Quinoa Spaghetti With Spaghetti Squash Recipe
One of my favorite foods is pasta, but pasta isn’t really all that healthy so I was pretty excited to discover that there is a pre made Quinoa Spaghetti
Of course, I like to have a heaping bowl of it, so I decided to pair it up with spaghetti squash so I could add some volume as well as nutrients and fiber to the dish. They go together perfectly and it lets me load up a big old pasta plate without going over my calories (or weight watchers points).
I found the cutest little spaghetti squash at the grocery store – usually they are these big old things, but this one was only about 7″ long so it didn’t take nearly as long to cook as the big ones.
Sometimes instead of a marinara sauce, I love to have a simple sauce of garlic and butter (I substitute olive oil for some of the butter to make it healthier) with parmesan cheese on top and this sauce goes perfectly with this squash, quinoa pasta combination.
I added in some fresh chopped basil and oregano for some added health -both these herbs aid in digestion and are loaded with antioxidants and vitamins. Basil also has powerful anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Spaghetti squash has lots of vitamin A as well as Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and adds some fiber to the dish.
Quinoa Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (1/2 box) Quinoa Pasta
- 3 cups spaghetti squash
- ½ tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tablespoon oregano, chopped
- 1 tablespoon basil, chopped
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Pierce the skin of the spaghetti squash and bake for about an hour until the squash is tender. You may need to bake it for more or less time depending on the size of your squash.
- Remove squash from oven and let cool for 5 or 10 minutes before cutting open lengthwise.
- In the meantime, boil water as directed on quinoa package and add quinoa after it boils.
- Add the olive oil, butter and garlic to a small sauté pan and heat on medium low heat. Be careful not to overcook the garlic as it will get bitter.
- Remove the squash seeds and scrape the squash strands into a bowl with a fork.
- When the quinoa is done cooking (about 9 or 10 minutes), drain it and add to the squash in the bowl.
- Add the olive oil, butter, garlic mixture to the squash, quinoa mixture and toss to coat. Add the chopped herbs.
- Transfer to bowls and top with parmesan cheese.
Notes
This recipe has 6 weight watchers points (new point system), 30.5 g carbs and 4.2g protein per serving.
