Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole without all the carbs!! This spaghetti squash casserole is a riff on one of my favorite pasta recipes and it is totally family friendly, packed with cheesy goodness, loaded with flavor, and keto friendly! 8 net carbs serving.
One of the things I love most about this time of year is the whole comfort food situation.
People don’t seem to like casseroles in the dead of summer, but they are 100% totally acceptable the minute it starts to cool off.
Sure, I miss the sunshine and my pool, but did you take a close look at this cheesy spaghetti squash casserole? Doesn’t it look dreamy?
One of my favorite pasta recipes is million dollar spaghetti so I took the idea and swapped out spaghetti squash for traditional pasta.
Total win!
This is probably one of the best spaghetti squash recipes I’ve made yet!
How to make million dollar spaghetti casserole without all the carbs:
To start, you’re going to cut a spaghetti squash in half. This probably sounds like an easy task, but if you’ve ever worked with spaghetti squash before you’ll know that you need to bring your muscles and a sharp knife to this game.
Spaghetti squash are HARD on the outside. Dig that knife in (carefully!) and cut all the way around. You can do it, I believe in you. 😉
Now, scoop out the seeds, drizzle some olive oil on the inside of the squash and place it flesh side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast it for about an hour.
When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape long strands of squash out.
If you go lengthwise down the squash you’ll get short strands of spaghetti. If you go across the width of the squash, you’ll get long strands. It’s kind of counter-intuitive, but just play with it. It all tastes the same either way.
Low carb meat sauce:
Brown up your ground beef and then dump in your favorite low carb marina.
I prefer Rao’s and use it almost exclusively. There are only 4g net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. You can find it at most any grocery store, usually up on the top shelf. It’s a little pricey, but it’s seriously the best!
Let your meat sauce simmer away while you get to work on the million dollar aspect of this recipe: dairy goodness!
Add some cream cheese, sour cream, and fresh parsley to a small bowl and stir until well combined. This mixture is so creamy and amazing.
The traditional million dollar spaghetti calls for cottage cheese as well, but it adds a fair amount of carbs so I skipped it. If you have room in your carb allowance, go ahead and add a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese to this mixture. You won’t regret it!
Assemble the spaghetti squash casserole:
Add half of the spaghetti squash noodles to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
Top that off with half of the meat sauce and then spread on all of the cream cheese mixture.
Doesn’t that look amazing??
Next, add the final layers of spaghetti squash and meat sauce and top that all off with some grated mozzarella and a little parsley.
Pop this in a hot oven for 20 minutes to allow the cheese to get all warm and melty.
I like to serve this with a big side salad topped with my homemade ranch dressing.
More low carb favorites:
Low Carb Chicken Casserole: Made with cauliflower rice, broccoli, and chicken!
Zucchini Pizza Boats: Pepperoni on mine please, but you can add any of your favorite toppings!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs: We eat these for dinner, but they’re fun for game day too!
Cabbage Rolls Recipe: None of the work, all of the flavor!
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Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Spaghetti squash casserole with a creamy cheesy filling!
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash, 2-3 pounds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground beef
- 24 ounces marinara, store bought or homemade
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
For the squash:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half length-wise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Place spaghetti squash flesh side down on the prepared baking sheet at bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
- Use a fork to scrape out long strands of squash, scraping across the width of the squash.
For the meat sauce:
- Brown the ground beef over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Drain the grease and add the marinara to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat to heat through.
For the cream cheese mixture:
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and parsley to a small mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
To assemble:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Place half of the spaghetti squash in the prepared baking dish.
- Top the squash with half of the meat sauce and all of the cream cheese mixture.
- Add the remaining spaghetti squash followed by the remaining meat sauce.
- Sprinkle on the grated mozzarella.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is hot.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Scrape the spaghetti squash length-wise for short strands of squash or width-wise for long strands of squash.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 413Total Fat: 35gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 1347mgCarbohydrates: 10gNet Carbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 13gProtein: 33g
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I made this Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash casserole for my husband last night and he just about finished the entire 9×13 pan – It was delicious! Most of the ingredients in this recipe were things I had on hand – always a win! Popped the spaghetti squash in the oven to cook while I walked the dogs. Put it all in the casserole dish and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes. Healthy, quick, and delicious!
