We turned our favorite million dollar spaghetti into a low carb meal! This spaghetti squash casserole is cheesy, hearty, and a major family favorite. Just 8 net carbs serving.
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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, but be sure to try out our spaghetti squash carbonara and spaghetti squash alfredo!
Ingredient Notes:
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Spaghetti Squash – A ripe spaghetti squash should be firm with a golden yellow or dark yellow color. Pick one that feels heavier than it looks for the best taste.
Ground Beef – I’m using lean ground beef in this meaty million dollar spaghetti squash casserole! If you want to mix things up feel free to use a different type of meat like ground sausage, chicken, or turkey.
Sugar-Free Marinara – You can use either a homemade marinara or a store bought. We love Rao’s Marinara! It’s perfect for Italian recipes like this spaghetti squash casserole, and we love it for low carb pizza! You’ll mix it with the ground beef to make a meat sauce.
Cream Cheese Mixture – When you make a million dollar casserole you know it’s going to be rich, creamy, and cheesy! You’ll mix together some cream cheese, sour cream, and parsley to make the center layer of the spaghetti squash casserole.
Mozzarella – You’ve got to top this casserole with something, so why not more cheese? Some grated mozzarella is perfect for topping. Parmesan would work too!
We use Thrive Market for a lot of our specialty ingredients and keto snacks or products. Their prices tend to be cheaper than the local stores and I love that you can so easily sort products by diet.
Like Costco, this is a membership site, but we find that it’s more than worth it based on the amount we save over the regular grocery store.
They have monthly or yearly plans. Check it out here.
- It’s not quite the same as real spaghetti, but it’s a very good dupe and it satisfies my pasta cravings!
- The creamy cheesy center is unreal. So rich and adds the perfect decadence to this keto spaghetti!
- I love when I can make a meal the whole family loves and this one is always a hit! It’s a surefire way to get kids to try spaghetti squash.
How To Make Spaghetti Squash:
- Prepare – 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. 😉 Finally, scoop out the seeds!
- Bake – Drizzle some olive oil on the inside of the squash, sprinkle with some salt, and place it flesh side down on a prepared rimmed baking sheet. Roast it for about an hour.
- Spaghetti Squash – 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.
How To Make Low Carb Meat Sauce:
- Ground Beef – To begin you’ll brown up your ground beef (or whatever type of ground meat you prefer) and then dump in your favorite low carb marina.
I prefer Rao’s and use it almost exclusively when making keto spaghetti sauce. 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!
- Cream Cheese Mixture: 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!
How To Assemble Spaghetti Squash Casserole:
- Assemble – 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??
- Top – Next, add the final layers of spaghetti squash and the keto meat sauce and top that all off with some grated mozzarella and a little parsley.
- Finish – 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. This cheesy casserole will go well with anything green, like these roasted green beans!
Quick & Easy Spaghetti Squash:
We like baking the spaghetti squash for this recipe since you’ll be using the oven anyways, but there are a couple other methods that are a bit faster! You can prepare the spaghetti squash any way you like for this recipe, and then continue with adding the meat sauce and cream cheese mixture.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash – This is the fastest method! Perfectly tender spaghetti squash in just a few minutes.
- Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash – It tastes similar to roasting spaghetti squash in the oven, but it takes only half the time!
Now that you are a pro at making spaghetti squash, you’ll want to check out some of my other low carb recipes that use it!
- Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Bacon
- Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs
- Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash
- Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti Squash
FAQs:
You can keep any leftovers stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can reheat the spaghetti squash casserole in the oven.
Carefully! If you’ve never cut one before you’ll be surprised at how hard the exterior of the squash can be. You will need a sharp knife. Cut all the way around the spaghetti squash length-wise until it splits in half.
When baked up into this rich, creamy million dollar spaghetti squash casserole each serving is only 8 net grams!
Spaghetti squash has an earthy, sweet flavor that pairs well with many different ingredients. It has more texture than a noodle, but it works well as a replacement in many pasta dishes.
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!
- Keto Cabbage Rolls Recipe: None of the work, all of the flavor in these unstuffed cabbage rolls!
- Cheesy Cauliflower Bake: This is a simple low carb side dish made extra easy with an air fryer!
- Keto Fried Zucchini: The perfect low carb appetizer or snack!
Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash Casserole
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 9×13 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.
Brenda Robertson says
It states 413 calories per serving. How much is considered a serving?
Karly Campbell says
There are 6 servings in this recipe. I didn’t measure by volume, just divided equally between 6.
Shirley Prokop says
Can you make and freeze?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried freezing this one myself. Sometimes cream cheese can get weird in the freezer, but otherwise it’d probably fine.
Roxanne says
This recipe is amazing!! My son who doesn’t like spaghetti squash said he will eat it this way every time!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Karly Campbell says
That’s great to hear!
