on the table you can skip a few steps by buying a jar of ready made tomato sauce but it can be tricky finding one that does not have added sugars or other ingredients that are not Paleo friendly. There are a few good pre-made sauces out there, you just need to take extra caution when looking over the ingredient lists.
Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Meat Sauce
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper
- dash of garlic salt
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese (This is an optional ingredient depending on whether you eat dairy or not)
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Brush 1/2 tablespoon olive oil onto the cut side of each squash and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Place cut side up on a large, rimmed baking sheet or in a glass dish and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, until the squash insides easily shred with a fork. Be careful not to overcook as squash can become mushy.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and and cook for 2 minutes. Add turkey and garlic and cook until turkey is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and add Italian seasoning.
- Add tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and stir well to combine everything. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Scrape out insides of spaghetti squash with a fork. Serve with meat sauce and enjoy!
Original recipe and photo courtesy of foodgawker.com
Eat Clean. Train Dirty. 