Spaghetti Squash with roasted garlic, kale, sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts makes for a comforting, low-carb meal requiring only 5 main ingredients! Plus the recipe is simple to prepare!
I know. Nothing replaces a steamy pile of actual spaghetti, but for those of us who are looking for comfort food that is easy on the digestive system, this meal fits the bill.
It contains vitamins and minerals from the spaghetti squash and kale, a boost of flavor from the sun-dried tomatoes and roasted garlic, and some crunch from the walnuts.
This simple recipe requires only 5 main ingredients (not including sea salt and olive oil): spaghetti squash, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, kale, and walnuts.
..Yet it’s so stinking flavorful!
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for this healthy spaghetti squash recipe in detail, as they all serve an important purpose!
The great news is you can find the full ingredient list at any grocery store.
Roasted Kale Spaghetti Squash Ingredients:
Spaghetti Squash: Pick up one medium-sized spaghetti squash that weight about 5 to 6 pounds. If your spaghetti squash is smaller or larger, no problem. You can adjust the amounts of ingredients accordingly.
While spaghetti squash doesn’t come close to replacing actual spaghetti, I love that it is nice and filling. This is ideal for folks like me who enjoy feeling full after a meal.
The carbohydrates in spaghetti squash come from dietary fiber, so while the winter squash does contain some carbs, they are slow burning in nature and shouldn’t impact blood sugar.
Fresh Garlic: A whole bulb of garlic gets roasted in the oven to add deep garlic flavor to this healthy vegetarian dinner recipe. You can decrease the amount of garlic if you aren’t a garlic lover, but I just love what it does for the dish.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Similar to the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes are a heavy hitting ingredient in the sense that it adds a big burst of flavor to the meal.
I buy sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil. Before adding them to the meal, I drain them of the oil but I don’t take an extra step to pat them dry with a paper towel.
To lower the calorie count, you can rinse and/or pat the tomatoes dry.
Kale: Fresh kale leaves add micronutrients to this healthy dinner recipe, such as Vitamin K, A, and C. It also adds dietary fiber, which is ideal for those like me who prioritize meeting or exceeding their daily values of fiber.
Swap it for spinach, chard, or your favorite leafy greens if you’d like.
Walnuts: Raw walnuts get toasted to nutty perfection to add richness and a lovely nutty crunch to this amazing comfort food.
They can easily be swapped for pecans, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.
Now that we’ve covered the healthy ingredients for this amazing winter meal, let’s make it!
How to Make Roasted Garlic Kale Spaghetti Squash:
Begin by roasting the squash and garlic. If you’re new to roasting winter squash, simply follow my tutorial on How to Roast Spaghetti Squash.
To roast garlic, cut the top off, of the bulb, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap in foil. Place in the oven with the squash for the whole duration of roasting. Roast the walnuts for 5 minutes if desired.
When the squash, garlic, and walnuts have finished roasting, allow them to cool enough to handle. Once cool, use a fork to release the strands of spaghetti squash and place in a large bowl.
Peel the garlic cloves, give them a rough chop, and transfer them to the bowl with the spaghetti squash.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped kale. Cover and cook until kale has wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the sun dried tomatoes, along with the squash, roasted garlic, and walnuts. Continue cooking and stirring until all of the ingredients are well-combined and heated through.
Stir in sea salt to taste and taste the spaghetti squash for flavor. If desired, drizzle a couple tablespoons of lemon juice over everything for added citrusy flavor.
Serve and enjoy!
How Many People Does This Recipe Serve?:
Spaghetti squash vary in size substantially, so the amount of food you end up with is largely determined by the size of the squash.
When I make this recipe, I choose a medium-sized squash (about 5 to 6 pounds). If you purchase a larger one, you may want to increase the portions of garlic and/or sun-dried tomatoes to ensure the meal is flavorful.
Using a 5 – 6 pound squash, this recipe will feed two people comfortably. Or if you’re me, it will feed you twice in one day…lunch + dinner.
