When the colder months come around, we love to make spaghetti squash. This spaghetti squash with meat sauce recipe is so easy to make and a great way to sneak in vegetables without my kids even noticing. If you need to make it from start to finish quickly, it’s ready in an hour using lots of pantry ingredients, including your favorite marinara sauce.
It’s also simple to meal prep in advance – both the ground beef spaghetti sauce and squash can be cooked and stored separately in the fridge for easy assembly. If you’ve never made a spaghetti squash, it’s not complicated and really delicious. Be sure to try some of our other cozy Italian-inspired recipes for dinner, our chicken sausage and pasta and scallops pasta with a white wine sauce are two of our other most requested recipes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Comforting dinner in under an a hour. This spaghetti squash recipe with meat sauce is simple to prepare. The oven roasts the squash, while you prepare a quick and easy ground beef marinara sauce on the stove. It takes minimal effort for maximum flavor.
- Affordable 6-ingredient shopping list. Nothing fancy is required here, in fact, it’s so quick to shop this recipe at the grocery store too!
- Minimal equipment is needed. We hate when dinner uses a ton of pots and pans. All we need for this meal is a large skillet and a baking sheet.
Tips for Busy Cooks
When it comes to spaghetti squash, we’ve cooked them all different ways. We use the oven for this recipe, but we also love making them in the Instant Pot or air fryer during a busy week for quick and easy dinner prep.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Small spaghetti squashes – Make sure the squashes are the same size so they cook at the same rate. Smaller are better for a faster cook time.
- Olive oil – The cooking fat for the recipe.
- Ground beef – We recommend using lean here so the sauce isn’t greasy. If your beef releases a lot of liquid or fat, we recommend draining before adding the marinara sauce.
- Garlic cloves – Adds that delicious flavor we love in a meat sauce.
- Ground porcini powder – This is an optional ingredient, but highly recommended for depth of flavor. It makes a restaurant-quality sauce in a matter of minutes on a weeknight. If you can’t find the powder, then buy whole dried porcini mushrooms and grind them in a spice or coffee grinder until a fine powder.
- Dried oregano – You can also use 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano. It adds nice herbal flavor into the sauce.
- Marinara sauce – Buy a large 24 ounce jar of your favorite sauce.
- Fresh basil – Adds a bite of freshness to garnish.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – We sprinkle this at the end and broil until melted for that ooey and gooey texture similar to a pasta bake.
How to make spaghetti squash with meat sauce
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 1: Cut both spaghetti squashes in half and place them on a baking sheet, cut side up. Then, drizzle olive oil all over and generously season with salt and pepper.
Add ¼ cup of water to the baking sheet and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
Step 2: Cool the squash until it is safe to handle and then scrape the flesh with a fork to reveal the strands
Step 3: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef to the skillet along with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, garlic, porcini powder, if using, and oregano.
Cook the meat until no longer pink, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Add the marinara sauce and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil.
Step 5: Divide the meat sauce among 4 squash halves.
Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly on each squash boat.
Step 6: Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Try cooking your spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot or air fryer. These are two other hands-free baking options to make cooking a breeze. We have our foolproof method for the Instant Pot and as well as for the air fryer.
- Prep the meat sauce in advance to cut down on cooking time. It’s easy to prep the sauce a few days in advance and hold it in the fridge. Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through.
- Be sure to add ¼ cup of water to the baking sheet for the spaghetti squash. This will help it steam through to be very tender with every bite.
- Broiling the cheese right before serving is highly recommended. It’s a quick and easy step to make these spaghetti squash with meat sauce feel like a pasta bake without any of the hassle. You can omit the broiling if you want and just let the mozzarella melt with the residual heat of the squash on it’s own too.
- Swap the beef for ground chicken or ground turkey. For a lighter meat sauce, you can easily use another type of ground protein and it will still be hearty and delicious.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend storing the meat sauce separately from the cooked spaghetti squash. Then assemble and reheat to serve.
Reheat the squash in the microwave or oven for a couple of minutes until warmed through. Warm the meat sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave, then plate and broil with the cheese before serving.
If you have any ground beef tomato sauce leftover, you can freeze it for up to 2 months. We don’t recommend freezing the spaghetti squash, as it will make the texture watery once thawed.
FAQs
We roast it in the oven until tender in this recipe, but we’ve also cooked it in the Instant Pot as well as the air fryer for ease.
A classic tomato meat sauce is delicious or even a creamy alfredo sauce also pairs nicely too.
If you are roasting it, then it should take between 45 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the squash.
More delicious Italian-inspired recipes
Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 small spaghetti squashes Note 1
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 6 garlic cloves minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons ground porcini powder optional but highly recommended Note 1
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 (24oz) jar marinara sauce
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
To prepare the spaghetti squashes:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the spaghetti squash on a stable cutting board. If needed, place a damp towel under the cutting board to prevent it from sliding.
- Hold one end of the squash with your non-dominant hand, and using a sharp chef’s knife, pierce the squash in the middle and cut through the squash lengthwise.
- Then, turn the squash vertically and cut through the other end.
- Using a spoon, scrape and scoop out the seeds. Repeat with the other squash.
To cook the spaghetti squashes:
- Place the spaghetti squash halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
- Then, drizzle olive oil all over and generously season with salt and pepper.
- Add ¼ cup of water to the baking sheet and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
- Cool the squash until it is safe to handle and then scrape the flesh with a fork to reveal the strands.
To make the meat sauce:
- Heat a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat.
- Add the beef to the skillet along with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, garlic, porcini powder, if using, and oregano.
- Cook the meat until no longer pink, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. (TIP: I don’t use any oil when cooking ground beef. But if needed, feel free to heat about a tablespoon of olive oil before adding the beef.)
- Add the marinara sauce and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in basil.
To assemble and serve:
- Divide the meat sauce among 4 squash halves.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly on each squash boat.
- Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Enjoy!
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Notes
– Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend storing the meat sauce separately from the cooked spaghetti sauce.
– Reheat the squash in the microwave oven for a couple of minutes until warmed through. Warm the meat sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave, then plate and broil with the cheese before serving.
– If you have any ground beef tomato sauce leftover, you can freeze that for up to 2 months. We don’t recommend freezing the spaghetti squash, as it will make the texture watery once thawed.
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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