Did you know that today is National Pasta Day? I love pasta just as much as the next kid does. However, as I have gotten older I have tried to eat a little healthier. Trust me this is hard to do because I am an American German Mexican who loves food and lives in a meat eating state – Texas proud.
So, in honor of National Pasta Day I made Spaghetti Squash with spinach tomato sauce – it’s my healthy version of pasta. Healthy food can be flavorful and yummy if cooked or made correctly. Spaghetti squash is low in calories as opposed to a traditional pasta that can easily have over 100 calories per serving. I could happily eat 4 servings of spaghetti squash which will only amount to 100 calories. Talk about a health kick!
In this recipe I made an amazing spaghetti sauce that is packed with the nutritional benefits of spinach which include vitamin A, C, K, iron, calcium and so much more. I added cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic, and onions to complete the full body flavor that has my children coming back for more. I hope you enjoy my healthy version of pasta.
Buen Provecho!
Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Tomato Sauce
Printable Version
Yield: Serves 4 Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
-1 Spaghetti Squash
-1 – 28 ounce Can of Tomato Puree
-1 -28 ounce Can of Water
-4 Cups of Spinach
-1 Yellow Onion
-4 Garlic
-2 teaspoons of Cumin
-2 teaspoons of Paprika
-2 teaspoons of Oregano
-2 teaspoons of Coarse Kosher Salt
-Olive Oil
Equipment Needed:
-Measuring Spoon
-Measuring Cup
-Fine Strainer
-Large Sauté Pan
-Baking Dish (Cookie Sheet is fine)
-Serving Dishes
-Large Knife
-Cutting Board
-Can Opener
-Spatula
-Fork
Prep & Directions:
Spaghetti Squash
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
-Get the spaghetti squash, cutting board, and knife, then slice the spaghetti squash in
half-length wise
-After the spaghetti is sliced in half remove all the seeds and discard
-Get a baking sheet and drizzle a little bit of olive oil onto the sheet
-Drizzle a little olive oil onto the inside of the spaghetti squash and place the spaghetti
squash onto the baking sheet with the skin facing out
-Place the spaghetti squash into the preheated oven and set the timer for 35 minutes
-Check your spaghetti squash at 35 minutes to see if it is cooked
-Take the spaghetti squash out of the oven and turn the spaghetti squash over and
use a fork to lift the spaghetti apart and taste- it should be soft and not al dente
-If the spaghetti squash is not fully cooked place back in the oven for another 10
minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until cooked
Spinach Tomato Sauce
-Get the cutting board and finely dice 1 yellow onion and set aside
-Peel 4 pieces of garlic and finely dice the garlic and set aside
-Get a large sauté pan and put it on the stove and turn the gas/electric knob to a high
setting
-Drizzle a little olive oil onto the sauté pan and pour the diced onion and garlic and
sauté using a spatula until golden brown
-Get your measuring cup and get 4 cups of spinach and rinse under cool water
-After the onion and garlic are golden brown then add the 4 cups of spinach onto the
sauté pan
-Gently sauté the spinach, onion, garlic and sprinkle a dash or two of coarse kosher
salt
-Get a can opener and open the can of tomato puree and pour into the sauté pan
-Using the same tomato can pour cold water into the can and then pour into the sauté
pan
-Gently stir the spinach, tomato puree, onion, garlic sauce and reduce the heat to a
low setting
-Add 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons of paprika, 3 teaspoons of oregano, 2
teaspoons of coarse kosher salt to the sauce in the sauté pan
-Gently stir all the ingredients in the sauté pan until cooked
Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Tomato Sauce
-Once the spaghetti squash is cooked, get a fork and swirl the spaghetti squash in a
circle motion to get a small serving and place on your serving plate, repeat this
process until you have 3 small spaghetti squash swirls on the serving plate
-Get a spoon and pour the cooked spaghetti sauce on the serving dish and pour a
little bit of sauce with spinach on top of the spaghetti squash, repeat this process
until each spaghetti squash swirl has sauce with spinach on top
-Get a fork and eat
*****Feel free to add more ingredients and season to suit your taste buds*****