A delicious vegetarian recipe for Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with a Mexican twist. Black beans, corn, bell pepper, onion and cilantro, enchilada sauce and melty cheese give this spaghetti squash recipe the best flavor. Low-carb and vegan-adaptable!
This recipe for Stuffed Spaghetti Squash is packed full of healthy veggies without compromising on flavor! It’s low-carb, grain-free and vegan-adaptable. Spaghetti squash is cut in half and then roasted in the oven. Once done, mix the tender squash with a savory mixture of black beans, peppers, onion, corn, cilantro, cheese and enchilada sauce. Feel free to add ground meat, or make them completely vegan. A very adaptable recipe!
TIP: You can also turn this into a Spaghetti Squash Casserole! So hearty, flavorful and satisfying without being overly heavy.
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash | video
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Ingredients
- Spaghetti Squash: The star of the recipe, spaghetti squash is a low-carb and nutritious alternative to traditional pasta. It has a mild flavor and when cooked, it forms spaghetti-like strands.
- Black Beans: Black beans provide a good source of plant-based protein and fiber. They add a hearty and satisfying element to the dish. Feel free to use ground meat ( ground turkey, ground beef, ground chicken) instead!
- Corn: Sweet corn adds beautiful texure to the filling. It complements the other ingredients with its natural sweetness. Use fresh or frozen corn.
- Red Bell Pepper: Red bell pepper not only adds vibrant color to the dish but also brings a refreshing and slightly sweet taste. It is packed with vitamin C and antioxidants.
- Onions and garlic: add savory depth!
- Cilantro: Cilantro brightens up the dish and enhances its overall taste.
- Enchilada Sauce: Enchilada sauce adds richness and flavor- use store-bought or make our 5-minute enchilada sauce!
- Melty Cheese: A little melty cheese adds creaminess and richness to the stuffed spaghetti squash. Use cheddar, Monterey Jack, shredded mozzarella cheese, a Mexican cheese blend or a vegan cheese alternative.
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash INstructions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, in either direction. If you to create these upright bowls, slice a tiny bit off the bottom to create a stable base.
This way they will stand level.
Scoop out the seeds.
Place open side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake until tender, about 40 minutes.
While the spaghetti squash bakes, make the savory Mexican filling. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet, until soft and fragrant. Add the red bell pepper and cook until just tender. Stir in the black beans, corn, spices and salt. Set aside.
Once the spaghetti squash is tender, scoop it out into a bowl.
Add the black bean and corn mixture. Stir this together with the enchilada sauce and cheese. Taste the filling, adjusting to taste.
Place the filling back into the squash half, and sprinkle with more cheese and bake until melty.
You can also scoop this filling into a baking dish and create a casserole! Great if bringing to a gathering.
Once the stuffed spaghetti squash is heated through and melty, serve!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with fresh cilantro, sour cream or avocado slices, and hot sauce! Pair this with a light salad like our Mexican Slaw!
Making ahead & Storage
The Stuffed spaghetti squash can be prepped and assembled ahead up to 48 hours, before baking and serving. Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator- or can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before reheating,
Variations
- Add Meat: Feel free to use ground meat instead of black beans: brown the ground meat with the onions and garlic. Season with the spices and salt, then add in the rest. You’ll need about ¾-1 lb ground meat ( turkey, beef, chorizo, or ground chicken). Adjust salt to taste at the end, after adding the enchilada sauce, you may need a bit more. You can make some with meat and some with black beans for mixed households.
- Create a Spaghetti squash casserole: See photos above – perfect for bringing to a potluck or gathering.
- Vegan: Feel free to leave out the cheese or add vegan cheese.
More Spaghetti Squash recipes!
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main, dinner idea
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with black beans, corn, bell pepper, Mexican spices, enchilada sauce, melty cheese, and cilantro. Vegan-adaptable, or add ground meat if you like.
