Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Last night I started making spaghetti squash with the idea that I would serve it with the pasta. I followed a recipe that I found on-line for microwaving the squash and the cooking time was way off. The recipe I tried said 6 – 8 minutes in the microwave if cut in half. Well….my microwave took almost 25 minutes and that was longer than I could wait last night. Since I had a large container of spaghetti squash and didn’t want to serve it tonight with sauce my husband and I collaborated and came up with this idea of a spaghetti squash gratin.

The almond milk white sauce tastes much richer than it actually is. The cornstarch does a nice job of thickening the sauce without adding unnecessary fat. The fresh nutmeg adds a beautiful aroma and makes this dish feel as though it is made with a traditional béchamel sauce. The whole wheat bread crumbs mixed with a little extra virgin olive oil add a nice crispy top to the dish.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin
Serves 6

Ingredients:

8 cups of cooked spaghetti squash
4 cups of almond milk, unsweetened
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs
2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease on 9 by 12 inch pan or two 8 by 8 inch pans and set them aside.

Put the cooked squash into the baking dish.

Make the white sauce by adding the cornstarch to the cold almond milk and whisking to thoroughly combined. Add the salt, black pepper, garlic and nutmeg to the almond milk. Heat the milk over medium heat whisking periodically until the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce over the spaghetti squash and smooth out the top of the dish.

Add the olive oil to the breadcrumbs and toss to combine. Top the baking dish with the breadcrumbs and evenly spread them out over the top of the gratin.

Bake until the dish begins to bubble (about 30 minutes). Allow the dish to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 162.17
Calories From Fat (26%) - 42.04

Total Fat - 4.68g
Saturated Fat - 0.5g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1023.89mg
Potassium - 417.8mg
Total Carbohydrates - 27.31g
Fiber - 4.91g
Sugar - 6.26g
Protein - 4.43g

Comments:

This dish was tasty and very filling. I am always surprised when a low calorie dish like this turns out to be so satisfying. My husband told me this was almost as good as the balsamic and garlic roasted tomatoes. That is very high praise considering I know how much he loves the roasted tomatoes. This recipe was easy to make and very satisfying to eat.