This Spaghetti Squash Florentine is made up of healthy spaghetti squash noodles mimicking angel hair pasta, tossed with caramelized onions, sautéed spinach, crispy bacon, and perfectly topped with parmesan cheese! Only 147 calories per serving! 
Spaghetti squash and I just recently met so we're still in the 'getting to know each other' phase of our relationship, but so far I love it! This is the first dish I've made with it and it kind of came to life because I had some left over ingredients from my cauliflower faux-tatoes (and some left over cravings for caramelized onions!)
I've always wanted to try spaghetti squash and I found an enticing recipe for bacon spaghetti florentine that I thought would be awesome with squash. If you've never tried it before you really should. It's so easy! And so healthy! I don't see why anyone would ever need to eat noodles again (although Andrew begs to differ...but I think it's an incredible alternative!)
One squash goes a loooong way. I actually sent half of this home with my parents because I knew the two of us couldn't eat it all this week. I think it would be a perfect amount for a family dinner, though!
SPAGHETTI SQUASH FLORENTINE
147 calories per serving
Before we start prepping our spaghetti squash, let's learn a little about it, first, mmmkay?
How do i select my squash?
- Choose a spaghetti squash that is firm and heavy for its size. The color should be a creamy white or pale yellow.
- Avoid any squash that are missing a stem, and make sure the stem is dry. Attached stems help to keep bacteria out of the squash.
- Avoid any squash with cracks or soft spots.
- Avoid any squash that look shiny, as this is a sign that it is underripe.
can i store the squash until i feel like cooking this recipe?
- You sure can! Store in a cool, dark, dry location for up to 3 months. Ideally it should be around 55-60 degrees F.
- Do not refrigerate a whole squash, as this will make it spoil more quickly and will only last for about 1-2 weeks.
- Cut squash can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated and should be consumed within 1 week.
Tip: You can find more tips on seasonal produce selection and storage, plus tons of recipes from fellow food bloggers in my Monthly Seasonal Produce Guides!
okay i'm done learning, how do i make this recipe?
First of all, I have leftover crumbled bacon that I will be using, but if you don't happen to have bacon on deck you can fry and dice up 5 slices prior to starting this recipe. You can save a little bacon fat to sauté the onions in, if you wish. This will add great flavor, but will also add extra calories! Since my bacon has already been prepped, I will be using olive oil to cook my onions for this recipe.
Okay, moving onto the squash. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. The first time I made this recipe I cut my squash into 1 inch rings and it was RIDICULOUSLY hard. I low-key considered using a chainsaw. Since then, I have learned an easier (and safer) technique of prepping a spaghetti squash for roasting and have photographed it for you below!
First, place your squash on a towel on top of a cutting board. This will help stabilize your squash so it doesn't roll around during cutting. 
Next, using a small, sharp knife, slice small slits in a dashed line along one long edge of the squash. This will serve as your guide for the next step. While doing this, hold your non-cutting hand on one end of the squash, and cut starting in the middle down the squash away from you, then rotate and slice from the middle out, again cutting away from you to avoid injury. 
Next, grab a larger knife such as a chef's knife, and once again holding the squash at the end away from your cutting end, place the knife into the center of your dashed line and cut down to the bottom of the squash away from your hand.
Continue to cut down this half of the dashed line until you reach the end, then leave your knife place at the end of the squash. If your knife gets stuck at any point, just slowly wiggle it free. 
Here comes the fun part! CAREFULLY--holding one hand at the end of the squash away from the knife, and the other on your knife, simultaneously lift the squash then slam it down onto your cutting board, resulting in breaking through the base (or stem) on this end of the squash (and likely some squash chunks in your hair). Remove the knife from the squash. 
Finally, rotate the squash and continue the same technique down the other half, until you have broken through both the base and stem of the squash. 
Remove your knife and set aside, enjoy your perfect split spaghetti squash! (Sans chainsaw!)
Next, using a spoon (or grapefruit spoon if you have one!) scoop out and discard all of the seeds and strings from the inside of the squash. 
Place each half on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Lightly brush each half with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Don't use too much olive oil or your noodles will be really greasy! (Not speaking from experience or anything...) Flip the squash flesh side down (to prevent liquid from gathering in the bowl of your squash) and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, until edges become browned. 
While the squash halves are becoming squash noodles, heat a pan and add 2 tablespoon of olive oil (or add onions to a pan with a little of the leftover bacon grease instead, if you want). Slice half an onion into thin strips then sauté on low-medium heat until translucent. Add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic and continue to sauté until browned.
Next, toss in 3 cups of spinach and cook until wilted. I am second only to Popeye in my love of spinach. Just look how gorgeous it is! And it always amazes me how much it shrinks after its cooked.
Since I am using leftover bacon, I tossed it in with the onions at this point to warm it up. If you fried your bacon prior to starting this recipe, you could just add it in at the end.
Once the squash is finished noodleizing, remove and let it cool. Use a fork to scrape the squash into noodles. You should be able to scrape all the way down to the skin. Make sure all the noodles are in strands and that you break up any remaining chunks. It should look like a pound of glorious angel hair pasta when you're done.
Finally, add the spaghetti squash noodles to the onion mixture, stir together and bask in all its glory!
Remove from heat and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese (I used about a tablespoon). We served this alongside chicken, so delicious! I have also had it topped off with some grilled shrimp, which is equally divine! 🙂 Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Spaghetti Squash Florentine
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Healthy spaghetti squash noodles mimicking angel hair pasta, tossed with caramelized onions, sautéed spinach, crispy bacon, and perfectly topped with parmesan cheese! Only 147 calories per serving!
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and hollowed out as per post directions
- 5 slices of cooked, crumbled bacon (I used center cut bacon)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ sweet onion, sliced
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups spinach
- 6 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (1 Tbsp for topping each serving)
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half and hollow out the center (see post for instructional photos). Place each half on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Lightly brush each squash half with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Flip the squash flesh side down (to prevent liquid from gathering in the bowl of your squash) and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, until edges become browned.
- Heat a pan and add 2 tablespoon of olive oil (or add onions to a pan with a little of the leftover bacon grease instead, if you want). Slice half an onion into thin strips then sauté on low-medium heat until translucent. Add 1-2 cloves of minced garlic and continue to sauté until browned.
- Next, toss in 3 cups of spinach and cook until wilted.
- Since I am using leftover bacon, I tossed it in with the onions at this point to warm it up. If you fried your bacon prior to starting this recipe, you could just add it in at the end.
- Once the squash is finished noodleizing, remove and let it cool. Use a fork to scrape the squash into noodles. You should be able to scrape all the way down to the skin. Make sure all the noodles are in strands and that you break up any remaining chunks. It should look like a pound of glorious angel hair pasta when you're done.
- Finally, add the spaghetti squash noodles to the onion mixture, stir together.
- Remove from heat and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese (I used about a tablespoon per serving). Serve with your favorite meat such as chicken or grilled shrimp.
- Enjoy! 🙂
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Avoid using too much oil on squash or it will become very greasy.
Keywords: spaghetti squash, florentine, bacon, side dish, healthy substitute, make-ahead, weeknight dinner, low calorie
**Recipe adapted from Flavor Mosaic
What do you think? Did this recipe make the cut for you or did it crumble? What would you do differently? Leave a comment below! 🙂
PS: Since I want my blog to be about learning and improving, I wanted to include one of my original images, next to an updated image. Thank you to the Pinch of Yum Food Photography Ebook for these lessons!