Mimi says
I have made this recipe a couple times now and will be one of my all time favorites! You are my go to for delicious recipes. Keep up the amazing work!
Karly Campbell says
Thanks so much, Mimi! 🙂
Jan says
Just incredibly delicious!! My mouth waters thinking about it!! Can you make a “printable” version of this? I’d love to add it to my moms handmade cookbook.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Jan! There is a print button located in the recipe card. So glad you loved the recipe!
Emily Cortez says
To the lady who said it was awe full she must have messed up taste buds. I make this recipe all the time it is a family favorite!!! Today I went to the store and forgot to buy cream cheese I usually double the recipe and use half beef, half hot garlic sausage and real spaghetti for my men and the squash for me…so I had one block I used ricotta for the other it still tastes the same going in the oven. I guess we will see. Thanks for a great recipe!!!!
Karly Campbell says
I’m sure it will be great with ricotta too! 🙂 So glad you enjoy the recipe so much.
Pat says
Has any one tried freezing this? I’m looking for make ahead lunches.
Debbie says
can you substitute ricotta for the cream cheese?
Karly Campbell says
I’ve subbed it for the cottage cheese, but not the cream cheese. It might get too wet if you don’t both cottage cheese and ricotta.
Cathy LaBrie says
Fabulous! I also added garlic & Italian seasoning. Has anyone tried freezing this? Not sure how the squash would hold up. Thanks!
Tina says
I have been making this recipe since last year when I first found it. This recipe is amazing. My sister and I have been eating low carb and this is just what we needed. Thank you so much!!!
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Tina!
Sharie says
A low carb success! I added veggies and used ground turkey instead of ground beef. Holds up really well as leftovers!
Laura says
Can I prepare it today and cook it tomorrow?
Karly Campbell says
My only concern would be the spaghetti squash releasing more liquid as it sets in the fridge overnight. May not be an issue, but I’ve never tried it.
Janille Sloan says
I did this and no issue with it watering things down. Just make sure your sauce is thicker (lots of added meat or veggies will make it a hearty sauce) and you should be fine. I had a little water in the bottom but once I started serving it, the liquid wasnt noticed on the plate and once the last serving was done there wasnt any liquid in the dish.
Janille Sloan says
Holy cow! This was incredible! I used Raos brand of speghetti sauce and I added mushrooms, onion, garlic and it really made this stand out!
I also substituted yogurt instead of sour cream as I didnt have any on hand. I will make this again and again!
Karly Campbell says
So glad it was a hit! Isn’t Rao’s sauce the best? 🙂
Janille Sloan says
I wasnt the biggest fan of it by itself, but I once I added my own herbs (Basel, oregano, Italian seasoning) and the garlic, onion, mushrooms it had a very robust flavor and was very delicious!
Shelley says
This looks delicious. I am looking forward to trying it. I have used spaghetti squash before and find it to be watery. I wonder if you have found this to be true. If so, do you have advice to curb the amount of water that leaks out of the squash into the rest of the plate? Sorry if my question seems weird. This is actually why I don’t use the squash often.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Shelley! Spaghetti squash definitely has some liquid to it. You can try squeezing it dry or letting it sit in a colander for 20 minutes or so after you scrape it out to let some of that liquid off. It will still release a bit more as it goes in the oven, but we don’t find this to be too watery at all.
Jennifer says
Loved it! I’ve never used spaghetti squash before, it turned out to be very tasty. I ended up using two 2lb squash, a 8.5×11 dish instead of the 9×13 and I also added in garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Had fear flavor. I’ll be making this again.
cheri says
This was really good. I got 8 servings out of it.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed!
Caroline says
Going to try recipe this week
April Scott says
Delicious. My mom has me making it for a potluck at her job tomorrow! Great recipe.
Teresa Shepler says
Loved it! Was so good! Added a little garlic!
Daina says
This was so so delicious!! I’m saving it to use again! Thank you!
Jorge says
This is disgusting! The sour cream and cream cheese combine to make a sharp, tangy, funky dairy flavor that has no place here.
Leah says
My family loves this recipe. It reminds them of lasagna but without the heavy feeling after you eat it. Thanks so much!
Tanya says
Are you sure you mafe this correctly? This is one of the best spaghetti squash recipes I have ever tasted!tanya
Grumpy Gumbo says
Sounds like user error to me….lol
Cher says
You Should try again, just to double heck. My picky 8 and 10 year olds want me to make it again! It’s so good.
Margie says
Hi I would like to make this as my husband is on Keto, however, he will not eat squash. Do you find the spaghetti squash flavor gets absorbed by all the other ingredients so he will not notice any squash flavor?
Karly Campbell says
This won’t trick him into thinking it’s noodles, if that is your hope. 😉 The squash is heavily flavored by the other ingredients though. Still has the squash texture, but the flavor isn’t all that strong.