We are still eating the spaghetti squash from our garden this past summer. I stashed a few of them in a large brown bag in my garage one day (trying to make space on my countertops) and totally forgot about them until this past weekend. Amazingly, they are all still good, even after a few months.
So, when I was looking for a veggie-rich dish to make for dinner tonight, I decided to make a lasagna-like casserole using the spaghetti squash strands (thus the name squash-sagna). I was in one of those “clean out the fridge and freezer” moods, so I used some frozen pasta sauce that I made over the summer. I had added mushrooms and bell peppers to make a thick, nutritious sauce. It seemed like a lot of work at the time, but I was glad to have it on hand! If you don’t have sauce in your freezer, any chunky prepared tomato sauce will do.
This is one of those recipes where the amounts of each ingredient are fairly flexible. I had a fairly large spaghetti squash and adjusted the ingredients to fill a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. You could easily use a smaller dish or add more layers based on what you have on hand.
Spaghetti Squash-sagna
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 4 cups chunky tomato sauce
- 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 ounce parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Cut the ends off the spaghetti squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and lay cut side down on a microwaveable plate or dish. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 8-10 minutes, until slightly soft but not mushy.
Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Once the sausage is cooked through, add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the spinach and saute for just a minute or two, until the spinach has wilted into the sausage mixture. Remove from the heat.
Use a fork to scoop out the spaghetti-like strands from the squash. Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of squash, using about half of the squash. Top with half of the tomato sauce.
Spread the sausage mixture in a layer over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella and parmigiano-reggiano cheeses.
Continue to add layers, using the rest of the spaghetti squash, tomato sauce, and finally cheeses.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes and then broil for 2-3 minutes, until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Allow to rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving.
That right there is one of my favorite dishes Jen…. but I REALLY love the name spaghetti squash-sagna…LOL! Too cute.
this looks wonderful
that looks like it would be perfect on a cold day!
That is a great way to use spaghetti squash! Thanks for sharing :)
That is a very creative way to use up spaghetti squash! I also love that I can have it and avoid some of those carbs with dinner so I can have more cookies!! Lovely!
Such a creative lasagna….delicious! I love that squash can sit around for along time. It’s great that you found it before it went bad.
Awesome! I’m putting this on my menu for next week.
A terrific idea to make a lasagna with spaghetti squash, super delicious!
What a great recipe! Am saving this one for sure. It’s also good to know that the squash last a long time…
This looks delicious! I’ve never cooked with spaghetti squash but would love to give it a try.
I am making this tonight!
This looks soooo good! What a great idea. I am always trying to find new ways to use spaghetti squash.
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. I never even heard of spaghetti squash. I will definitely make this again.
I have been trying to look for a dish as I have a ton of spaghetti squash in my garden it fit the bill perfectly! Seriously this is the first time I have made a recipe that came out looking exactly like the picture my husband was amazed and loved it as well. Thanks so much!
Just finished my first portion of this casserole. My first time having spaghetti squash.SO GOOD! I just hope my husband likes too. We are 6 weeks wheat free so needed an alternative to lasagna. Thanks!
Eating this now and it is soooo yummy! Spaghetti squash really has a nice texture in a casserole, I don’t miss the pasta at all. I really like the combination of italian sausage with spinach – it complements the squash really well. Thank you!
We made this last night and absolutely LOVED it! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe! This one is definitely going in our recipe binder and I plan to make it again soon!
This is so delicious…wondering if you know the nutritional breakdown?
Hi, Korey – Unfortunately, I don’t have the nutritional breakdown for the recipe.
I used ground turkey instead of the sausage and it was great!
I have made this and it is so yummy. I add other veggies to it and it is awesome. Making some for dinner tonight.
This was so good!!!! Way better than expected. Thanks so much for the recipe! We cut our squash in half and baked cut-side down at 375 or so until done. Dried it out a bit, which was nice for this purpose–especially since I had rather watery homemade tomato sauce. Thank you again!!
This is a big hit in our household! I made it once, because I was craving spaghetti since my fiance and I were both on a low carb diet. This satisfies all cravings we have. It has been requested on occasion. My computer crashed recently and I thought I lost your recipe! I remembered the picture and found it again. Thank you!
This was VERY good! The sausage made the recipe more approachable for my husband and I (nonvegaterians) and also helped balance out the texture of the squash. I added a lot more spinach, and I think I’ll use a large squash next time, as well as spicy sausage. I’ll definitely make it again, and i’m so happy to have found this blog. Thank you!