My family LOVES lasagna. I love to make it for them, but the real deal is super time consuming and includes the wheat noodles that give my daughter stomach aches and give me too many carbs.

Spaghetti squash provides a great solution. It has great nutrition and is pretty easy to make. M doesn’t like it very much, so I cook up some rice noodles for her to have on the side. My husband and son are happy with it though, and I think it’s THE BOMB. Plus, it’s pretty dang easy.

This recipe is inspired by one I found on Pinterest last year. It is on Wholesome Yum, a great website with lots of tasty low-carb recipes. Here is a link to the original recipe.

Her recipe has you building the lasagna into the shells of the spaghetti squash for a pretty effect. My recipe has more meat and cheese and is baked in a 9 x 13 pan. If I’m going to please my husband and growing son, there needs to be lots of meat (in fact, I think I might add more next time I make it so there will be more leftovers. If you do that, add more sauce).

First, prep the spaghetti squash. I clean mine first using Whole Foods Fruit & Vegetable Wash. It’s been on a truck, in people’s hands, at the store…it needs to be cleaned before it touches your cutting board. Dry it off, too, so it will be safe to handle and you won’t drop it on your foot or have your knife slip. Then, cut it in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds in the middle.

Put it cut side down in a pan with about a half cup of water. I use a large 11 x 15 Pyrex pan. You can use a 9 x 13 if your squash fits. Bake the squash at 375 F for 30 minutes. Take it out and test it with a fork. If the tines can slip into the skin easily, it’s probably done. Turn it over and see if you can use the fork to pull the strands out. It should look like this:

If not, put it back in the oven at 5 minute intervals. You don’t want to overcook it. Mushy spaghetti squash doesn’t have a good texture. You want the strands to be a bit crunchy so that it reminds you (yes, it’s a stretch) of spaghetti. It ain’t spaghetti, but a low-carb girl needs to eat SOMETHING. Once it is cooked, take it out of the pan and put it on a plate or cutting board so it can cool off a bit faster.

Meanwhile, cook the beef. When it’s brown, I add salt and garlic powder to taste (don’t worry, I give you measurements to start with in the recipe below in case you like to be precise. I’m not super precise. I get that from my mom).

When it’s cooked, I take a small portion out and put it in a little bowl that I cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. This is for my daughter, M. I never know if today will be the day she’ll eat the dinner I made in its entirety, so I think ahead so she will get some protein in for sure. At this stage, it basically tastes like a hamburger. So most kids would probably eat it.

Then I add in the “red sauce” and some extra spices and simmer for a couple of minutes. I grate the parmesan (or you could buy pre-grated) and mix it with the ricotta and some olive oil.

When the squash is not too hot to handle, scrape it with a fork to get all of the strands out. I prefer to do this into a big, empty bowl instead of attempting to scrape it straight into the cheese. It’s a bit tricky if you are trying to be fast – which I always am – and you are likely to drop those big pieces occasionally and it would be a pain with the cheese already in the bowl.

Add the cheese in and mix it up. Then you just layer the squash and cheese, followed by the meat, followed by the cheese on top. Ta-da! Give my recipe a try, and leave a comment letting me know what you think. I’d also enjoy links to similar recipes you have – feel free to link one in the comments below.