This Paleo Baked Spaghetti is loaded with veggies, but feels like comfort food. All the flavors of delicious spaghetti with crispy pepperoni on top- the best!
Some photos updated July 2018- recipe is the same!!
This Baked Spaghetti is amazing!! And to think its Paleo and Whole30- it seems too good to be true. It has so much flavor between the italian sausage, pepperoni, and fresh basil. Eggs are added only to help bind it together- it is not eggy at all.
This meal does require a little time to do all the cutting of the veggies and baking of the spaghetti squash. It's totally worth it though. It's a great meal to make on the weekend and eat all week long. If you are making it all at once, put the spaghetti squash in the oven then cut the veggies while it cooks. There are some tips below on how to cut down on prep time.
After you cook the squash, let it cool, then ring it out with a clean kitchen towel. This gets rid of all the excess liquid and if you don't do this the casserole will be watery. I did this while the onion and mushrooms were cooking.
Here are the ingredients you'll need. Yes, I use a jar of sauce. I know I could make my own, but this is nice when I'm not able to. This particular one has no added sugar or oil, so it's Whole30 approved- and it's delicious.
Add the mushrooms and onions to the pan with a little bit of coconut oil. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until softened.
Add in the sauce and meat and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes and basil.
Add the spaghetti squash and eggs. I had to move it to a big bowl because I ran out of room. Typical. Pour it into the pan and top with pepperoni. I like to cut the pepperoni into quarters to have as many crispy pieces as possible. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Mmmmm...crispy and delicious!!
Make ahead and time-saving tips:
-cook the spaghetti squash ahead of time and keep it in the fridge
-brown the meat the day before
-use frozen chopped onion or chop the onion before hand and keep in the fridge
-use pre-chopped mushrooms (or leave out if you don't like them)
This Paleo Baked Spaghetti makes the perfect leftovers. It reheats well and makes dinner so easy. You will love it! Also try my Paleo Pesto Chicken Casserole, Barbecue Chicken Casserole (paleo) and my Paleo Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole.
*Time saving tip* Cook the spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot while the veggies cook on the stove-top. Here is my guide for cooking spaghetti squash.
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Paleo Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage read labels to make sure it's compliant,
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 large large onion, diced
- 1 pound of mushrooms, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 24 oz jar spaghetti sauce check labels to make sure there's no added sugar or cheap oil
- 1 .45 oz container of basil, cut
- 1 10.5 oz container of grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 oz uncured pepperoni leave off for Whole30
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 13x9- set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the coconut oil and cook the onion and mushrooms with the salt for 5-10 minutes or until softened.
- Meanwhile, squeeze the spaghetti squash using a clean kitchen towel. Ringing it in batches works best.
- If the meat is not already cooked, add it to the pan now and brown.
- Add in the spaghetti sauce and mix well.
- Turn the heat off and add in tomatoes and basil.
- Dump into a large bowl (if your pan isn't big enough) and add in spaghetti squash and then the beaten eggs.
- Pour into the prepared pan and top with pepperoni.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
Christine says
Nutrition facts please!
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Christine- I don't figure out nutrition facts because I don't count calories. I believe eating real food is more important than how many calories it contains. If you do want to figure it out, there are many sites online that you can use for free. My Fitness Pal is one popular one.
Morgan says
Can you omit the eggs?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Morgan, you can try, but the dish will probably be more watery. I don't think it would change the flavor, but it might not bind together as well. Feel free to try it. Let me know if it works.
Leslie says
First off I just made this and it was amazing!!!! Second off I totally forgot to add the eggs haha! I had them out and idk what happened lll there was some residual liquid but it came together very well and held it's shape! (And was totally delicious!). Now I did squeeze the hell out of the squash to get as much liquid out, used a slotted spoon to take the mushroom and onions of of their liquid and I let my spaghetti sauce reduce quite a bit on the stove to try to reduce the overall liquid.
Thanks for posting, this is the first spaghetti squash recipe I've made that didn't make me miss real noodles lol
Jessica DeMay says
Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for the great feedback, Leslie! So good to know it can work without the eggs. I'm sure really squeezing the squash made a big difference. You're welcome- I'm glad it satisfied your craving 🙂
Rebekah says
I made this yesterday! Not only did it smell and taste amazing, I froze one and we ate one and it froze amazingly well! I cut the veggies small to hide them from my children ? And put more pep on top to hide any veggies at the surface. Thank so much, we are always looking for paleo foods our kids will eat!
