Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs

Spaghetti Squash is one of my favorite faux pastas. I’ve had it before as a dinner or as a side but I’ve never had it as one of my week long lunches … until today! If you’re not aware, I make all of my breakfasts and lunches ahead of time and I call these 5-day recipes. If you make most of the food you’ll be eating over the course of the week ahead of time, it increases your likelihood of keto success. So, today I made three different types of meatballs and combined them with some spaghetti squash!Start by carefully cutting the Spaghetti Squash in half.  On the inside, it looks much like a pumpkin.  Then using a spoon scrape out all of the guts until it looks like the far right. I made two Spaghetti Squashes but you only need one for this recipe.Next, lay the Spaghetti Squash face down in a casserole dish and add enough water to cover the cut portion of the Spaghetti Squash.  Then bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.When you’re done, it will look like this!Next, prep the onions. I’ve started using this thing called a Scrap Trap when I cook my meals.  I don’t have a garbage disposal and the trash can is on the other side of the room.  What I used to do was constantly walk back and forth from the trashcan with stuff like the skins of these onions.  Now I just throw them in this bin and clear it at the end of the recipe.  Note that I initially used two onions and two peppers but it was way too much so I used just one in the meatballs.Diced onions!I always prep my peppers by cutting off the top and bottom, then cutting out the inside.  This yields six relatively simple pieces to chop up.Diced Peppers!I started with the beef meatballs.  Combine the cheese, onions and peppers, Coconut flour, Garlic and an egg.Here’s the beef meatballs all mixed up. I put the entire bowl on a scale, zeroed it, and then grabbed 1.5 Oz for each meatball.Here’s the finished beef meatballs on a foil lined sheet.  Note that I ended up using more ingredients and making more meatballs than necessary which I ate for dinner.Combine the ingredients for the pork meatballs.  I used almond flour and Monterey jack for the pork.Mmm, meat!I added the pork meatballs to the sheet.I didn’t have any ground chicken so I made my own using my meat grinder and some chicken thighs!Finally the chicken meatballs.  I used Flax Meal and Jarlsberg for this version.And formed the meatballs!Here’s the finished sheet of meatballs.And a close up of the beef …… and pork …… and chicken meatballs!For the lunch portion of the meal, I weighed out 100g of Spaghetti Squash into my new lunch containers.Then add a meatball of each type.For the parmesan cheese on top of the meal, I tried out my new Grater / Shaker combo unit.  The idea is to grate a large amount of cheese into the unit and then turn it over and shake it at the table.  Kind of like the rotary cheese graters but you can pregrate.Here’s the finished dish! I liked the change of pace from my typical lunch casseroles. I doubt people would even realize you were eating keto if you whipped this out at lunch.I made too much spaghetti squash and meat balls so I had it for dinner as well!

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs

 

Author: Caveman Keto

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 10

• Serving size: 3 meatballs and 100g of Spaghetti Squash
• Calories: 306

• Fat: 21
• Carbohydrates: 13
• Fiber: 3
• Protein: 45

Prep time:  25 mins

Cook time:  1 hour

Total time:  1 hour 25 mins

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Ingredients

• Beef Meatballs:
• 16 Oz. Ground Beef (80/20)
• ⅓rd of an Onion
• ⅓rd of a Green Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
• 2 Oz. Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 Egg
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Pork Meatballs:
• 16 Oz. Ground Pork
• ⅓rd of an Onion
• ⅓rd of a Green Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
• 2 Oz. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
• 1 Egg
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Meatballs:
• 16 Oz. Ground Chicken Thighs
• ⅓rd of an Onion
• ⅓rd of a Green Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Meal
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
• 2 Oz. Jarlsberg Cheese, shredded
• 1 Egg
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Spaghetti:
• 1 kg Spaghetti Squash, cooked and shredded (1 Spaghetti Squash)
• 10 teaspoons Parmesan Cheese
• 24 Oz Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce

Instructions

1. Cut Spaghetti Squash in half and scrape out the inside
2. Place face down in a glass container and add water until it goes over the cut portion
3. Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until soft when forked
4. Dice the pepper and onions and divide into three parts
5. Combine the beef, ⅓rd of peppers and onions, coconut flour, 1 egg, cheddar cheese, garlic and salt + pepper
6. Divide into 10 meatballs, approximately 1.5 Oz each and place on a foil lined pan
7. Combine the pork, ⅓rd of peppers and onions, almond flour, 1 egg, Monterey Jack cheese, garlic and salt + pepper
8. Divide into 10 meatballs, approximately 1.5 Oz each and place on a foil lined pan
9. Combine the chicken, ⅓rd of peppers and onions, ground flax meal, 1 egg, Jarlsberg cheese, garlic and salt + pepper
10. Divide into 10 meatballs, approximately 1.5 Oz each and place on a foil lined pan
11. Cook for 25 minutes at 375 degrees or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
12. Fork the Spaghetti squash and add 100g to each lunch container
13. Add one of each meatball type to each container
14. Add 2 Oz. of tomato sauce
15. Top with 1 tsp. of Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Notes

I showed two peppers and two onions in the prep but it was too much. Also, I had more than 1 lb of each meat when I made it so it made more than 10 meatballs each.

3.2.2265

Victorinox Fibrox 8″ Chef’s Knife You really only need one good knife. This one is it. America’s Test Kitchen rated it the number one budget knife!	Scrap Trap This handy little invention attaches to a drawer in your kitchen and allows you to scrap the crumbs and extras off of your cutting board. Its a huge time saver to have a little trash bin right by your side while cooking. Dishwasher safe!	KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment KitchenAid mixers all have an accessory port on the front of the unit and this attachment allows you to grind all sorts of food! You can make your own hamburger meat mixes or even grind some meat!
Tovolo 7.5 Quart Mixing Bowl Most of my large 5day recipes and casseroles are all mixed together before being baked. You really need a giant bowl to hold all the ingredients and this one fits the bill!	Sur La Table Grater / Shaker This little guy is super convenient to grate hard cheeses like Parmesan and bring to the table to serve. It’s less messy than a rotary cheese grater and it even has measurement marks on it!	GlassLock 17 Oz. Square Food Container These are my new favorite food storage container! They are good for the refrigerator, microwave and freezer. Additionally, the gasket makes it so they never leak and the lids are super secure.