Who needs a guide on how to cook spaghetti squash? Cut it lengthwise from base to stem, maybe give it some oil, salt and pepper (or maybe not) and throw it in the oven. Skin up, skin down, whatever. Take it out when it looks fork-able.
Nope.
Well, okay, yeah you can do that. I certainly spent the first 30 years of my life doing that. I mean, it’s fine. It’s okay. It gets the job done. It certainly works if you’re going to use it as a boat serving vessel and smush it about with a bunch of other good stuff.
The problem is, when you cut the squash lengthwise you’re actually cutting all those lovely noodles in HALF, since they grow in bands horizontally around the squash. Not to mention, depending on how young or old, big or small your spaghetti squash is, you can easily overcook the ‘noodles,’ leaving you with a mushy, wet mess of short, broken stubby… well, not-really-noodles anymore.
Wet mush. You’re left with wet mush.
So, if we want lovely, long, crunchy, tender NOODLES, if we want our spaghetti squash to live up to the name, we have to re-evaluate how we cook ’em. It’s not more work, it’s just different.
Step 1: Cut 1/2″ off the stem and base of your squash and discard- this isn’t good eating anyway.
Step 2: Cut the squash in half width-wise, then cut each half in half again- leaving you with 4 rounds. Using a spoon, scrape the seeds out of each round.
Step 3: Place a rack on a baking tray (or use a roasting tray with an elevated rack so things can drain off) and preheat your oven to 400°F. Salt the squash rounds on the cut edges and place on the rack. Be generous while salting! We are going to wipe most of the salt off before cooking it, but this step will remove any excess moisture in the squash (no mushy squash here!) and work to season the squash noodles in the same way that salting your pasta water seasons regular noodles. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
After this time, you’ll see a fair bit of moisture pooling out of the squash- wick this away with your hands- and then place the squash in the oven. A small squash (2-3 lbs/0.9-1.4kg) will cook al dente at 20-23 minutes, a medium squash (4-5 lbs/1.8-2.3kg) will cook at 25-28 minutes, a large squash (5-7 lbs/2.7-3.2kg) will need about 30-32 minutes.
Step 4: Remove squash from oven and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the flesh from the skin. Depending on the squash, sometimes the skin peels off fairly easily after this process but otherwise use a small pairing knife, running it along the inner edge of the skin and around the circle. Gently pull the squash strands apart.
Long, luscious, tender, crunchy. A spaghetti squash with proper noodles that will stand up to any sauce you throw at it.
| How To: Cook the Perfect Spaghetti Squash | | Print |
- 1 spaghetti squash
- Salt
- Cut ½" off the stem and base of your squash and discard.
- Cut the squash in half width-wise, then cut each half in half again- leaving you with 4 rounds. Using a spoon, scrape the seeds out of each round.
- Place a rack on a baking tray (or use a roasting tray with an elevated rack so things can drain off) and preheat your oven to 400°F. Salt the squash rounds on the cut edges and place on the rack. Be generous while salting! We are going to wipe most of the salt off before cooking it, but this step will remove any excess moisture in the squash (no mushy squash here!) and work to season the squash noodles in the same way that salting your pasta water seasons regular noodles. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
- Wick the excess moisture that has accumulated and then place the squash in the oven. A small squash (2-3 lbs/0.9-1.4kg) will cook al dente at 20-23 minutes, a medium squash (4-5 lbs/1.8-2.3kg) will cook at 25-28 minutes, a large squash (5-7 lbs/2.7-3.2kg) will need about 30-32 minutes.
- Remove squash from oven and let cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the flesh from the skin. Depending on the squash, sometimes the skin peels off fairly easily after this process but otherwise use a small pairing knife, running it along the inner edge of the skin and around the circle. Gently pull the squash strands apart.
Special thanks to Beth from Pass the Plants for teaching me the error of my ways! I am now spaghetti squash WOKE.
I have made this several times and it does stand up to the sauce and it is very good, but it still has enough water once the sauce is on it that I have to give everyone a paper towel to absorb the water. What am I doing wrong?