If you’re feeding more people, you can easily double or triple the recipe using 2 squash or 1 very large squash (8 to 10 pounds).
Turn it Into a Meal Prep Recipe:
- While roasting squash is a bit of a time commitment, it can easily be done up to 4 to 5 days ahead of time, making the preparation process a little easier.
- In addition, you can roast the garlic up to 5 days in advance and simply assemble the remainder of the recipe when you’re ready to eat.
- This recipe saves well! Make the whole recipe up to 1 week ahead of time and store it in airtight containers for meal prep.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Add your favorite homemade or store-bought pesto sauce for even more flavor! I like using my classic Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe.
- If you prefer fresh cherry tomatoes over sun-dried tomatoes, feel free to swap them out!
- Use chard or spinach in place of kale.
- Replace the roasted walnuts with roasted almonds, pecans, cashews, pine nuts, or pistachios, or go nut-free.
- Make this a meat-lover’s dish by adding grilled or rotisserie chicken. This boost of protein will make the dish even more filling.
- To keep this recipe vegetarian but add a protein boost, add chickpeas or a sunny-side up egg.
- For some citrusy flavor, add a couple tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and/or lemon zest.
If you’re a lover of spaghetti squash like me, also be sure to check out these healthy spaghetti squash recipes!
More Spaghetti Squash Recipes:
- Spaghetti Squash Egg Nests
- Creamy Tahini Spaghetti Squash with Kale
- Crispy Salmon Bowls with Pesto Spaghetti Squash
- Mushroom Bolognese Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Spaghetti Squash with Broccoli Pumpkin Seed Pesto
The next time you’re craving a meatless meal, whip up this easy spaghetti squash recipe!
It is the perfect light meal when you’re wanting to enjoy something comforting and nutritious, and can easily be made more filling by adding your favorite protein.
Versatile and simple, I love healthy recipes like this and keep it on constant rotation during the fall and winter months.
Enjoy!
Roasted Garlic and Kale Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash roasted
- 1 small head kale chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained
- 1/3 cup raw walnuts
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the spaghetti squash according to these instructions, along with the garlic. To roast garlic, cut the top off, of the bulb, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap in foil. Place in the oven with the spaghetti squash for the whole duration of roasting. Roast the walnuts for 5 minutes if desired.
- When the spaghetti squash and garlic (and walnuts) have finished roasting, allow them to cool enough to handle. Once cool, use a fork to release the strands of spaghetti squash and place in a large bowl. Peel the garlic cloves, give them a rough chop, and transfer them to the bowl with the spaghetti squash.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chopped kale. Cover and cook until kale has wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sun dried tomatoes, along with the spaghetti squash, roasted garlic, and walnuts. Continue cooking and stirring until all of the ingredients are well-combined and heated through.
- Add sea salt to taste and taste the spaghetti squash for flavor. If desired, drizzle a couple tablespoons of lemon juice over the spaghetti squash for added citrusy flavor. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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I was just wondering how you got your meal to look so beautiful! Mine turned out muddled. I drained my squash and it still seems too wet. Any tips for next time? Also, where do you get a small head of kale? Im in illinois and all our kale is in whole leafs in bunches or all ready chopped kale in bags. Is there an amt i could use? ie: 1 cup packed kale…etc.
This was awesome! I’m vegan, so with all the roasting going on, I put in a tray of chick peas with za’atar. It was great with it. I also added dairy free parm cheese and red pepper flakes. Fab dish! Thank you!!
Sounds like fabulous additions! Thanks for the sweet note, Cynthia! xo
Do you have macros for this recipie?
Do you have the nutritional info for this recipe? I also added shrimp and it was delish!!!
More specifically, in addition to the nutrition, what constitutes a serving size? I started with 1 cup as a side dish.
