Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Mushrooms and Spinach

32 Reviews
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6 Servings
March 2009
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Up your intake of veggies with this prize-winning spaghetti squash dish. "This recipe is a variation of a go-to pasta recipe I make often. I wondered how it would work using spaghetti squash for a pasta stand-in," said Claudia Krempp of Plainfield, IL. As grand prize winner of the Cooking Light Market Basket Challenge, her wondering is over.

Ingredients

  • 1 (3.5-pound) spaghetti squash
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 2 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
  • 1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1.5 cups chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 Poblano pepper
  • 8 ounces sliced crimini mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup cup julienne sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
  • 1 1/4 cup cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 6 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 296
  • Satfat 3.2g
  • Monofat 3.4g
  • Polyfat 1.4g
  • Fat 9.3g
  • Protein 31.2g
  • Calcium 241mg
  • Sodium 707mg
  • Iron 3mg
  • Cholesterol 67mg
  • Fiber 2.4g
  • Carbohydrate 23.8g

How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat broiler.

Step 2

Cut poblano in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 5 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 5 minutes. Peel and chop.

Step 3

Reduce oven temperature to 400 °.

Step 4

Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Place squash halves cut side down in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Add water to measure 1/2-inch deep. Bake at 400 ° for 45 minutes. Turn squash over; bake an additional 15 minutes or until tender; cool. Scrape inside of squash with a fork to remove strands to measure 6 cups. Keep warm.

Step 5

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon to pan; cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan. Cool and crumble. Increase heat to medium-high; sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken to drippings in pan and cook 4 minutes; remove from pan.

Step 6

Heat remaining 11/2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan and cook 3 minutes or until soft, stirring frequently. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, reserved bacon, Poblano, garlic and Italian seasoning to pan; cook 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and cook 4 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Add wine to pan and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add reserved chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, and spinach to pan. Cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly; stir in 1/4 cup cheese. Place about 1 cup squash on each of 6 plates; top each serving with about 1 cup chicken mixture and 2 teaspoons remaining cheese.

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Ratings & Reviews

Too Time Consuming

skchandler
July 08, 2015
I poke the squash a few times and microwave it about 5 min. on high to make cutting it open easier.  Then I bake it about 30-35 min. at 400F without water.  Then you don't have the problem of the squash getting soggy. The flavor of the dish is good.  But it's too much work for a dish that's less than amazing..

CAlleyne's Review

azfinke
January 26, 2015
N/A

crittrz's Review

CindyHancock
November 08, 2014
Amaaaaaazing

sharon2062's Review

Aingel4ever
October 23, 2014
I made this for my husband and me. It was so delicious. How can anything go wrong with so many great ingredients and bacon too! We also follow a healthy diet and weight watchers. 1 serving is 8 Weight Watcher points. It does have a lot of steps, but they were easy and I prepped each step ahead of time so it went very smoothly. I would suggest straining the Spaghetti Squash since it was very watery and will dilute the topping.

caperss's Review

steponme
October 13, 2014
N/A

steponme's Review

JenNPuddy
March 21, 2014
Flavorful and delicious. Followed recipe except couldn't use the sun dried tomatoes that I had in my fridge, because they were no good; didn't miss them though. Also, added a couple of dashes of garlic salt at the end; delish;-).

CindyHancock's Review

crittrz
January 25, 2014
Delicious! This was my first time tryng spaghetti squash and I'll definitely make it again! Next time, I will add some salt & pepper (and maybe some roasted garlic) to the squash. My family likes spicy, so I might add another poblano...we didn't taste the one at all. I also did not add olive oil; bacon drippings were plenty.

lblauv1's Review

lblauv1
January 14, 2014
I was skeptical of this recipe at first. I was tasting as I went and was not impressed until I added the tomato paste. WOW! it made all the difference in the world! This recipe turned out to be amazing. Even my boyfriend who is a fantastic cook (and is usually not a fan of healthy foods) was impressed! I will definitely make this again!

Anngel's Review

jmulligan
September 29, 2013
Love it! It is so delicious! I made some changes. I didn't have Poblano and chicken broth. I left out poblano and instead of chicken broth I doubled wine and add 1/4 cup of water. I also didn't use olive oil at all, because bacon grease works just fine. It was easy and fast, will make it again.

jmulligan's Review

mmjboyer
July 15, 2013
The only thing I changed was removing the bacon. The ingredients were expensive and it took soooooo many steps. I have an overflowing sink of dishes. The taste was ok. I'll eat the leftovers, but not sure I'd make this again.