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for the great feedback Rebekah! I'm so glad you and your kids enjoyed the spaghetti- thanks for making my recipe! 🙂
LaKendra says
Is there anything I can use in place of coconut oil? I'm not too crazy about the stuff
Jessica DeMay says
Hi LaKendra! Yes, use whatever fat you like- lard, ghee, avocado oil, olive oil. Any of those would work great. I hope you try this and love it!
LaKendra says
One more question, sorry!....what size eggs did you use? I normally buy extra large eggs, but am wondering if that will be too much for the recipe.
Jessica DeMay says
Hi LaKendra- no problem! I love answering any questions! I use large eggs, extra large should work fine though. I don't think it would make that much of a difference. If you're worried you could use 2, but the casserole may be a little watery. It's kind of up to you. I don't think it's worth going to buy large eggs though. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!!
Lynn says
FYI...if it's the taste of the coconut in the coconut oil that you don't care for..remember there are two different types of coconut oil. Refined and unrefined. Refined has no coconut taste or flavor what-so-ever. Unrefined is the one that makes everything taste and smell like coconut. Hope that helps! I love the refined coconut oil..it is so wonderful to fry things in and to bake with..yummy stuff. 🙂 I use 'Cadia' Organic coconut oil that is expeller Pressed & Refined.
BTW..this recipe sounds amazing! Printing and saving for future dinners. 🙂
Lynn says
this comment is for Lakendra regarding different coconut oils.
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for that great tip, Lynn! You're right! Refined has no flavor at all. 🙂
Melissa says
Would you just use 1 egg when halving? And would the bake time shorten at all? Thanks!
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Melissa! You can try 1 or 2. I would probably use two to make sure it holds together, but if you don't want to chance it being eggy then you can try one. If you're using a smaller pan then the baking time would stay the same. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. Enjoy!!
Melissa says
This looks delicious and I'm adding items to my grocery list for this week! Have you tried freezing leftovers? I'm a single gal, so I wouldn't make it through an entire recipe before the leftovers went bad. Thanks!
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Melissa! Great- I love that you're going to try this!! I haven't tried freezing leftovers and I'm not sure how it would work. My suggestion would be to half the recipe and bake it in a 9x9 pan. 1 pound of meat, 1 squash, etc. I hope that helps and I hope you love it!
Michele Spring says
Man Jessica, I just came across this one on Pinterest and now I'm bummed that I already have dinner for tonight in the crockpot! We are lacking good casseroles in the Paleo community so quite excited about this one! Will share for sure.
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks, Michele!! Hey- dinner in the crockpot sounds awesome! I agree- it's hard to find healthy, paleo casseroles. This is one of our favorite meals because there is always enough for a few days 🙂 I hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Jessica says
This sounds great, went to buy ingredients and the uncurred pepperoni from applegate has sugar in it. Since we can't eat sugar on whole30 or Paleo i was wondering if I'm looking at the wrong stuff?
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks, Jessica! I'm sorry about that. I realized that I usually use the uncured turkey pepperoni because that's easier for me to find. That doesn't have sugar in it- I just checked the ingredients. Sorry for the confusion- I hope you still try it!
Michele M says
It's 30 clean compliant because it's such a minimal amount. Just learned this from our Health Advisor!
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for that info, Michele!
Heather says
What temp for baking? Didn't see that anywhere. Am I missing it somehow?
Jessica DeMay says
Oh, thanks for catching that! I'm sorry- bake at 350°. I have updated it now so if you print it out it will be correct. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Heather says
Thank you! A friend told me 350 is the usual temp for pales, but I hadn't known that.
Jessica DeMay says
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it!!
John Diamond says
Also missing, when does one add mushrooms and
onions. After cooking the meat and mushrooms would you drain. Just put in the oven, looking forward.
Jessica DeMay says
Hi John- step 2, cook the onions and mushrooms. You can drain if it seems greasy or especially watery. Hope you loved it!
Amy@wholesomelicious says
Looks like another winning dish! Love the pepperoni on top!
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks Amy! It's a dinner we make repeatedly.