Sometimes running low on ingredients can be just the thing you need to spark some kitchen creativity.
For example, this recipe came about because I’ve had a spaghetti squash sitting on my counter for two weeks. I needed to use it ASAP, but I didn’t want to go to the store for any extra ingredients.
So, I used what I had on hand, which included an onion, and half-eaten bag of spinach, and a can of roasted tomatoes with green chiles that I found in my pantry. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this combination, but the result was a medley of vegetables smothered in a quick enchilada-style sauce and topped with bubbly cheese. It tastes like an enchilada, without the tortillas!
Not surprisingly, you can add or replace any vegetables you like in this dish– it’s totally adaptable to your needs. I hope you enjoy it!
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Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 (3 lbs.) spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach
1 (14.5 oz) can roasted tomatoes with green chiles
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 ounces goat cheddar, shredded
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds in the center, and place the squash halves face-down on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the skin can be easily pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
In the meantime, pour the entire can of roasted tomatoes and green chiles (including the liquid) into a blender and add in the ground cumin and salt. Blend until smooth and set aside.
Melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion until it’s tender, about 8 minutes. Add in the garlic and spinach, and stir until the spinach is wilted.
Use a fork to scrape the cooked spaghetti squash flesh into pot and pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Stir well until everything is heated through, season to taste, and then divide the cooked vegetables between the two shells of the spaghetti squash arranged cut-side-up on a baking sheet. (Alternatively, you can just use two oven-safe serving dishes, if you’d prefer.) Top each serving with shredded goat cheddar, and place the baking sheet under your oven’s broiler, set to high, for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve warm.
Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats (Grain-free)
Ingredients
- 1 (3 lbs.) spaghetti squash
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1 (14.5 oz) can roasted tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 ounces goat cheddar , shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds in the center, and place the squash halves face-down on the lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the skin can be easily pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- In the meantime, pour the entire can of roasted tomatoes and green chiles (including the liquid) into a blender and add in the ground cumin and salt. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- Melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion until it's tender, about 8 minutes. Add in the garlic and spinach, and stir until the spinach is wilted. Use a fork to scrape the cooked spaghetti squash flesh into pot and pour the enchilada sauce over the top. Stir well until everything is heated through, season to taste, and then divide the cooked vegetables between the two shells of the spaghetti squash arranged cut-side-up on a baking sheet. (Alternatively, you can just use two oven-safe serving dishes, if you'd prefer.) Top each serving with shredded goat cheddar, and place the baking sheet under your oven's broiler, set to high, for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve warm.
Nutrition
*Note: This meal can be prepared very quickly on a weeknight if you have the spaghetti squash prepared ahead of time. I like to cook two squashes at a time, so that I have an extra one to use for a quick future meal! Also, feel free to use a jar of prepared enchilada sauce in this recipe, if you prefer. (Though if you need to remain gluten-free or grain-free, be sure to check in the ingredients– many of them contain flour.)
Enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your go-to meal when you’re low on groceries?
I know it sounds crazy, but I have 6 spaghetti squash sitting in my garage right now. I bought them for 75 Cents a piece at a roadside stand because I can’t turn down a good deal. So needless to say, I’m excited about this recipe because I have to start using them. I usually just bake and eat, or use them as pasta (I know, I’m boring). So I absolutely love your boats. They’re fun and flexible.
My go to meal is sadly to say McDonalds SouthWest Salad when I’m in a huge pinch or those already cooked rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. The Chipotle flavored ones. If I have to cook with what I have in the house, I’m usually in huge trouble because I’m probably so short on groceries that there’s not much to make so we turn to peanut butter!
Great idea for spaghetti squash! I usually just roast mine whole at 400 until able to pierce, let cool, then scrape out the seeds and squash. It’s easier for me to do that instead of cutting the cold squash in half. My go to meal when I’m low on groceries is brown rice topped with whatever veggies or can of beans I have left.
These are perfect and super convenient! Sometimes the best recipes come from being low on ingredients. Love everything about this!
oh I love the verso tilbury of spaghetti squash! Don’t you love when recipes like this work out? Using the squash bowls makes a stellar presentation! Thanks for sharing
Sounds and looks yummy! Can you suggest a good substitute for the cheese? My daughter can’t eat dairy, and it would probably still be good without cheese, but I’d like to try something else, if possible. Thanks!
Megan has a recipe for a dairy-free parmesan cheese topping that might be a good option for you to try if your daughter can have cashews. I haven’t made it yet, but it sounds pretty awesome!
https://detoxinista.com/2013/10/cashew-parmesan-vegan-paleo/
I am lactose intolerant as well and the best substitute cheese I have found is Daiya. It is the only dairy free cheese made without soy (that I have available in my area). Honestly, it is the best tasting too. It melts and stretches just like cheese. http://us.daiyafoods.com/
Do you have a Whole Foods market or similar close by? Daiya cheese is good & is dairy free & it melts! It comes in a hangable bag cheddar, mozzarella or pepper jack.
YES! Daiya vegan cheese. Don’t put in on the top though, I would put it near the bottom to melt properly… the mozzarella is my favorite and the cheddar is ok too. It turns into a cheese sauce from heaven! http://us.daiyafoods.com/
Try nutritional yeast – very good!
