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Dutch Oven Sausage and Basil Spaghetti Squash Bake

One pot meals are where it’s at in the fall. Fewer dishes means more time outside enjoying the gorgeous brisk weather with your family! If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know I love spaghetti squash. Here is a great way to use your spaghetti squash in a classic way that’s loaded with flavor and will give you that comfort food feel that you crave with cheesy pasta dishes. I love my dutch oven, and use it often! I’m excited to break mine out more this fall and winter and give you great ways to use yours, too. This is a great place to start, as most of these ingredients are pantry staples and affordable. Enjoy it!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: About and hour and half total

Level: Easy/Medium

Ingredients - serves 4

  • 1 Spaghetti Squash

  • 1.5 tbsp. olive oil, divided

  • 1 small onion, diced

  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced

  • 1 lb. ground sausage

  • 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes

  • 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

  • 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh basil (about 2-3 oz.)

  • Pinch of crush red pepper (optional)

  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan

  • 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella

  • Kosher salt and pepper

  • Optional: more fresh basil for serving

 

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Cut your spaghetti squash in half, the long way. Use a sturdy spoon to scrape out all of the seeds and loose interior. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp of olive oil over the flesh of the hard squash interior (both halves), and rub it with your hands until it is all coated. Season it with a few pinches of Kosher salt and some black pepper. Place the squash scraped, oiled, and seasoned side down and skin side up on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes.

  2. When the squash is done baking, take it out of the oven, and turn it around so all of the steam can escape the interior and it can cool down while you make the sauce. Wear an oven mitt - it will be hot!

  3. In a dutch oven or other oven-safe pot, heat up the remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, and sauté for about 2 minutes before adding the ground sausage. Turn the heat up just a bit to brown the sausage, and stir often to break it up as it browns.

  4. After the sausage is browned (after about 5 minutes), add the crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, a few pinches of crushed red pepper to add some “zing”, and 3 pinches of Kosher salt. Stir and reduce to a very light simmer for about 5 minutes.

  5. Pre-heat the oven to 375 again if you had turned it off. As it heats up again, do the final touches on the dish: stir in the grated parmesan, then use a fork to scrape the squash interior directly into the dutch oven with your sauce. You can scrape all the way down to the outer skin! Once you have all you can scrape out, mix well.

  6. Cover the squash and sauce with the mozzarella cheese, cover the dutch oven or out, and place in your oven on a center rack to bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take it out and un-cover it. Place it back in the oven to bake uncovered for 15 more minutes.

    Plating: Serve warm and topped with fresh chopped or whole basil leaves. Yum!