Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Cheese Bake
Try this Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Cheese Bake recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Cheese Bake recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 lb ground turkey extra lean
- 1/2 cup panko or whole wheat breadcrumbs
- 3 lb spaghetti squash*
- 1 tsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 can (11 oz) organic cream of mushroom soup (i used pac
- 1 cup (4 oz) low fat tex mex cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or organic butter melted
- 1/2 cup (2 oz) low fat tex mex cheese shredded
- Carbohydrate 95.9280740795636 g
- Cholesterol 294.8350405 mg
- Fat 20.5618517754807 g
- Fiber 25.7628700208609 g
- Protein 121.396668968142 g
- Saturated Fat 5.35964371410196 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (3538g)
- Sodium 9304.5690665968 mg
- Sugar 70.1652040587027 g
- Trans Fat 3.19702493955014 g
- Calories 1006 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- Cut squash in half lengthwise and spoon the seeds out.
- Punch randomly with a fork, place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let it cool and separate into strands with a fork.
- Place in a large bowl and set aside.
- While squash is baking, preheat large non-stick skillet on low heat and add olive oil.
- Add garlic and onion, saute until translucent or for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add turkey and cook for another 7 minutes, breaking into pieces with spatula.
- Add mushroom soup, tomato sauce and cornstarch, stir and bring to a boil by raising heat to medium.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened a bit.
- Remove from heat, add cheese, stir and transfer to the bowl with spaghetti squash.
- Add breadcrumbs and gently mix to combine.
- To make the topping, in a small bowl, melt coconut oil or butter in a microwave.
- Add cheese, breadcrumbs and mix.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and spray 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
- Transfer squash and turkey mixture into the dish, level with spatula, sprinkle with topping and bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until the edges are bubbling.
- Broil on high for 5 minutes or until crust is a bit golden.
- Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- Cut into 8 slices and serve hot.
A golden, bubbling crust of melted Tex-Mex cheese and crisp panko breadcrumbs yields to a savory interior where sweet caramelized onions meet the rich umami of ground turkey and mushroom soup. Roasting the spaghetti squash cut-side down on parchment paper traps moisture briefly to steam the flesh before the cell walls collapse into distinct, noodle-like strands. Piercing the skin beforehand allows trapped internal steam to escape safely without rupturing the squash halves during the thirty minutes in the 375 F oven.
Maillard reactions drive the flavor development when garlic and onions sweat in olive oil for four minutes, producing pyrazines and sulfur compounds that soften harsh allium notes into savory sweetness. Ground turkey contributes lean protein that absorbs the surrounding tomato sauce and mushroom soup emulsion. Cornstarch acts as a thickening agent, gelatinizing starches when brought to a boil and trapping free water molecules to prevent a watery casserole base.
Preserved mushroom soup introduces concentrated sodium glutamate and processed fats that deliver a uniform savory background, whereas fresh mushrooms would release excess water and require pre-sautéing to achieve comparable depth. Using canned tomato sauce provides consistent pectin levels for body, differing from fresh tomatoes which fluctuate wildly in acidity and water content. Integrating these processed elements requires careful sodium awareness, as the canned components already carry significant saline loads before the cheese is added.
Allowing the baked casserole to rest for fifteen minutes off the heat permits internal temperatures to stabilize and starches to set, ensuring clean slices rather than a loose scramble. Dropping the oven temperature to 350 degrees F for the main thirty-five minute bake prevents the outer cheese crust from burning before the internal turkey mixture reaches safe serving temperatures. Broiling the dish on high for the final five minutes targets the surface lipids and proteins directly with radiant heat, browning the breadcrumbs into a crunchy matrix.
