Caprese Spaghetti Squash

🥗 Why We Love This Recipe

• Packed with flavor: Roasted spaghetti squash is tossed with homemade pesto and topped with pan-roasted balsamic cherry tomatoes and the creamiest vegan mozzarella. It's baked to perfection and every bite is absolutely delicious!
• Easy weeknight dinner: This caprese spaghetti squash comes together in just a few steps. Plus, you can make it even faster by roasting the squash ahead of time and using store-bought pesto.
• Vegan and gluten free: This caprese spaghetti squash is perfect for just about any dietary needs!

🍅 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this caprese spaghetti squash:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Spaghetti squash: Choose relatively large (wide) spaghetti squash for this recipe – you want something that's big enough for adding filling.
• Tomatoes: We used cherry tomatoes, but grape tomatoes or even campari tomatoes work well in this recipe. You can also used diced roma tomatoes.
• Nutritional yeast:  Nutritional yeast (aka "nooch") is an inactive form of yeast that has a buttery, cheesy flavor and is an excellent source of B vitamins. This is what we use in our homemade vegan pesto in place of parmesan cheese. It's easy to find in just about any grocery store and comes in handy for so many vegan recipes!
• Pine nuts: For maximum flavor, toast your pine nuts in a small skillet over low heat for a few minutes before adding to the pesto. Be careful – they burn quickly!
  • Pine nuts can be pretty expensive, but luckily you can sub them with another less expensive nut or seed! A few of our favorites include pistachios, walnuts or pumpkin seeds. It's not traditional for pesto, but it will still work.
• Balsamic vinegar: you can also use balsamic reduction. We also like to drizzle a bit more over the top of each squash before serving.

🧀 The Key Ingredient

If you haven't yet heard about Miyoko's Creamery Liquid Vegan Pizza Mozzarella, you're in for a treat!

Miyoko's is seriously revolutionizing the vegan cheese industry with this new product. We first tried it last summer and we're totally hooked!

Vegan cheese can have a bad rap when it comes to melting. Miyoko’s came up with the brilliant idea to make a liquid cheese by removing all the ingredients that hinder performance (did you know most shreds contain things like caking agents to keep shape?!) and cutting straight to the melt. It tastes just the same, but actually gets melty, bubbly, and seriously cheesy!

It's INCREDIBLE on homemade pizza and all sorts of other baked dishes, like lasagna, enchiladas, casseroles, hot dips, baked pasta, and of course, this caprese spaghetti squash!

We also love that it's made from plant milk (ethically sourced cashews) and is palm oil free.

Miyoko's Creamery is a mission driven, woman-founded brand and we're constantly so impressed by their incredibly high quality products. They're truly changing the food industry as a whole and we're such huge fans! You can see where to find their products here, or order online here.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 400˚F / 205˚C. 

(1) Slice squash in half lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the seeds. Brush each half with ½ tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper. Set cut side down on baking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes, until squash is fork tender. 

(2) Remove squash from oven and let cool slightly before flipping over. Use two forks to shred the spaghetti squash and transfer the shredded squash to a large mixing bowl. 

(3) While the squash is roasting, add basil, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor. Blend until mostly smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. 

(4) Toss the shredded squash with pesto until well coated. 

(5) In a skillet over medium heat, add the tomatoes, remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are softened and burst, about 6-8 minutes. 

(6) Divide the squash + pesto mixture between the empty spaghetti squash skins. Top with tomatoes, then top each squash half with ¼ cup of liquid mozzarella. 

Bake for 13-15 minutes (at 400˚F), or until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Remove from oven and serve warm with fresh basil. 

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• How to make spaghetti squash easier to cut: If you're having trouble slicing the squash in half, poke several holes in the whole squash with a fork. Wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Let cool slightly before cutting. This helps soften the squash so it's easier to cut, and also helps it cook faster in the oven.
• Use tongs when handling the spaghetti squash after it comes out of the oven. It stays super hot for quite a while and it's easy to burn yourself, so we recommend using tongs when shredded the squash.
• Make this recipe faster: You can roast the spaghetti squash several days before using. You can also use store bought pesto instead of making it from scratch!
• Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven.
• For extra caprese flavor, serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or balsamic reduction.
• Additions: Feel free to add in extra vegetables with the tomatoes, like onion, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. It would also be great with artichokes, roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes.
• Serve with: A protein of choice for a full meal. We love this Mediterranean grilled tofu, but just about any grilled or baked protein works well.

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