Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole Recipe

Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole recipe, a baked spaghetti squash casserole full of flavor! This low carb dinner is a great alternative to pasta and loaded with basil pesto, alfredo sauce, cheese, and spaghetti squash. Even the kids will enjoy!

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Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole, a low carb alternative to fettuccini alfredo when you’re in the mood for something decadent. Doubt the kids would even miss the pasta too. This casserole is loaded with good stuff including ricotta cheese, basil pesto, alfredo sauce, and ground chicken.

Spaghetti squash has definitely grown on me over the years. My Asian Peanut Spaghetti Squash Stir-Fry has been a favorite for a long time. Now time for an Italian spaghetti squash dish!

Lots of great flavor in this casserole. It combines a spaghetti squash alfredo with a pesto spaghetti squash all in one casserole with chicken!

How to make Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole:

So you can make this casserole the easy quick way with some store-bought ingredients, or the longer way with homemade ingredients (alfredo sauce and pesto). Either way would be great!

To start though, you’re going to need precooked spaghetti squash. There are numerous ways to cook a spaghetti squash. Check out my How to Cook Spaghetti Squash to find various cooking methods.

Any way you decide to cook the spaghetti squash, it does take a while to cook and cool before you can shred it into strands. You could cook it a day or two ahead of time though, shred it, then store in the fridge in a container.

You’ll also need to precook the ground chicken, and set aside to cool. Instead of chicken, you could also use ground pork or Italian sausage.

Next, you’ll need to make the filling.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, and half of the Italian shredded cheese. You could use a lowfat ricotta cheese for this, but I’d recommend a full fat Italian shredded cheese since it will melt better. Instead of Italian shredded cheese, you could substitute mozzarella.

As far as the ricotta cheese goes, you may want to drain off the excess liquid. If it’s really runny, you can drain it in some cheese cloth in a strainer over a bowl in the fridge over night. You don’t have to though.

Add the alfredo sauce and pesto sauce to the filling. For the alfredo sauce, you can use a store-bought, but Homemade Alfredo Sauce is sooo much better. Also for the pesto, you can use a store-bought version or make your own. I used my Spinach Basil Pesto. Worked great!

Both the alfredo sauce and pesto can be made ahead of time. Great to have a batch of both in the fridge for other recipes too!

Once your ground chicken and spaghetti squash are cool enough to handle, mix them into the filling.

You can add some of your favorite dried herbs and spices, but there are so much in the pesto and alfredo sauce I didn’t think the casserole needed anything else. You could also stir in some chopped precooked veggies such as mushrooms or onion.

Spoon everything into a large casserole dish or a 13×9 inch baking pan. Depending on your pan, you may want to butter the pan or spray with nonstick spray. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.

Bake the Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash in the middle of your oven for about 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and heated through. Check on it every now and then and if the cheese is getting too brown before the inside heats through, you can cover the whole casserole lightly with aluminum foil.

This casserole would be great with a fresh salad or green vegetables such as broccoli or green beans.

You could easily cut back on the cheese, pesto, and alfredo sauce if you think it’s too much for you. Although this is a lower carb option than pasta, it can still be a little decadent and heavy. A small portion goes a long way!

This Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash is so rich and delicious, you won’t even notice there isn’t pasta. My kids even ate it which is a miracle!

Would love to hear if you made it!

Hope you enjoy this Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole recipe!

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5 from 7 votes

Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Pesto Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole, low carb baked spaghetti squash casserole with ricotta cheese, basil pesto, and alfredo sauce.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pound spaghetti squash
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups Italian shredded cheese split
• 1/4 cup homemade spinach basil pesto or store-bought
• 1/2 cup homemade alfredo sauce or store-bought

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a large casserole dish or 13x9-inch baking pan or lightly spray with nonstick spray.
• Cook the spaghetti squash, cut in half, and shred to get long strands of squash. Set aside to cool slightly. (See how to cook spaghetti squash for different cooking methods if needed.)
• Meanwhile, cook ground chicken in large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, stirring and breaking up constantly, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese and egg, then stir in 1 cup of the Italian shredded cheese. Stir in the pesto and alfredo sauce until well combined. Stir in the ground chicken then spaghetti squash.
• Spoon everything into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded Italian cheese on top of casserole. Cook the casserole for about 25-35 minutes or until golden brown around edges. 

Notes

SNAPPY TIPS: You can add some cooked chopped vegetables to the casserole if you'd like such as mushrooms or onion. The recipe makes about 8 small servings or about 4-6 larger servings.

SNAPPY SUBSTITUTIONS: Instead of ground chicken, you can substitute pork or Italian sausage.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: baked spaghetti squash casserole, chicken pesto spahgetti squash

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