So I was in the market for some eggplant and shrimp yesterday and came across something promoting itself as a vegetable product that tastes like pasta. Does it really? Does anyone have tested recipes? I know, I know, I should just eat pasta but a) I hate whole-wheat pasta, I think it tastes like poo b) I can eat 1 chapati and some curry and feel full but I feel compelled to eat a lot of pasta to feel full and I just don’t like all the calories that come along with it. This spaghetti squash has lured me in…please feel free to tell me your experiences and/or cooking tricks for it (I’m going to attempt the slice in half and bake method but if anyone knows one that’s better let me know).
I think it tastes remarkably like angel-hair pasta…as much as pasta has a taste… and it’s great with marinara sauce, or just butter and cheese.
Have had it several times prepared by several different people. No, it doesn’t taste like pasta. It has that bland squashy flavor that you find in things like zucchini. It isn’t offensive but it also isn’t a real substitute for pasta IMO.
Spaghetti squash does NOT taste like pasta. But it is pretty tasty actually. I’m not one for squash and SS is the only type of squash I’ll voluntarily eat. The first time I had it was at a friend’s house. She actually served it with marinara sauce and it wasn’t too bad. But it definitely doesn’t taste like spaghetti. When I make it myself I bake it and top with parmesan cheese.
But it is worth it for the amusement of watching it turn into “spaghetti” - I really could not see how it would.
(Yes, I am easily amused).
i’m not sure where you heard that it “tastes like spaghetti” – that’s hyperbole for sure. it LOOKS a bit like spaghetti when the flesh has been cooked and dug out of the shell. an orange-ish/yellowish spaghetti…
it does make a decent substitute for the pasta version. you can eat it with sauce and meatballs (or however you usually do the Italian pasta thing). it’s a good side vegetable on its own with butter/maragine and seasoned salt.
my favored cooking method is just to take the whole squash, poke it all around with a fork, and stick it in the microwave for maybe 8-10 minutes. let it sit and steam itself done for about 10 minutes after. slice in half (i do it across the middle, rather than end-to-end), scoop out seeds, then scoop out cooked strand-like flesh and consume as you please.
i’ve tried the slice-in-half-and-microwave-cut-side-down-in-some-water cooking style, and i wasn’t as impressed with how it came out as the self-steamed method. think it was harder to handle/remove seeds or something. i’ve never tried the baked-in-oven way. i’m pretty sure that takes around an hour, which seems a waste of time and electricity to me.
I read that it tastes like spaghetti on the internets. Damn that pesky, misleading technology.
I am looking at recipes on FoodTV, Google and AllRecipes and laughing to myself at how everything is labelled “low-carb” as if it’s somewhat healthy but then the recipe will call for copious amounts of butter or cheese or cream. At that point I might as well tuck into real pasta.
I’m going to try it with a light wine + broth sauce.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s not good spaghetti, and it’s not good squash. Lots of people seem to like it, though, so what can I say… all you can to is give it a try and see what you think.
anu-la1979, it sounds like you’re confusing “low carb” with “low calorie”. no relation between the two, trust me!
butter, cheese, cream – all good, all the time (under Atkins). no carbs whatsoever. Atkins tends not to count calories like other diets, mostly just carbs. so, depending on your dietary theology (ooo, like that phrase!)…
but spaghetti squash with (approved butter substitute allowed under your regime) and spices is decent, no matter what your dietary theories.
I like it prepared as a light entree with a spicy oil and garlic sauce.
I don’t think it would be very satisfying under a red sauce or a cream sauce – it’s really not equivalent with pasta in any way.
It kicks ass as a simple meal, if you want to put more labour into making a nice salad to or vegetable side to accompany it.
Spaghetti-squash afredo, though? Forget about it! Waste of squash, and a horrible squandering of a nice sauce. The texture and taste are just wrong for most workaday pasta sauces.
Oh yeah, I forgot that Atkins doesn’t worry about the fat/calorie content. I suppose to me “Low-carb” when plastered all over a recipe or product indicates some level of “healthiness” and I simply don’t associate healthiness with recipes that call for three different types of cheeses, butter & cream.
