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!

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: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 413Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 547mgCarbohydrates: 10gNet Carbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 21g
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Kate says
It was good. I cooked the spaghetti squash night befor. Made it the next day. I will be making this again
June Leathers says
For the Spaghetti casserole and the Creamy Spaghetti Alfredo could I use the Green Giant® Veggie Spirals® Spaghetti Squash that comes in the frozen section in a bag in place of buying a squash and cutting it in half?
Karly Campbell says
Sure! That’d be a great short cut.
Kathy says
Love this recipe! Instead of using ground beef, I use small meatballs and chunky salsa for the marinara. If there is any leftovers, I put it in a foil container and freeze it. Than pop it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes and dinner is served! One of our favorite meals!
Kristin says
Do you think it could be premade the night before then baked the next day?
Karly Campbell says
Probably, though I haven’t tried.
Patricia Sackett says
Always looking for different spaghetti squash recipes. To save on calories I used ground turkey, silken tofu for the cream cheese and Greek yogurt for the sour cream. I made my own sauce and the whole dish was great and made 4 meals for my husband and me.
Lynn Heintzel says
This was easy and excellent! Best way we’ve ever had spaghetti squash! Thank you for the recipe, you rock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Karly Campbell says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Mandy says
It’s very tasty with ground turkey meat
Karly Campbell says
Yum!
Eliza says
I made this many times when I was on my keto journey. But then I stopped and I have no idea why! I was getting bored with cooking a remembered making this dish. Trust me, this recipe won’t get buried again. It’s going to be a staple.
Karly Campbell says
So glad that you enjoy it so much! 🙂
Vinna says
The spaghetti squash was over cooked
Karly Campbell says
Hi Vinna, you want to cook it until just fork tender the first time around so that it scrapes away from the shell.
Cheryl says
This is my favourite low carb recipe, it is delicious! The only thing that we added was a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top. My reluctantly low carb husband took some leftovers for his lunch he liked it so much. Thanks for this great recipe!
Karly Campbell says
So glad that it was such a hit! Thanks, Cheryl!
Pam says
this is delicious!! My husband isn’t a fan of spaghetti squash & he loved it!!! thanks Karly, your website is mu go to for new recipes!
Karly Campbell says
Thanks so much, Pam! So glad you both enjoyed this one!
Lyn Braswell says
Never thought lasagna could b e so good cooked this way! I’m hooked on it and my family loves it! Never going back to the old way again!
Karly Campbell says
So glad to hear that! 🙂
Dolores says
Could I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Also could I substitute neutfachel cheese for cream cheese?
Karly Campbell says
I’m sure both would work well, though I’m not sure how it would affect the nutrition values.
Pat says
Can leftovers be frozen?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried freezing this one. I’m not sure how the diary portion would hold up, but you can give it a try! 🙂
Tina says
We made this the other night and it was beyond delish!
Karly Campbell says
So glad to hear that! Thanks Tina!
Laura Steadman says
Omg this was insanely delicious!!
Karly Campbell says
So glad to hear that! Thanks, Laura!
Shannon says
This was yummy! And I agree, let it cool then scoop it onto paper towels and I squeeze out as much water as I can… but it yummy anyway! I’ve even made it with beyond meat and ground turkey and ground chicken… it’s just darn good! Thank you for this! It reminds me of a not so healthy one from my youth in Texas… soooo yummy!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Shannon!
Dennis R Hanson says
nutritional info says 10 gm carbs and 8 net but then says 13 gm sugar.
That doesn’t make sense.
Karly Campbell says
Oh, you’re right! I can’t believe we’ve not caught that before! I just ran it through the nutrition calculator again and sugar comes in at 6. Must have been a typo?
Jackie says
How much is a serving? 1 cup?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Jackie! I didn’t measure the servings by volume, just divided it equally into 6 portions.
Patti says
Mine was watery, something i did wrong?
Karly Campbell says
Squash is naturally full of liquid, and it releases it as it cooks. You didn’t do anything wrong – just part of cooking with squash. We just scoop the dish out with a slotted spoon or fork to avoid most of the liquid in the bottom of the dish.
Arlene says
I have found that if the squash is completely cooled before scooping the squash out it’s not watery at all
Karly Campbell says
Interesting! I’ve never experimented with that.
Patricia Sackett says
It helps to squeeze the squash strands in a towel to get rid of excess water. Before I started doing this, my spaghetti squash casseroles were always a bit watery.