A creamy garlic sauce coating a blend of broccoli, mushrooms, and spaghetti squash makes this Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash a versatile side dish or a terrific vegetarian main course.
I don’t know about you, but I love spaghetti squash. Given its total inoffensiveness, I’m somewhat surprised that it never made an appearance in my childhood. (We were not fans of most veggies in my house, but the summer squashes were always “safe”.) The only thing that I can figure is that it was too “out-there” of a squash to actually get tried in the first place.
Anyway . . . I’m always looking for new ways to use spaghetti squash lest I fall into my default trap of mixing it with a creamy ricotta mix and some spicy arrabbiata sauce and calling it a day. Don’t get me wrong, that is a fantastic flavor combo, but variety is good. I’d say this is on the lighter side without the ricotta, but it does have a good dose of heavy cream in it so I’ll leave that labeling to your discretion. I should probably note that anything without cream cheese, ricotta, or mascarpone is probably going to sound “lighter” to me.
This casserole also gets some added texture from the broccoli and mushrooms. I’d call it a bit subtle on the garlic flavor, so feel free to add more if you want more of a garlic kick. This is a great side dish for just about any meat type you are working with or could easily serve as a main course for a meat-free option.
What You Need to Make Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash
Equipment
- Rimmed Baking Sheet
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Cutting Board
- Chef’s Knife
- Spoon
- Fork
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Large Sauté Pan or Skillet
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 9×13” Casserole Dish OR 1 Half Sheet Aluminum Foil Baking Tray (Deeper than a regular 9×13” Casserole Dish). This is a pretty large volume of ingredients and having this overflow into your oven would be a mess, so it is reasonable to use two 9” x 13” casserole dishes instead. When I am making anything like this, I’m usually going to use one of the half-size disposable aluminum steam table pans. They are deeper, and I generally find them easy to work with when I’m feeding a large group. I buy the aluminum lids to go along with them, so I have no issues with stacking several in my fridge or electric cooler. Plus, I am a fan of easy clean up; so dishes that can either be recovered and put back in the fridge or thrown away if they’re empty work well for me.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti Squash – You can either use 1 large one or 2 small ones. The rest of the proportions work fine either way.
- Ground Italian Sausage – If you’d like to lighten things up a bit, this recipe is also delicious with Turkey Italian Sausage. You can also choose hot, mild, or sweet Italian sausage to suit the preferences of you and your guests.
- Broccoli Florets – As always, these get cut into bite-size pieces.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms – White button mushrooms will work just fine too.
- Minced Garlic – You can either buy your garlic pre-minced like I do or mince it yourself. The conversion is ½ teaspoon of minced garlic is about 1 clove.
- Heavy Cream
- Kosher Salt – You may also want more to taste. I’m good with it as written, but you do you.
- Ground Black Pepper – As with the salt, you may want more to taste.
- Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- Water – The water provides some liquid for cooking the broccoli and mushrooms so that the pan doesn’t dry out. You could also use some vegetable stock or chicken stock if you have it available.
Making Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Spaghetti Squash
You can easily break up the advanced prep work for this Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash into multiple stages if that works better for your Time Budget. I’ll note potential pause points as we run through the steps.
Prepping the Spaghetti Squash
First, get things started by preheating the oven to 400° F and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Then stab a few holes around the outside of the squash and set them on the baking sheet.
Roast the squash for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven, turn them over, and put them back in to roast for another 20 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and allow them to sit until they are cool enough to handle. I usually give it about an hour while I do something else.
Once the squash is (are) cooled, slice it (them) in half. Using a large spoon, scoop out the seeds and slimy part from the center and discard it. Then, taking a fork, shred the meat of the squash into spaghetti-like strands. You can pause at this point and refrigerate the spaghetti squash if desired. I often get this step out of the way 1 – 2 days before I’m actually going to use the squash for cooking.
Getting the Mushrooms and Broccoli Ready
Trim the ends off of the broccoli florets as needed and cut them down into bite size pieces. Then slice the mushrooms. Slicing the mushrooms with a bladed egg-slicer speeds up this step. You can also complete this prep work in advance and stash the raw broccoli and mushrooms in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
Cooking the Ingredients and Assembly
Once you are ready to put everything together, cook the crumbled sausage over medium high heat until cooked through. If you are using turkey or chicken sausage, you may need to add some oil to the pan while cooking. Absorb any excess oil or grease by removing the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined plate.
In the same pan, add additional oil along with the mushrooms and broccoli pieces. Start by adding ½ cup water at this point, but keep an eye on it and add more if needed to keep the pan from getting too dry. Cook until the mushrooms have released their juices and the broccoli pieces are tender. Once they are done, move them to a large mixing bowl and toss in the shredded spaghetti squash.
Put the pan back on the heat, add a little more oil and sauté the 2 tablespoons of minced Garlic for about 30 seconds. Then pour in 2 cups of Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt and 1 teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper. Stir to combine and to prevent the cream from burning on the bottom. Keep stirring until the sauce just begins to thicken and lightly coats the back of a spoon.
