Spaghetti Squash Pasta

I have this little trick that I do.

When I feel like eating pasta but I don't want to be totally bloated for a couple days afterwards, I make this.  I'm calling it my spaghetti squash pasta because you can eat it just like pasta but it is squash.  But let's be honest here.  It doesn't taste exactly the same as real pasta but this is a fantastic, healthy substitute.  

Makes 4 servings

1 2-lb spaghetti squash

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F.

Prick the squash with a fork repeatedly.  Place the squash on a baking pan and cover it with foil.  Bake the squash for 30 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and rotate the squash.  Bake it for another 30 minutes.  

Once the squash is slightly cooled, cut the squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds and use a fork to scrap the flesh of the squash into strands.

I took step-by-step pictures for this post so it is super easy to follow along.  This is the spaghetti squash.  It looks like a large yellow egg-shape squash to me. 

I used a regular fork to prick the squash all over.  This is a very important step.  If you skip this step, the squash may explode in your the oven.  The possibility of that happening sounds a little scary and messy so poke holes everywhere.

I covered the baking pan with two layers of aluminum foil just in case something does explode and it helps the squash to steam.  Be careful when you take out the squash after the 1st 30 minutes of baking.  It rolls around in the pan and you don't want the squash falling out accidentally.  That sounds like something I would do.

Scoop out the seeds and start scraping down the squash with a fork.

Ta-da!  Low carb pasta!  I can't say it's no carbs because vegetables are carbs but this is pretty darn close.  The squash tastes nice and crunchy and that is exactly the texture that you want.  If the texture is mushy, the squash was cooked for too long.  I'm going to share what I put on top of the spaghetti squash pasta tomorrow so stay tuned.