Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This healthy vegan Spaghetti Squash Casserole recipe is stunningly beautiful and absolutely delish in every bite. It’s made with the goodness of tofu and walnuts and seasoned perfectly to bring out the holiday flavors. It’s an outstanding family dinner that is protein rich and high in fiber.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword baked spaghetti squash casserole, how to make spaghetti squash casserole, spaghetti squash casserole recipe, vegan spaghetti casserole

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings

Calories 382kcal

Author Gunjan

Ingredients

For the squash

1 large spaghetti squash
salt as per taste
freshly crushed black pepper

For the layering

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 14 oz extra firm tofu (drained and crumbled)
1 cup walnuts (crushed/finely chopped)
salt as per taste
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup panko crumbs

For toppings

freshly crushed black pepper
dried parsley
crushed chili flakes
vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven at 400-degree Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the squash length wise. (the easiest way is to use chef’s knife and cut deep and dig a bit on the inside and then slowly make a cut on all sides. Then, separate both the pieces). With a large and sturdy spoon scoop out the inside seeds and discard.
Now, place both the pieces of spaghetti squash on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle salt and pepper on the inside of the spaghetti squash nicely. Settle the seasoning with your fingers a bit so that it sticks to the squash. Now, turn both the pieces, placing the inner side at the bottom and the outer layer exposed at the top. Bake it in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the bottom sides changes to golden color. Once done, take it out and lower the oven temperature at 350-degree Fahrenheit. Set the baking sheet aside for few minutes to cool down a bit. Then turn over the squash slices and scrape the inside with a fork to get nice thin strands. Season it with more salt and pepper as per taste and roughly mix in the strands with the fork while in the slices. Keep them aside.
Heat oil in nonstick pan and flavor it with dried garlic and oregano. Sautee in crumbled tofu until golden in color and completely dried up.
Now, add walnuts, salt, pepper and paprika to it and sauté again for 2-3 minutes or until brownish in color. Turn it off and keep it aside.
Now, place the spaghetti strands of one of the pieces at the bottom layer of a square/rectangle baking dish.
Then, top it with tofu filling spreading it evenly as the second layer.
Now, spread panko crumbs as the third layer evenly in the baking dish.
Lastly, cover it with the strands of another piece of spaghetti squash. Garnish it with crushed chili flakes, pepper and parsley.
Bake it in the middle rack of the oven for 40 minutes. Tur it off and take it out. Scoop out a square piece top it with vegan parmesan and serve hot.

Notes

I usually use two knives to handle spaghetti squash. But make sure that the inside is scooped well before seasoning. Once baked and scraped with fork add some salt in the squash slice itself as per taste and roughly mix the strands with the fork itself. Keep the two slices separately so that the bottom and the top layer of this casserole dish is equal.
Measure the walnuts before crushing/chopping. You may crush walnuts in the food processor in a crush mode or simply pulse to give a finely chopped texture.
After scooping out from one quarter of the casserole the inside might crumble a bit and that is normal because of the ingredients I have used and the way I made this recipe. It is super delicious though.
This tastes best when immediately. But you may refrigerate the leftovers for about 1 week. Reheat in the oven at 350 degree for 20 minutes again or until nicely warmed.

Nutrition