Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Spinach

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Spaghetti squash is a nice alternative to pasta – especially for folks who are gluten sensitive and are looking to add some variety to their diet. This recipe pairs the squash with the simple clean flavors of tomatoes, spinach and garbanzo beans. The sauce is low in sodium and has no added fat. It’s perfect for a light dinner.

If you want to add a little extra kick to the dish, try sprinkling some of Minimalistbaker.com’s Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top.

Spaghetti Squash Cooking Options

Spaghetti squash can be baked in the oven, cooked in a slow cooker or microwaved. I prefer the slow cook method because it does not require cutting the squash when it’s hard. You only need to stab the top a few times.

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Spaghetti Squashwith Tomatoes and Spinach

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 28 oz canned whole tomatoes
• 1 tsp. blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 1 cup bell pepper chopped (yellow or orange)
• 8 oz frozen cut leaf spinach
• 15 oz canned low sodium garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
• sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Spaghetti Squash

1. Scrub spaghetti squash with a vegetable brush under warm water.
2. Pierce the top side of the squash with a sharp knife several times and place in slow cooker.
3. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours or until squash feels slightly soft when squeezed with an oven mitt.
4. Carefully remove squash from slow cooker and set aside to cool.

Sauce

1. While squash is cooling add all remaining ingredients – except garbanzo beans and salt and pepper – to a 5-quart sauté pan.
2. Break the tomatoes apart with the end of a stiff spatula and cook on medium high until sauce begins to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium/med-low and continue to cook partly covered for 15 minutes – stirring occasionally.
4. Add garbanzo beans and cook partly covered for an additional 15 minutes – stirring occasionally.

Serving

1. Cut off the top of squash just below the stem and then slice squash in half lengthwise.
2. Scoop out and discard seeds with a spoon, then use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti-like strands of flesh into 4-5 pasta bowls.
3. Top squash with sauce and season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.

 Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.

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