Spaghetti Squash Boats (With Veggie Turkey Meat Sauce)
These Spaghetti Squash Boats (With Roasted Veggie Turkey Meat Sauce) make for one incredible meal. The sauce is made with ground turkey and fresh veggies such as tomatoes, mushrooms. zucchini and fresh basil. Served in roasted spaghetti squash boats. This is a fantastic low-carb dish that is so fresh and so tasty.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 6 tomatoes
- 1 large zucchini
- 10 crimini mushrooms
- 1 yellow onion
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Ground Turkey
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Spaghetti Squash
- 2 small spaghetti squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
For Spaghetti Squash:
-
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
-
Slice both spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop the insides out cleaning up the squash. Discard the insides. In a small mixing bowl combine the spices and herbs for the squash. Spread oil and rub on the insides of the squash. Sprinkle mixed spices and herbs on squash insides and rub throuroughly making sure the squash are well coated.
-
Align a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper and place all 4 squash sides facing down with the skin facing up. Bake for 25 minutes.
For Turkey Meat Sauce:
-
While squash are roasting, prep veggies for sauce; Dice tomatoes, zucchini, and onion. Slice mushrooms and basil, and mince garlic. Set prepped veggies to the side.
-
On a large cast iron skillet, heat olive oil for turkey on medium-high heat on stovetop. Toss ground turkey into heated skillet and start to brown. Drizzle apple cider vinegar, sprinkle salt, pepper and Italian seasoning over turkey while it cooks and stir well. Use a spatula to work through the ground turkey and make sure there are no large clumps. Turkey will take about 7-8 minutes to brown.
-
Remove browned turkey from skillet and set it aside. Wipe skillet with a damp paper towel to clean. Place skillet back on stovetop and drizzle with oil for sauce. Bring to a heat once again on medium-high heat. Toss in onions and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Toss in zucchini and mushrooms and continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes until zucchinis start to soften and mushrooms start to brown. Stir in tomatoes and sprinke basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté until tomatoes release juices and are cooked down. About 4-6 minutes. Don't overcook so that sauce doesn't dry up. Add browned turkey with sauce and stir well making sure the turkey and the sauce are combined together.
Putting Boats Together:
-
Remove spaghetti squash from the oven and allow it to cool down for a bit until it can be handled. Keep oven on at 350 degrees F. Use a fork to scrape the inside of the squash and get the noodles off the skin. Do it firmly but gently so that the skin doesn't break. You want to leave the spaghetti in there and use the skin as bowls. Move the noodles to the sides of the boats making some space in the middle. Take some of the sauce (about 1/4 cup) and pour into the boats over the noodles. Take a second scoop and repeat. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread sauce in the boats to even it out. Repeat with the other three boats.
-
Place boats on baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake again for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove boats from the oven and garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips and Substitutions:
- Make sure to line baking sheet pan with parchment paper- This will prevent squash from sticking to pan and will make cleaning it much easier later.
- Switch up your turkey for other protein- ground chicken or ground beef make for good substitutes.
- Don't skip the apple cider vinegar- The acid in the acv helps decrease that turkey after taste and rather gives it better flavor. If you don't have any acv you can use lemon juice or rice vinegar as substitutes.
- Scrape the inside of the squash firmly but gently- You don't want the skin of the squash to break. The skin serves as the bowls in this recipe.
- Switch up the veggies in this recipe- You can substitute the veggies in this recipe for eggplant, baby spinach, carrots, kale, asparagus, etc.
- Don't overcook the sauce so it doesn't dry up- Keep in mind that it will go in the oven once it's added to the squash and this will dry it up a bit too.