Ingredients
- 2 small spaghetti squash, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2-4 fresh garlic cloves- chopped
- 1 1/2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
- 1 red bell pepper – diced
- 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans ( 14-ounce can rinsed and drained) or sub browned ground meat, turkey chorizo, or leftover or baked chicken breast )
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon fresh jalapeno, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce , more to taste.
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 1/2–1 cup shredded cheese- Mexican cheese blend, cheddar, mozzarella, or vegan cheese
- Garnish: cilantro, sour cream or sliced avocado, hot sauce
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425 F
- Cut spaghetti squash in half, and scrape out seeds. If cutting in half horizontally, create a stable base by slicing of a little of the ends, so they stand upright, creating a “bowl”(or fee free to cut vertically).
- Place on a parchment lined or greased baking sheet, cut-side, faced down, and place in the hot oven for 40 minutes until fork tender.
- While they are roasting, make the filling. Saute onion in a skillet with the olive oil, on medium-high heat, stirring, for two minutes. Add garlic, turn heat to medium and sauté for 3-4 minutes until garlic becomes fragrant and golden. Turn heat to medium-low, add red bell pepper and jalapeno if using, stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Add beans, corn spices, salt and enchilada sauce and bring to a simmer. Turn heat off and stir in cilantro. The mixture will seem salty, but remember you will be mixing this with under-seasoned spaghetti squash, so the salt will disappear.
- When spaghetti squash is tender, carefully, using a fork, fluff and stir the inside of the squash, scraping it away from the sides. Place it in a bowl and mix with the black bean filling. Add more enchilada sauce to taste and mix in some cheese. Adjust salt and heat to taste.
- Divide the filling among the four shells, top with a little more cheese if you like and return the stuffed squash into a 375F oven and bake for 15- 20 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted. *Alternatively, you can pour the filling into a greased baking dish, top with cheese and bake it as a casserole.
- Garnish with cilantro, avocado or sour cream, and hot sauce.
Notes
These can be made up to 48 hours ahead, refrigerate, let come to room temp before baking. Internal temp should reach 140F
If adding ground meat instead of black beans, brown the ground meat with the onions and garlic. Season with the spices and salt, then add in the rest. You’ll need about ¾-1 lb. Adjust salt to taste at the end, after adding the enchilada sauce, you may need a bit more.
You can make some with meat and some with black beans for mixed households.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ a squash, mounded
- Calories: 473
- Sugar: 12.9 g
- Sodium: 1111.6 mg
- Fat: 17.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 65.3 g
- Fiber: 13.2 g
- Protein: 20.7 g
- Cholesterol: 26.6 mg
This looks so good I have acorn squash in the fridge could I use that instead?
yes, totally!
I just started getting your Saturday emails a few months back and am hooked! I picked up my last bag of beautiful seasonal veggies from CasaCano farms in Valleyford, near Spokane on Thursday and had 3 spaghetti squash. What to do? I made this recipe with one of them on our snowy Sunday evening …. Today is Tuesday and I’m making the other two tonight! Yummy, healthy and so filling! Maddie at the farm includes recipes sometimes and I’m going to forward this, so maybe next year her other customers can make it!!! Love your site!!
Thanks so much Jan, really appreciate it!!!
This was a hit! The whole family loved it.
loved it. Tasty and filling
this was delicious! I cooked the squash in the instant pot and then filled it after. Quick, easy and mighty tasty. Thanks 🙂
This recipe is very good. I have only had spaghetti squash one other time and I didn’t really care for it. But the was a real hit. My husband loved it. We have decided not to eat meat on Tuesday and Thursday and the recipe was very filling
I didn’t stuff the spaghetti squash. I just put some in a bowl and topped it with the sauce. This is so delicious!! I did not add any cheese and didn’t miss it. Thank you for sharing. I will be making it again for sure!
Great to hear and thanks for sharing Danielle!
I’ve just discovered this site! Everything I’ve tried has been delicious. I’m vegetarian and, until this site, have a hard time finding sites with consistently good vegetarian recipes. I love the simplicity of the food and preparation.
