The name says it all, cheesy spinach and chicken spaghetti squash! Anything with cheese is just hands down that much better. Cheese always adds that extra bonus flavor to any meal. Hi, I'm Jillian and cheese is my addiction 🙂 and damn proud of it! The dark, leafy greens, mixed in will help support your skin, hair, and bone health. The dark leafy green here is obviously the spinach. The chicken gives you that protein you are always looking for.
There are 38 grams of protein in 1 cup of chicken to be exact. Remove the skin to get the leanest part of the chicken. The breast has fewer calories than the thigh and wing and only 6 grams of fat. Then, you have your spaghetti squash! Also, low in calories and contains several key vitamins and nutrients. This meal has it all!
I also love the idea of using the actual squash as the bowl! Dishes have become my chore in the house since I am forever cooking something and I am also still on maternity leave so I figured why not help my hubby out. Secret about him is he loves doing the dishes. He reminds me of Monica from Friends with his cleaning antics, but I'm not complaining.
The squash bowl was also super fun for my daughter when it came time for her to try this meal out. I think she only tried it because of the bowl. She has become more picky within the last couple months so finding food that excites her is usually my mission.
Why eat spaghetti squash
If you haven't given spaghetti squash a try I recommend that you do for many reasons. First of all, there are so many fun dishes that you can make with spaghetti squash. When you pull it out of the shell it actually looks like real spaghetti and that is a fantastic alternative when you are trying to eat less calories.
Fun fact: for this reason it is known as the vegetable spaghetti, noodle squash, or I've even heard of "squaghetti". Spaghetti squash is actually a nutrient-dense food. As I had stated earlier this means that is is low in calories and high in several key vitamins. In particular, it has fiber, vitamin C, manganese, and vitamin B6. You can really add spaghetti squash to a variety of dishes, like soups or stews. It can even be eaten raw if you desire. Are you sold on this veggie now?!
Equipment needed to make this meal
These non-stick cooking pans are what I use to bake my squash on.
Also kind of loving these and need them in my life. How cute are the little orange handles.
Love this pot for boiling the chicken in.
Perfect for mixing the sauce in!
Here is a picture of my whole heart because why not share the love 🙂
I have since had another daughter, so a new picture is coming soon!
Cheesy Spinach and Chicken Spaghetti Sqaush
Ingredients
- 2 spaghetti squashes cut lengthwise
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1 cup spinach chopped
- 8 ounces low fat cream cheese
- kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pound chicken breasts boiled and shredded
- ½ grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place on a baking sheet face down and cook for 40 to 50 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat and add olive oil. Add sun dried tomatoes and spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add in cream cheese and salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium size pot, filled with 6 cups of water, to boiling. Add chicken breasts and boil for 15 minutes or until cooked through and easy to shred. Drain water and using 2 forks shred the chicken. Add it to the cream cheese mix and combine.
- Flip squash over and scrape out the spaghetti using a fork and add that to the cream cheese mix, as well.
- Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Scoop mixture back into squash boats and sprinkle with cheese. Set broiler to high. Broil boats until cheese is melted, about two minutes.
Dana
Making this for the millionth time this week! Love this recipe
Jillian
Yay! This one is one of my faves too!