Will your daughter tolerate soya cheese? Not the greatest, but it has some cheese-like properties.
I just made a variant of this last week, with homemade tomato sauce and sweet sausage topped with fresh mozzarella. Grain Free lasagna! Kind of. Delicious though! Vegetarians or vegans can just make a super chunky tomato sauce with lots of fresh basil for an italian treat )
Sometimes our go to meal when low on groceries is eggs & turkey sausage or chicken sausage. I usually try to keep one of these in freezer & usually have eggs. If we have a can of soup it’s soup & salad. I like to make my soups but have those on hand as backups and if sick (which is rare but it happens). Another meal I have had as a backup is your wonderful curry veggie over quinoa which is so good. My husband seemed to have an intolerance to quinoa at one point so we haven’t had as much & I didn’t have another substitute on hand. But I buy organic frozen veggies & can have all the other ingredients on hand. Love this. Thanks for the new recipe – it looks great!
Would this dish freeze after cooking, then reheat well?
Delicious and healthy! I have never done squash boats. maybe I should make someday:)
These sound delicious! I love warm and comforting meals like this in the winter! Isn’t it the best when great recipes happen unexpectedly? 🙂
I made this tonight for dinner. Very tasty! I did swap out the spinach for leftover taco meat, just to use it up, and omitted the cheese. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve just learned that you can throw spaghetti squash in the crock pot. And since I’ve only just discovered using a crock pot to cook anything. This sounds exciting to me. And this recipe looks totally amaze-balls!
These were amazing. My daughter wasn’t so sure about them, but after she started eating them, she said it was the best dinner she had eaten in a while!! Thank you for another great recipe.
Thanks so much for sharing! Made this tonight and it was delicious. Totally satisfying for a Mexican craving!
I try to eat super healthy and my boyfriend can eat whatever he wants – which typically results in me making 2 variations of dinner each night. But last night, he asked for a portion of these and loved it! Maybe there is hope!
Was amazing…
made these for lunch, but used pink beans since i had no spinach. this was super filling and unbelievably delicious!!!
my go to is pantry soup. with beans and spices there is almost always a way to make a tasty soup. 🙂
I made this tonight w/ post Thanksgiving day white turkey meat_, I substitued the canned roasted tomatoe w/left over 1/4 jar (3oz) mushroom marinara sauce and included truffle oil at the very end. Quite yummers….
I made this tonight for dinner. I used vegan cheese instead. It was delicious and the whole family loved it!
Do you have the nutritional information available for this recipe?
I don’t, but you can calculate any numbers you need using a free website like MyFitnessPal.com or FitDay.com.
I accidentally bought butternut squash instead of spaghetti even though I use all squash often and am familiar with it! I went for it anyways, and put it in a casserole dish. I topped it with regular goat cheese sliced into medallions and I also mixed in some marinated spicy chicken for my husband who needs meat. I then topped with sliced fresh avocado and green onion! Thanks! I really loves spaghetti squash and will make it again the way it was intended. Delicious recipes as always!
I made this for dinner last night and it was beyond easy and delicious! My husband was disappointed I only made 2 servings. I have yet to find a recipe on this blog that isn’t a hit at home! Thank you, for your research, recipes, time, energy and amazing taste buds, Detoxinista!
HUGE hit at my house. I added some crushed red pepper flakes. YUM!
This recipe is delicious!! My husband wanted meat in it so I added taco meat and we omitted the cheese since we can’t tolerate dairy.
Question – would the spaghetti squash freeze and be able okay to use when thawed?
I have frozen spaghetti squash different times. You might have to remove some water but great to keep on hand!
I just made a close version of this using ingredients I had on hand too. (We had a smoked pepper cheddar that blended well; we had plain tomatoes but not tomatoes with chilies, so I added fresh cilantro and jalapeno to the blender mix.)
Having never made this before I learned a few things:
–The exact ratios do work, but when stuffing the boats I thought I had too much stuffing.
–Using the exact ratios, this feeds more like 3-4 and not 2, as these squashes are huuuuuge. (I think mine was 4 lb and not the 3 lb in the recipe.)
–I could’ve easily doubled the spinach and appreciated it more.
–We served with fresh sliced avocados. We also used more like 3-4 oz. of cheese and mixed through rather than just sprinkling on top.
Because I thought the squash insides were too much I still have a lot; tomorrow I may toss with plain tomatoes again and some more italian flavors and see what happens.
And I meant to add that my husband suggested he’d prefer it with beans. He likes beans better than I do, so HE can make it with beans, I say, as the house chef. :]
This was delicious! I added ground turkey and omitted the goat cheese. It was excellent. We served with sour cream and shredded cheese. This was a great meal!
I have never had squash how do you cook it? Is it like spaghetti ? Thank You. I will be having gastric sleeve in January and need some good recipes.
I cook mine in the Instant Pot using this method because it’s so fast: https://detoxinista.com/spaghetti-squash-in-the-instant-pot/ But there are also oven directions here: https://detoxinista.com/cheezy-buttered-noodles/