Slow cooker spaghetti squash with marinara and white beans
The easiest way to cook a spaghetti squash: whole in the slow cooker, then tossed with marinara, white beans, spinach and melty mozzarella.
- 265 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.87 a serving
- 390 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 spaghetti squash, about 3 lb
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 4 sprigs fresh basil, leaves torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 390 calories, 21 g protein, 49 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $2.87 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Poke the whole squash 8 to 10 times with a sharp knife, set it in the slow cooker and pour in the water.
Dolly’s tip: The holes let steam escape. Skip them and the squash can split.Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or High for 3½ to 4 hours, until a knife slides in easily.
Timer: 240 min
Lift the squash out with tongs and a towel and let it cool 10 minutes. it , scoop out the seeds and scrape the flesh into strands.
Halve. Halving means cutting something into two equal pieces. Even halves cook at the same speed, so one doesn’t dry out while the other finishes.
How you’ll know: The two pieces look like mirror images of each other.
Lengthwise. Lengthwise means cutting along the long side, from stem to tip, which gives long pieces. Crosswise is the other way, straight across the middle, which gives short, round ones.
How you’ll know: Lengthwise halves of a zucchini look like two little canoes; crosswise pieces look like coins.
Timer: 10 min
Warm the marinara, beans, pepper flakes and salt in a large over medium heat until bubbling, 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach until .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the squash strands and to coat. Scatter the mozzarella and parmesan over, cover and let it , 2 minutes.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Low heatTimer: 2 min
Top with basil and serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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