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.
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.
Kimberly says
I make this recipe all the time! It’s one of our favorites. I double the meat and use the big jar of Raios sauce. I also use about one and a half spaghetti squashes. I cook the spaghetti squash early in the day then heat it with butter, salt, garlic powder, dried parsley and hot pepper flakes then use it as the recipe says. It is truly amazing and it makes enough for two nights. Also good for company. Ive tried other recipes like this that were a little more complicated and they weren’t as good so I stick with this.
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing how you make it! 🙂
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.