Meatball Spaghetti Squash Boats are an easy, low calorie, gluten free dinner. Low carb, cheesy + loaded with baby meatballs – they’re delicious!
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If you love all things cheesy, warm, and cozy.. you’ll love these meatball spaghetti squash boats!
We’re big fans of spaghetti squash and these Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Boats are easily one of the most popular recipes on our site.
Typically we just make spaghetti squash in a casserole like this Greek Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bake, Spaghetti Squash Casserole, or this Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole – but spaghetti squash boats are so much more fun!
These spaghetti squash boats are a little more time intensive to make than some of our other recipes – but they’re worth the extra effort!
I’ve included some time saving tips below so you can get them on the table quickly – and I know you’re going to love them!
These boats are low calorie, and can easily be made paleo/Whole30 friendly if you skip the cheese!
Let’s make them!
Ingredients for Spaghetti Squash Boats:
To make these spaghetti squash boats you’ll need:
- spaghetti squash
- shredded mozzarella
- tomato sauce
- ground turkey
- almond meal
- onion, minced garlic
- dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano
- olive oil
- salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (those are optional!)
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
How to cut a spaghetti squash:
If you’ve never cooked spaghetti squash, the hardest part is cutting it. For ‘boats’ we cut our spaghetti squash lengthwise.
- Make sure to use a very sharp knife and press downward. Be careful not to cut yourself as they can roll/be slippery.
- Once you’ve cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy part in the middle. You can discard this (or roast the seeds and snack on them!)
- Once you’ve scooped the center out – your spaghetti squash is ready to go!
How to make Meatball Spaghetti Squash Boats:
- Slice your spaghetti squash. Spray the spaghetti squash with olive oil and place open face up (see photos). Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- While spaghetti squash is baking, in a bowl, mix together meatball batter. Roll in ½ inch balls. Bake for 10 minutes
- While meatballs are baking, remove spaghetti squash from the oven and shred – leaving about half the squash in the skin.
- In a bowl, stir together cooked meatballs, shredded spaghetti squash filling and the tomato sauce.
- Stuff the spaghetti squash skins with the mixture.
- Top with mozzarella + put back into the oven for 10-12 minutes.
Substitutions for this spaghetti squash bake:
Cheese: Simply omit the cheese to make this recipe dairy free/paleo/Whole30 friendly
Tomato sauce: We use homemade tomato sauce, but you can use jarred. This is our favorite jarred sauce. I haven’t tried substituting red sauce for any other type of sauce, but I think that Healthier Alfredo Sauce would also be yummy.
Meat: Any ground meat will work in this recipe – turkey, beef, or ground chicken
Almond Meal: To make these nut free you can sub almond meal 1:1 with bread crumbs.
Whole30/Paleo: You can just skip the cheese to make these spaghetti squash boats totally paleo or Whole30
Time Saving Tips for Spaghetti Squash Boats:
Cook the spaghetti squash before. That takes the longest. Wondering how you cook spaghetti squash in the microwave or instant pot? Here is a post on how to cook spaghetti squash in the microwave and here is a post about how to cook spaghetti squash in the instant pot. Both methods take about 10 minutes.
You can also just bake the spaghetti squash per the directions in the post at 400 for 30 minutes total. You can bake it the night before you want to have them for dinner and shred it so that you are 30 minutes ahead of the game come dinner time!
Cook the meatballs ahead of time. As mentioned above, you can make the meatballs ahead of time and then add them in when you’re ready to bake! Here’s another meatball recipe you could try or try these chicken meatballs!
Assemble and bake when you’re ready. You can assemble these spaghetti squash boats and leave them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake them. I wouldn’t recommend leaving for more than 2 days without baking.
How to serve/store Meatball Spaghetti Squash Boats:
Can this recipe be made ahead? Absolutely! I actually recommend assembling the boats ahead of time. You can put everything in the boats and leave it in your refrigerator until you are ready to bake. You can also bake it ahead of time and reheat when ready to eat
Can this recipe be reheated? Yes, this recipe also tastes great when reheated .. Simply reheat in a microwave or in an oven set at 350°F until center is cooked through.
If you love ground turkey, check out these Healthy Ground Turkey Recipes!
Try these other healthy squash recipes:
Meatball Spaghetti Squash Boats
Ingredients
- 2 medium spaghetti squash about 4 lbs
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 cups tomato sauce
For meatballs:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup onion finely chopped, I pulse mine in a food processor
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare two lined baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat baking sheet.
- Slice the spaghetti squash lengthwise, remove seeds + place on baking sheet.
- Spray the spaghetti squash with olive oil and place open face up (see photos). Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- While spaghetti squash is baking, in a bowl, mix together meatball batter.
- Roll in ½ inch balls. Bake for 10 minutes
- While meatballs are baking, remove spaghetti squash from the oven and shred by pulling at the center with a fork. Remove about half of the squash from the skins.
- Once meatballs have cooked, remove them from the baking sheet.
- In a bowl, stir together cooked meatballs, shredded spaghetti squash filling and the tomato sauce.
- Stuff the spaghetti squash skins with the mixture. Top with mozzarella + put back into the oven for 10-12 minutes.
- Optional: For the last 2 minutes turn the oven on Broil/High to get an extra brown, crispy, cheesy top
Samantha says
So easy and tasty! Perfect weeknight dinner to throw together! Love the simple ingredients!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Samantha! Glad you enjoyed it!
Chelsea says
Such a good recipe for during the week! Simple and so delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much!! So glad you liked them 🙂