The BEST Way to Cook Spaghetti Squash _ Long Strands & Not Watery!

Somebody taught me the wrong way to cook spaghetti squash .

Instead of coming out soft and tender , beautifully caramelized with long strands of spaghetti .

It came out watery , mushy and bland .

So in order to save you a bunch of time and frustration , I'm going to be teaching you the best .

And the only way to cook spaghetti squash and all you're gonna need is an oven , a little oil and some salt and pepper .

Hey there , I'm Lennon Brazil from evolving table where we're all about making doable and delicious meals that are also healthy for you .

So if you're ready to get to cooking up the spaghetti squash , then come on in and let's get started preheat your oven to 425 degrees .

This temperature is hot enough to get that beautiful caramelization on the exterior of the squash but not so hot that it cooks unevenly in the oven .

Now , to prepare this ginormous vegetable , it's pretty intimidating .

Right .

Much like it's orange or cousin the butternut squash .

Spaghetti squash has a somewhat tough and hard skin that can be extremely challenging to cut through .

So here are a few tips that just might help you out .

Smaller squash can be easier to cut through than larger ones .

So look for one that is just large enough when selecting it at your grocery store , use a freshly sharpened knife and a cutting board that does not slide around .

You'll want a board with these awesome little grips on the bottom .

If you're still having trouble , you can always poke holes into the skin and microwave it for a few minutes .

This will soften the skin a bit .

So your knife will slide right through .

Once you've got your squash selected and you've got that super sharp knife .

Be very , very careful here , guys , you're gonna want to cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise to do this , start in the belly of one side and carefully cut all of the way around .

Stopping just before you get to the stem .

It's extremely difficult and pretty much impossible to cut the stem in half with your knife .

So instead when you get to this part , simply pull the squash apart with your hands until the two half separate , using a large spoon with a relatively sharp edge scoop out and remove all of the seeds and the strands .

It's OK if you still have a little bit of those strands hanging out in your squash , but you do want to try and remove the majority of them .

Next , we're gonna drizzle on one tablespoon of olive oil over each of the halves , rub it in So the entire inner surface of the squash half is coated , Sprinkle each half with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper .

Since spaghetti squash is pretty large , you'll want to grab a baking sheet that's big enough to comfortably fit both of these halves .

I'm using one here today that's called a Baker's half sheet pan and is roughly 17 by 11 inches .

If you do not have one , this large , you can always use two smaller pans instead , just make sure they have a nice ram around the edge to catch any juices that may run off line .

The baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper don't use aluminum foil .

It will stick to the squash and you'll inevitably get some heavy metals into the vegetable while it's roasting place both halves of the spaghetti squash cut side down .

Now , we just need to pop them into our preheated 425 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes , depending on the size .

You may need to cook the squash for a shorter or longer length of time .

You'll know the squash is done cooking when it shreds easily with a fork .

If you take a close look , you'll notice that the strands of spaghetti squash are actually running from one side to the other .

In order to get the longest strands of spaghetti , possible , you'll want to place a large fork into the flesh at the stem end and pull towards the opposite end .

You can serve it as a side dish with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice and a Sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs .

Or you can turn it into the main meal with this lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash .

Thanks so much for hanging out y'all .

I'll see you again soon .