I created this recipe on accident.  I was at home with two sick kids, was running low on groceries…and time according to whines of being hungry, and was out of ideas.  I stood in my kitchen and looked around and hallelujah, there was a beautiful spaghetti squash.  I was an hour away from a healthy meal.

To curb the whining, I asked my two year old to help me make the sauce.  He pushed a chair up to the counter with an adorable smile and we were in business.  I grabbed the rest of our leftover spinach, the olive oil, and some garlic.  We tasted as we went adding some salt, nutritional yeast, and pine nuts.  It was a hit!  “More!  More!  More!” was all I heard for five minutes.  (We are working on the please and thank you’s).  If the portions are a bit off on this recipe, forgive me, I can’t be sure how much he ate before we finished.

I am thrilled how the pesto turned out.  It is creamy, rich, salty, cheesy, and super easy to make.  Just toss it all in the food processor and voila, a yummy sauce in minutes.  Use it over pasta, as a spread, or as a pizza sauce.  The best part is, the kids will love it and have no clue it’s spinach.  And when used in this recipe over spaghetti squash, they get double the veggies.

Notes:  The pesto recipe makes enough for one half of the spaghetti squash.  Double the recipe to make enough for the entire squash or set aside (or freeze) half of the squash for another recipe.  Half of the squash makes two large bowls or four small bowls of ‘pasta’.

Ingredients:

‘Pasta’

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut spaghetti squash in half long ways and brush the inside of each half with olive oil.  Place cut sides down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the squash is tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.  Scoop out the tender squash with a fork and place in a bowl.  Season with a few pinches of salt.
2. To make the pesto, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend for two minutes.
3. Combine half of the squash with the pesto.  I like to serve with garlic bread.

(Serves 2-4)

Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Pesto Recipe Card

Did you make this recipe?
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