Spaghetti Squash Caprese Bake is the perfect dinner dish to try for fall. Healthy, delicious and full of flavor.Try your hand at making spaghetti squash. You’ll see it’s easier than you think! Caprese is a simple combo of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, that makes a great appetizer, so I thought, why not transform it into a tasty dinner meal. Spaghetti Squash has a light sweet flavor that blends well with all the freshness of the tomatoes and basil.
If you’ve never made spaghetti squash now is your chance! It bakes so beautifully and breaks apart simply with a fork. I layered the ingredients in this recipe and then baked in the oven.
How Hungry Harvest Is Changing How I Cook
I subscribe to a produce subscription box, Hungry Harvest which offers a variety of fruits and vegetables delivered to your door, for a competitive price. There is always a variety and you can customize things you want to go in your box from week to week (if you are picky). I get a veggie only box, every other week, but you can do both fruits and veggies too. Hungry Harvest’s mission is to end food waste and hunger. Over-produced and slightly imperfect fruits and veggies are commonly tossed out by stores and growers, which is where Hungry Harvest comes in. They prevent food waste, and they donate to local food banks across the country for every box purchased. Here in Philly they donate right to Philabundance.
I’ve been a Hungry Harvest subscriber since 2017 and it has helped me tremendously stay on track eating my veggies and trying new things. I never tried to cook spaghetti squash until hungry harvest delivery sent me one last year.
Try Hungry Harvest
Interested in trying it for yourself? Get $5 off your first order with my exclusive discount link here. Here is the produce I received the week I made the caprese bake! It was so easy to combine the ingredients in the box into a couple of meals. I used the spinach, cherry tomatoes and spaghetti squash to create this recipe. The other veggies were great in salad for the week.
Cooking Spaghetti Squash
I was so amazed at how easy it was to cook! I’m not convinced spaghetti squash is a complete replacement for pasta in your favorite Italian family dinner dish, (just not the same taste or consistency) but it is something you can incorporate into your recipes pretty easily as a healthy and flavorful option.
With a sharp knife cut the squash in half, or into large slices (it will cut into about 4 slices). Drizzle lightly with olive oil to the meat of the squash. heat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes. Take out and with a fork, scrape out the inside starting at one edge of the squash and moving across. It will “shred” into pasta like pieces.
Price
In season spaghetti squash is reasonably priced, from 99 cents to $1.99 a pound. Organic is not necessary on these as you won’t be eating the skin.
Spaghetti Squash Caprese Bake Recipe
- 1 Large Spaghetti Squash
- 1½ Cups cherry tomatoes, halved'
- 3 Cups Spinach
- 1 Cup Fresh Mozerella, pearls (or slices)
- ¼ Cup Basil, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut spaghetti squash into half or into thick slices (about 4). Lightly coat with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon). On a lined baking sheet, bake for 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium/large skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, spinach, and chopped tomatoes. Sautee on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- When Spaghetti Squash is cooked, remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes, then with a fork scrape the sides to remove the meat of the squash. It should be a little tough still, not mushy. Lay spaghetti squash meat on a baking sheet or in a bowl to let cool, about 5 minutes. Using a cheesecloth add half of the spaghetti squash and strain, to remove excess water. Repeat with the second half of the squash.
- Add spaghetti squash to baking dish to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic and stir lightly. Next layer the tomato and spinach to the top. Lastly, add mozzarella. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and top with basil.
Taste this spaghetti squash caprese bake and let me know what you think in the comments. Food has the power to energize, heal and give us joy.
I received this produce box for free from Hungry Harvest, however all opinions are my own.