Today, I made the enchilada stuffed spaghetti squash for the second time in two weeks, this time to share with co-workers. I used Persian lime olive and it worked so well.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!
Im so glad you are enjoying?
I’m not normally a huge fan of spaghetti squash, but this was delicious! I added a Poblano pepper that needed cooking and the heat was just right. This recipe is going in my “favorite” file. Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it Heather!
Delicious. The whole family gobbled it up. We didn’t use cheese.
Awesome to hear!
Im so glad you enjoyed it~!
It looks delicious but that is a fairly high sodium content. The ingredients look healthy so where does all the sodium come from?
I guess form the salt? You can cut it back if you want to.
Loved your recipe. I had to try it, but of course with my own spin. After all, that’s real life 🙂
https://reallifeofanmsw.com/2016/12/27/spaghetti-squash-goes-to-mexico
i m a chef i m learning from you
This tastes as delicious as it looks! I’ll be making the roasted sketti squash with sage and mushrooms this week. I’m so glad I found you, (referred by a friend), because, since cutting meat out of my diet a few years ago, I find it hard to get excited about eating.
I need recipes like these to keep me healthy. Healthy to me – no meat, low dairy, (almond milk has come around at a good time), no bread or potatoes or anything white, lots of beans and lentils and tofu. I’m no angel, I still enjoy my sweets, but I’m lucky in that I lost any extra weight I had when I quit eating meat. Thank you for the time you put into teaching us about some great eating! I’m in the South, and there are not a lot of vegetarian options out here.
How do you slice the beast? I almost stabbed myself!
I’ve heard that if you cook it whole, it is super easy to slice. I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan to because they can sure be tough to cut when they’re raw. It does help to put them on a folded towel so they don’t slip around on the cutting board.
I use a pumpkin carving knife
Thanks for posting! Most of my family liked the squash a lot (the dissenter is a picky 4-yr-old). My husband and kids wrapped it in whole wheat tortillas for burritos.
This is a great recipe that I’ve been sharing it with family and friends. Husband looovvves it. Easy to make, healthy, and really delicious. I usually make a new recipe exactly as written the first time around and then tweak it the next time, but this one will stay exactly the way it is!
Thanks for sharing Dana! Glad you are enjoying it 😉
This was absolutely delicious! I made it with the beans and ground beef. Topped with Greek yogurt, cilantro, avocado and hot sauce.
Oh good Sarah! Such a healthy hearty meal!
What beautifully presented and delicious sounding recipes! My kind of food. My idea of healthy? well I don’t eat meat so- vegetables with beans for protein, whole grains, healthy fats, nuts and seeds. i just cooked bean burgers with avocado and haloumi served with a big leafy green salad. Thank you for sharing these great recipes and all the work that goes into presenting them so beautifully- much appreciated.
Thanks Rachel… appreciate your input!!
What beautifully presented and delicious sounding recipes- just my kind of food! Thank you for sharing- I am looking forward to trying them out. My idea of healthy? Well I don’t eat meat so vegetables with beans for protein, healthy fats, whole grains nuts and seeds. I just made bean burgers served with avocado and haloumi with a big leafy green salad. Thanks again.
These look so good! I am loving all the filling ingredients you used!!
I have never stuffed spaghetti squash before! What a seriously delicious recipe and idea.. this looks like the ultimate cheesey comfort food too. Great recipe & pinned!
Really beautiful & creative, LOVE this!
Thanks Matt!
Stuffing squash is one of my favorite things to do! I love the taste, the process, and the way it looks! Great recipe!!
For me, healthy is something just like this… lots of fiber, healthy protein, good fats. Obviously processed carbs like pasta and white bread aren’t healthy… but they are so tasty 😛 I like the comparing nutritional charts here. Interesting to see!
Yes, they are tasty! Thanks for responding. So what is an example of one of your “go-to” meals?