Yeah, spaghetti squash doesn’t taste like pasta, but I love it anyway.
My favorite way of making it is after I steam it in the microwave, as how lachesis does it, I’ll shred it with a fork, and set it aside.
In a large skillet on low heat, I warm up some olive oil. I throw in a few minced cloves of garlic and about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and let those go until the garlic gets aromatic and just starts to turn color. That’s when I throw in the squash, toss it around, add some salt and pepper, then serve. It makes a really good side dish with grilled chicken breasts.
Lots of winter squash have that stringy property when baked, including pumpkin. I bought a spaghetti squash the other day for the hell of it, read about its supposed pasta-like properties, shrugged, and made some damn fine risotto with it. 
Spaghetti squash and roasted vegetable risotto
Cut the squash in half and roast it cut side down for an hour at 375. Also roughly cut 2 onions and 3 red skinned poatoes, salt and pepper them, toss them in olive oil, and roast them as well.
Remove potatoes and onion after onion caramelizes. Set aside.
After squash is done, scoop flesh out of peeling and puree in a blender. Set aside.
Heat 5 cups chicken broth on stovetop until simmering.
Saute 2 shallots and 16 ounces wild mushrooms in olive oil in a large stock pot. After the 'shrooms darken, add 1/2 cup dry white wine, stir through, and let reduce for 3-4 minutes.
Stir in 16 ounces risotto (arborio rice) and coat in mushroom mixture. Cook rice dry for 1-2 minutes. Begin alternately adding 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup squash puree as liquid sources. Continually stir, as rice will stick in a heartbeat. As rice absorbs liquid, add more, stirring constantly, until rice is al dente. Make sure to salt, pepper, and herb the risotto (I used rosemary and thyme) while cooking. Use all the squash puree and you should be able to use most of the chicken broth.
As the risotto nears being done (creamy, sticky texture,) squeeze the juice of one lemon into the dish, and you may want to finish with 1/4 - 1/2 cup dry white wine.
Stir roasted onions and potatoes into risotto.
Serve with a little gruyere grated over it, and enjoy.
My parents planted spaghetti squash one year. It took over the garden and a great chunk of the back yard. The squash itself was delicious…the first few times. After a while we couldn’t even give it away.
As said above, I wouldn’t use it in a recipe where the pasta was an important flavor component. However, it is decent, and I’m copying the recipes to try.
To me, the main thing is that it is a vegetable. Like most people, I don’t get enough veggies in my diet, even though I like most of them. I get lots of grain and cereal products, so making this substitution is an easy way of making my diet a little bit healthier.
Plus, kids who avoid vegetables on principle will eat it.
Oh, and saute some garlic with the shallots and mushrooms. But you’d already figured that out, right?
Spaghetti squash once a year is more than enough. I make a quasi-lasagna casserole with it for my vegi friends at thanksgiving.
I SWEAR i am going to make this my freaking sig line -
Atkins is not NO carb, it is LOW carb defined as less than 100 grams of carbs in a day. You start the diet with a 2 week period of restricting your carb intake to 20 grams per day. After that period you add in 5 grams of carb a week to your daily amount until you stop losing weight, then you back off 5 carb until you are losing weight again. Many people are actually doing 35-45 grams of carb a day. When you have gotten to your target weight, add back in that 5 grams of carb and you stop losing weight, and should maintain your weight level. If not, play around with the grams of carb until you find the proper level you can eat without gaining or losing weight.
And I am one fucking hell of a lot healthier doing NO extra junk starches, I do 10 servings a day of vegetables [between 1 and 3 portions of fruit] 5 portions of protein, and other than not going apeshit and eating a pound of butter or pound of bacon, I mostly disreguard calories coming from fats. I do prefer leaner meats, poultry and seafoods as too much fat in my diet has always given me indigestion.
[yes, I do 5 small meals, 1 protein and 2 veg a day, though I will do something like cake and ice cream on special occasions, I am watching my food intake to keep off insulin, not to punish myself.]