Love to hear that, Melissa! Thanks! 🙂
Other comments hintedat what I was thinking. This seems a bit like lasagna and not at all in a bad way. I dislike spaghetti squash, but acquired a bunch with other items. This makes spaghetti squash totally tolerable to those who aren’t really fans. I made my own marinara but didn’t substitute anything else. I also warmed the cream cheese and sour cream over very low heat in a skillet. This made it easy to spread over the noodles. Also… people should check out your buffalo chicken recipe if they have a lot of spaghetti squash to use up. Another winner there.
Thanks, Laura! Appreciate it!
This recipe is amazing! I made it last night for my hubby and me. It’s so good, we had it again tonight!! This is a winner even if I weren’t counting carbs!!! Definitely in our meal planning lineup!
Been doing Keto for over 3 years. This is probably our favorite go to. OMGosh. It is GOOD.
Thanks, Ralphie! Love to hear that!
This was amazing! Definitely a keeper. I ended up cooking a second spaghetti squash in my Instant Pot as I tried roasting one for an hour at 400 degrees and it turned to mush. I added mushrooms, onion, and fresh garlic to the meat mixture and added a half cup of Ricotta cheese to the cheese mixture. So satisfyingly good! Thanks for another keto-friendly recipe!
Outstanding! I kicked it up a bit. Added 1/2 onion, 1/2 c of parsley, 3 cloves of garlic (pressed) and 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper. Put /2 ts1/2 garlic to brown with vegetables and beef; other half in the cheese mixture. OMG. Used Colby Jack cheese (about 1 cup) as I didn’t have mozzarella. Also substituted for the sour cream (yogurt and 1/2 tsp of baking soda). Assembled, popped in oven and voila. Keto Lasagne. thank you!
Sounds delicious!
Wow! This was amazing! I saved this recipe a few weeks ago and wish I hadn’t waited so long to try it. I added some onions, mushrooms and spinach to have more veggies along with fresh basil and garlic. It was YUMMY! This is definitely going in my rotation!
OMGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! I book marked this awhile ago and am now wondering what the heck took me so long to make this! I actually took a few bites and had to come in my computer room to send this message to you asap. I made this w/ Rao’s sauce , mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano, and Italian sausage. Man this is truly amazing and as someone that has been on the keto bandwagon for 2 years now this is exactly what I was missing ( kinda takes the place of lasagna/ or just baked spaghetti.) I really appreciate your hard work and visit this site often. Thank-you!!
Thanks so much, Terry! I’m so glad you gave the recipe a try! 🙂
I have made this casserole (well, my variation of it) at least once a month for a couple of years now. It’s a hit with everyone who tries it, including my extremely picky 4-year-old. When I make it, I use 2 spaghetti squashes instead of one (I don’t always use all the squash in the recipe, but I found that using just one squash wasn’t always enough), and I add crushed garlic, chopped onion, basil, oregano, sliced mushrooms, chopped zucchini, and a fresh spinach to the meat and marinara sauce to boost the flavor and nutritional content. I also sprinkle some shredded parmesan (I use the good stuff, Parmigiano-Reggiano) over the top of the mozzarella for a finishing touch. I usually used the fresh mozzarella that comes sliced, so I just put the slices on top rather than having to grate it up. This casserole freezes well, too, if you have leftovers (which you probably won’t)!
Wondering if anyone has tried freezing rhis? Seems like it would be freezer friendly and I do love a great make ahead meal.
I have made this recipe several times now! The whole family loves it. The only thing I seem to need to do different is I double the meat and marinara sauce. But even with regular spaghetti, I tend to use more sauce than noodles. Definitely a keeper!
Glad to hear that! 🙂
Yum! That looks delicious!
I made this tonight it was absolutely delicious. I thought of some other things to try in it like little pieces of Italian sausage or ricotta cheese.
There’s no seeds in a spaghetti squash
Sure there are! In the center there are quite a few seeds that will need taken out. 🙂
Fantastic recipe! I substituted a seafood medley of scallops, shrimp and calamari for the ground beef and it was amazing! I will definitely make this again!
Holy Sh%$!!!! This casserole is amazing! Just what I was looking for. I added spinach to the creamy cheesy topping. And added parm and a whipped egg to the squash layer. Oh, I added ‘shrooms too because I love them. Thanks for the recipe!!!!!
Can I use angel hair pasta instead of squash for this recipe. Thanks
Yes, that should work fine.
I made this a few weeks ago and used ground turkey sausage instead of ground beef. It added lots of flavor and was delicious!! I’m going to try making it with ricotta cheese next time. Has anyone tried making with ricotta? If so how did it turn out? Just looking for suggestions
I made a spaghetti squash lasagna from ruled.me and that came out good. So I’m sure ricotta would taste fine in this.