Hi Molly! I updated the recipe card to include nutrition facts. I have the recipe set to serve two, so the nutrition facts reflect one serving, which I consider to be half of the whole recipe. Hope this helps! xo
About how much kale does one head render? I always have pre-packaged kale on hand so I’d just like an idea of about how much to use
One head comes out to about 4 cups loosely packed 🙂 You can definitely use the pre-packaged kale..makes the process easier, too!
Made this tonight and had it in a bowl with pulled baked chicken! Wow! Perfect winter dinner, thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks for letting me know, Mary! xo
I made this for dinner two nights ago. It was really good with the roasted garlic. I doubled the recipe and added some bacon I had on hand. 🙂
Aaaagh the addition of bacon sounds amazing! So happy you made and enjoyed it!! xo
Goodness, this is fabulous. I used spinach and almonds because that is what I had on hand. Even sweet hubby, who doesn’t like squash liked this dish.
As a passionate pasta lover, I am very surprised I haven’t tried this recipe yet. Can’t wait to prepare and taste it soon.
I’m not much of a spinach or kale person, but I think fresh basil would taste amazing. Used to get angel hair pasta with garlic, tomato, basil and chicken at a specific restaurant. It was so good that I always ordered the same thing.
How would you alter this to make 4 servings? Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
You can double all of the ingredients – so pick up 2 spaghetti squash, 2 heads of kale (or 1 will suffice if you aren’t concerned about having a lot of greens), 2/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, and so on. Let me know if you have any other questions! Enjoy!
So funny, I’ve read research that had a similar conclusion recently! I’m so with you, it would explain why I could burn 1,000 calories in a workout on the daily, yet not budge on the scale whatsoever. Diet DEFINITELY matters more when it comes to weight, but like you said, exercise has so many benefits, including a better physique & muscle definition, a stronger heart, endorphins & mood boosting effects, etc.
Fascinating, right? The you-are-what-you-eat mantra seems to ring truer the older I get. I love exercising to keep stress at bay – it’s definitely a great way of burning off excess energy so I don’t focus bad juju on my work. And to your point, keeping your heart, body, and mood healthy is crucial. I truly believe all humans should exercise to be strong in mind, body, and soul 😀 Cheers to finding balance! xoxo
I have to be honest, spaghetti squash isn’t usually my thang, but you make it look SO GOOD and full of all the best flavors and textures. Only you could do this to me.
Maaaaw thanks, love!!!! xo
Helloooo beautiful! This looks so flavorful and delicious- perfect just the way it is! Gotta give it a try soon!
So glad you like it, Karly! Let me know if you end up making it! 😀
I was never the best in science class, but I followed along and found this interesting. I eat better now and work out harder than I ever have and barely break even, but that’s what getting older does to you! My ultimate goal is to fit in my jeans, so I guess I’m doing ok. 🙂 This spaghetti squash will keep me on track and I’ll enjoy every bite!
I hear ya, girl! Funny thing, I feel the same exact way about my own appearance/weight..so long as I don’t absolutely HAVE to go buy new jeans, I feel like I’m doing alright 😉
Thanks for sharing the findings from the article with us! I’ve always been a firm believer that diet is #1 when it comes to gaining/losing weight. Brandon never works out but he looks healthy and somewhat in-shape because I feed his ass so many nutritious foods. That’s what I like to tell myself, anyways. 😉
I’m in love with this recipe. So simple, so flavorful. I need to make it happen very soon!!
Garrett’s in the same boat as Brandon…he used to be super active but not so much anymore and still looks like an absolute hunk. I will say he doesn’t eat as cleanly as Brandon, because while I’m off eating spaghetti squash, he’s off eating burgers, ha! Anyhoo, I definitely agree nutrition comes first…you are what you eat! xo
This looks so good! I’d be all about this, especially with an egg on top.
And that lil science moment was actually SO fascinating! Who knew??
Ha! I’m glad you were tolerant of Science Monday…it’s a bit much, I know..but I couldn’t help but spew my newfound wisdom 😉 Cheers to putting an egg on it!