At that point, pour the creamy garlic sauce over the veggie mixture that you already have in the bowl. Add in the crumbled sausage. Then combine it until you have a homogeneous mixture with evenly distributed ingredients.
Pour this mixture into a well greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish or a half sheet aluminum foil pan (like you sometimes see in a catered buffet). While in my experience, this mixture will fit into a single 3 x 13 inch casserole dish, it’s going to be very full. If you are concerned about capacity, then I suggest any of the following: (1) deep casserole dish, (2) half sheet aluminum pan, or (3) using two casserole dishes. You can pause at this point as well. Just allow the mixture to cool, cover the dish and refrigerate it until shortly before your dinner or party.
Final Bake
To finish off this Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash, preheat the oven to 350° F. If you’ve had it in the fridge, you can take it out 30 – 45 minutes before baking to allow it to come up to temperature and then bake for another 30 minutes. Or, as an alternative, you can put the cold dish in the oven before you start preheating it and allow it to warm up with the oven. In this case, it usually takes 45 – 50 minutes to warm through AFTER the preheat is done. Everything is fully cooked, so the point here is just to heat it all the way through.
Serve warm.
You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.
Related Recipes
If you are looking for some ideas of what to serve alongside this Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash, check out my Belated Holiday, Slumber, Brunch Party or my Easy Summer Pork Dinner Party.
Creamy Garlic, Broccoli, and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 large Spaghetti Squash Or 2 small ones.
- 1.25 pounds Ground Italian Sausage Cooked. This is 1 package of the large links with casings removed. You can also use turkey or chicken Italian sausage if you prefer.
- 2 – 3 tablespoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- 4 cups Broccoli Florets Cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups Baby Bella Mushrooms Sliced. White button mushrooms will work too.
- 2 tablespoons Garlic Minced
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper plus more to taste
- ½ cup Water Plus more if needed.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and cover a small baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Use a sharp knife to puncture each “side” of the 1 large Spaghetti Squash. I usually do about 8 – 12 stabs in total. Once the oven is heated, place the squash on the covered baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn it over, and bake for 20 minutes more. Let it set until it’s cool enough to handle while you work on the rest.1 large Spaghetti Squash
- Crumble and cook your 1.25 pounds Ground Italian Sausage, set aside. Leave the drippings in the pan.1.25 pounds Ground Italian Sausage
- In the same pan, heat 2 – 3 tablespoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil. Add your 4 cups Broccoli Florets and 2 cups Baby Bella Mushrooms. Add 1/2 cup Water. Cook until broccoli is tender and mushrooms have released their juices. Add more water while cooking if the veggies start to look too dry. Once done, remove from the heat and transfer the broccoli and mushrooms to a large mixing bowl. (I like to use the biggest one I’ve got to give me plenty of room for mixing.)2 – 3 tablespoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil, 4 cups Broccoli Florets, 2 cups Baby Bella Mushrooms, 1/2 cup Water
- Once the spaghetti squash has cooled enough to handle, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and then shred it with a fork. Add the shredded squash to your mixing bowl of broccoli and mushrooms. Stir to combine.
- With the heat on medium high, pour your 2 cups Heavy Cream into the pan and add your 2 tablespoons Garlic, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, and 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper. Heat it until it begins to bubble, stirring frequently so that the cream doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. About 7 – 8 minutes. You’ll want to pay attention through this part, because burnt cream is not a good flavor. You can do this on medium heat too, but it will just take a bit longer. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken and lightly coats the back of a spoon.2 tablespoons Garlic, 2 cups Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- Pour the garlic cream sauce into the bowl with the other ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour the entire mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. If you are making this in advance, you can pause at this point, let it cool, and store it covered in the fridge over night.
- Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes if you are not taking this out of the fridge and 45 – 50 minutes if you are.
- Serve warm.
Equipment
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
- Spoon
- Fork
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Half Sheet Aluminum Foil Baking Tray OR 1 9×13” Casserole Dish. A Half Sheet Aluminum Foil Baking Tray is deeper than a regular 9×13” Casserole Dish. This is a pretty large volume of ingredients and having this overflow into your oven would be a mess, so it is reasonable to use two 9” x 13” casserole dishes instead. When I am making anything like this, I’m usually going to use one of the half-size disposable aluminum steam table pans. They are deeper, and I generally find them easy to work with when I’m feeding a large group. I buy the aluminum lids to go along with them, so I have no issues with stacking several in my fridge or electric cooler. Plus, I am a fan of easy clean up; so dishes that can either be recovered and put back in the fridge or thrown away if they’re empty work well for me.
Notes
- Additional Advanced Prep
- You can roast, seed, and shred the spaghetti squash one or two days in advance. I usually just put the shredded squash in a zip top bag or an airtight container in the fridge.
- I also often chop the mushrooms and broccoli one or two days in advance as my time budget allows.
