This Roasted Spaghetti Squash And Meatballs In Garlic Tomato Sauce is a great beginner meatball recipe – few ingredients and even fewer steps! These can be added to the roasted spaghetti squash, pasta of your choosing, or thrown into a meatball sub. Throw your spaghetti squash into the oven first, then mix up your meatballs and sauce, so everything finishes at the same time!
Guilt-Free Roasted Spaghetti Squash And Meatballs In Garlic Tomato Sauce
Print RecipeIngredients
- FOR THE SPAGHETTI SQUASH:
- 1 whole spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise
- Water (enough to fill pan up ½ inch)
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, low sodium
- 1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1.5 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1.5 teaspoon dried basil
- FOR THE MEATBALLS:
- 1½ pound lean ground turkey
- 1 pound ground beef (I used 80/20 ratio)
- 1 green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
- ⅔ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
For the spaghetti squash:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise.
3. Using a baking dish (a lasagna dish works perfectly), place squash cut side down into the dish.
4. Fill the dish with ½ inch of water. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove squash and flip over (cut side up). Be careful when removing foil – steam is hot!
6. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until squash is very tender.
7. Allow to slightly cool. Remove seeds using a spoon. Then, using a fork, shred the remainder of the squash into “spaghetti-like” strands.
For the sauce:
1. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil.
2. Saute garlic until fragrant – about 4 minutes.
3. Add whole tomatoes and tomato sauce. Gradually break up large pieces using a spoon.
4. Add pepper, salt, oregano, and basil.
5. Turn heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken while you prepare the albondigas.
For the meatballs:
1. Add ground turkey, ground beef, green pepper, onion, nutmeg, parsley, and bread crumbs to a large mixing bowl. Combine using a large spoon or your hands. (It’s much easier with your hands!)
2. Form meatballs using a spoon. Each meatball should use up about 2 tablespoons of the mixture. I ended up with about 35 in total.
3. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil (you may need additional oil with several batches).
4. In batches of 12 meatballs, brown on all sides. Turn using tongs to brown evenly. This should take about 5 minutes per batch.
5. Add meatballs to tomato sauce.
6. Cover, with heat on low, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
To complete the recipe:
1. Combine spaghetti squash and albondigas – with plenty of sauce – on your plate. Top with additional parmesan cheese or fresh parsley.
