Jalapeno Chickpea Stuffed Spaghetti Squash recipe pleases everyone in the family... hello veggies and bacon! This recipe also makes for double duty meal prep and can be partly prepped ahead for a busy weeknight, or fully made and is perfect for lunch meal prep, too!
Oh hey.. I am back today using veggies as noodles – sort of.
Jalapeno Chickpea Stuffed Spaghetti Squash uses what I like to call natures spaghetti noodles – ha!
This is why Brad thinks I am a bit of a produce dork. Yup – nature’s noodles!
If you haven’t tried spaghetti squash before, get ready for your mind to be blown!
Once cooked, all you do is take a fork to get the squash out of the peel, and you guessed it…. It looks like spaghetti!
My adventures in spaghetti squash have been hit or miss. I have tired cooking them in various ways and do find significant differences and it turns out I really only like it if it is baked. Which is kind of tragic as it takes the longest.
But, if I put it in the oven while I do the rest of my Sunday meal prep, it is cooked and just needs to be reheated during the week for this recipe!
While trying to come to like spaghetti squash, I of course, put it in my Instant Pot. I would cut in half and pressure cook, but found it came out quite heavy and wet.
I tried microwaving it, which wasn’t bad either, but not as good as baking it.
Finally, I baked it. While it does take 30 minutes or more, it is worth it for me.
So for this recipe, I turn it into prep ahead in 2 ways:
For weeknight dinner: I will bake the squash and so then all I need to do is cook the bacon and assemble my stuffed squash during the busy week, or…
For lunch: I will prep it all the way to the cooked end product, portion and re heat for lunch. When baked, I find spaghetti squash re-heats like a dream!
I am like 99% sure it is the bacon that makes this so flavorful without a ton of ingredients. If you decide to omit the bacon, this will absolutely change the flavor of this recipe. You will need to increase the salt – in my opinion!
So, are you ready to give this form of veggie noodles a try?!
Jalapeno Chickpea Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 398ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 3 pieces bacon, diced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ cup diced red onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise and scoop out he seeds.
- Place the squash flesh side up on a parchment lined baking pan.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Flip the spaghetti squash so that the flesh side is now down on the pan.
- Place in the oven for 40-50 minutes (but this is very dependent on the size of squash you have) until the skin pierces easily.
- Meanwhile on the stove top, add the bacon in a pan on medium heat.
- Once the bacon is halfway done, add the chickpeas, jalapeno, cumin, and onion to the pan. Cook right in the bacon juices!
- Once the bacon is fully cooked, keep the mixture in the pan and set aside.
- When the spaghetti squash is done, AND COOLED a bit, use a fork to remove the "noodles". Add them to the pan.
- Heat up the pan and toss the noodles until everything is combined and warm.
- Put the mixture back into the squash halves for a fun way to serve, or place into meal prep containers. If you are feeling super adventurous, you could put the stuffed halves back int he oven and melt a bit of optional cheese on top too!
- This meal can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. This recipe is not freezer friendly.
Nutrition
So, there you have it, another way to make an irresistible meal with veggie "noodles"!
If you make this recipe, I want to see it! Tag me @mealplanaddict over on Instagram, or come post a photo in the Meal Plan Addict Community!
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