Ever since I saw Gina's Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Squash Boats with Grilled Chicken earlier this year I've been wanting to make spaghetti squash "boat style." It seems like such a fun and easy way to make an intimidating squash, well, less intimidating.
My idea was to make a simple vegetarian dish using everyday pantry ingredients. That's when Black Bean Spaghetti Squash Boats popped into my head. So I threw the squash into the oven while I was working and decided to worry about the filling once they were done.
My timer went off and I peeked into the pantry only to discover no black beans!
I had garbanzo, white, pinto, kidney, butter, green … every damn bean except black!
Here's were I tell you there's no "right" way to cook, especially when you're making things up as you go along. I went with kidney and it all worked out.
The boats made a filling lunch and now I have one left to pop in the microwave for a quick lunch!
Here's what I did…
Ingredients
- 1 small spaghetti squash (mine totaled 924g uncooked)
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup salsa
- 2 oz fancy shredded Mexican cheese blend
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
Note: I normally cook mine whole because cutting them is quite a challenge. You can soften it slightly in the microwave or even skip the baking and cook the entire thing in the microwave.
Sprinkle the squash with salt and pepper.
Bake for about 50 minutes until it is tender to the touch.
Once you pull the squash out of the oven, mix the beans with the salsa.
Fluff the squash with a fork releasing some of the strands.
Top each squash with the bean-salsa mixture.
You could add additional salsa if you are more of a sauce person. I didn't want them swimming in it.
Top each with an ounce of cheese.
Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts and the beans warm up.
Enjoy!
I had a lot of fun eating it while working. I just love the creamy bean texture with the sweet crunch of the squash.
I'm already thinking of other boat combinations! Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to serve it to the family for dinner. HA!
📖 Recipe
Black, I mean, Kidney Bean Spaghetti Squash Boats
Ingredients
- 1 small spaghetti squash mine totaled 924g uncooked
- 1 can red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup salsa
- 2 oz fancy shredded Mexican cheese blend
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds.1 small spaghetti squash
- Sprinkle the squash with salt and pepper.1 small spaghetti squash
- Bake for about 50 minutes until it is tender to the touch.
- Once you pull the squash out of the oven, mix the beans with the salsa.1 can red kidney beans, ½ cup salsa
- Fluff the squash with a fork releasing some of the strands.
- Top each squash with the bean-salsa mixture.
- You could add additional salsa if you are more of a sauce person. I didn't want them swimming in it.
- Top each with an ounce of cheese.2 oz fancy shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts and the beans warm up.
Notes
- I normally cook mine whole because cutting them is quite a challenge. You can soften it slightly in the microwave or even skip the baking and cook the entire thing in the microwave.
Penny
According to my fitness pal the calories are 443 per serving. Perhaps it is all about the size of the spaghetti squash? I am astounded at how many calories spaghetti squash has!
roni
That's why I give the grams. They do vary but spaghetti squash is by no means high calorie at 42 calories a cup (155g) cooked.
Laura
This sounds like a great way to introduce spaghetti squash to the kids, especially if I put my already kid-approved chili i the boat. I shall try this!
Bartek
I love this recipe!. It is my best food on this weekend
Barbara
I used zucchini , butternut squash, also acorn for the boats. Your squash sounds good
Tiffany Lynn
Just made this for dinner tonight ( w/ black beans)! It was amazing, and I thunk next time I might add some rotisserie chicken.