This summer I’m enjoying fresh summer produce and vegetables. Give me all the zucchini and squash! We recently went camping, and I’m always looking for easy healthy food to bring with us. These spaghetti squash boats were a crowd pleaser last weekend at our camping trip! If you like to camp, this dish is perfect prepared in advance, wrapped in foil, kept on ice in your cooler, and placed on your grill in a small pan to heat up for a healthy dinner! Makes it so easy to just throw it on your grill and sit around a fire and relax after a long day of hiking.
Cheesy Veggie Stuffed Spaghetti Squash (vegan & gluten-free)
A spaghetti squash stuffed with zucchini, summer squash, spinach, tomatoes, and white beans in a creamy cashew cream sauce.
Tip: (1) Select a large Spaghetti Squash or half the recipe for a small one. (2) I like to cook my spaghetti squash the night before to make for easy prep the day that I cook it (3) Drain some of the excess liquid from the squash. (4) Soak cashews (4 – 8 hours) or place them in boiling water right before prepping the dish. (5) Make it paleo be eliminating the beans.
Credit: My Real Dish
Ingredients
Vegetables
- Large spaghetti squash (~7 ¼ cups cooked squash)
- 2 medium zucchinis (~3 cups chopped)
- 1 summer squash (~1 cup chopped)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon Redmond Real Salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons grape seed oil
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 – 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 – 15 oz can northern white beans, rinsed
Vegan Cheese Sauce
- 2 cups cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours, or soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes)
- 4 tablespoons lemon (~2 small lemon juiced)
- 5 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons Redmond Real Salt
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 cup vegetable stock (gluten-free, MSG-free)
Directions
- Boil the water for cashews and soak them in boiling water (if you didn’t soak them overnight in advance)
- Heat oven to 400.
- Prepare the spaghetti squash next. Slice the squash in half horizontally, place the squash insides down into a roasting pan, add a little water (~1/2 inch) to the roasting pan, and cook squash for 30 – 45 minutes until it is tender when pricked with a fork. Begin prepping the rest of the meal while the squash cooks. Or, prepare the squash in advance so you can come home and whip together a healthy meal in 30 minutes!
- While the spaghetti squash is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Chop the onion. Clean the summer squash and zucchini using cold water and a vegetable cleaner (I like Thieves Fruit & Veggie Spray), and cut off both ends. Slice the zucchini and the summer squash in half horizontally and then slice small cylinders ~1/4″ thick.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 3 of the tablespoons of grape seed oil on medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, summer squash, zucchini, Real Salt and pepper, and sauté for ~3 – 4 minutes.
- Add the last 1 tablespoon of grape seed oil to pan along with 4 cups spinach. Sauté for an additional ~3 minutes until vegetables are slightly tender, spinach is wilted, and onion is translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Drain and rinse northern white beans until the water runs clear and there is no foam.
- Drain the can of tomatoes and set aside.
- Prepare the vegan cheese sauce. Rinse the soaked cashews thoroughly until the water runs clear (this helps you easily digest the nuts). Place the vegan cheese sauce ingredients in the Vitamix or high powered blender and mix until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Remove the spaghetti squash from oven. Scoop out the seeds and discard them (I use an ice cream scooper), scoop the squash out of the shell and place it in a mixing bowl, drain excess spaghetti squash liquid. Fold in the vegan cheese sauce until evenly combined.
- Add sautéd vegetables, can of tomatoes, and white beans to the cheesy spaghetti squash and gently distribute the veggies.
- Place squash mixture back into the shells into the pan and cook for 20 minutes in the oven or until browned.
What are some of your favorite summer meals?
