Take the guesswork out of how to cook the perfect spaghetti squash with this Slow Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meat Sauce recipe. The best part is the squash and sauce cook together!
If you love cooking with turkey, also try my slow cooker turkey meatballs over spaghetti.
Why you should try slow cooker spaghetti squash
If you know anything about cooking spaghetti squash then you may see it as one of those iffy vegetables to try, yet every recipe online makes it look easy (and delicious). Thanks to this easy peasy recipe, you will definitely cook the perfect spaghetti squash.
I’ve seen a few recipes for meatballs and spaghetti squash in the crock pot on Pinterest. And since I wasn’t in the mood to make homemade meatballs (or use frozen meatballs), I made a quick and easy turkey meat sauce in the slow cooker. Then, I put the spaghetti squash cut in half right in the slow cooker and cooked it to perfectly tender.
Mind you, I have never had spaghetti squash and I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy this. The cooking time was just right to make the spaghetti squash “noodles” not mushy. And my daughter couldn’t believe that the spaghetti came from the squash – she thought it was a miracle! My husband and I had a good laugh about that. It was a fun thing to make for dinner that is actually healthy too.
Recipe Ingredients
- Spaghetti Squash: You’ll need a whole squash for this recipe, which will be cut in half. Once cooked, you’ll have noodle like strands that resemble “spaghetti.”
- Ground Turkey: Using turkey meat makes this recipe super healthy and it tastes great.
- Marinara Sauce: This will be the base for your homemade meat sauce.
- White Onion: You’ll only need a small white onion that will be diced and added to the sauce.
- Portabello Mushrooms: These are the same as white mushrooms, just an older version of themselves.
- Seasoning: Salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, and freshly minced garlic give the sauce its Italian flavor.
- Cooking Oil: Used to help brown the ground turkey. You can also use olive oil.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the browned ground turkey to the bottom of the slow cooker and spread it out evenly. Add the marinara sauce, mushrooms, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to the slow cooker as well. Stir.
Step Two – Add the marinara sauce.
Step Three – Then add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to the slow cooker as well. Stir.
Step Four – Cut the spaghetti squash in half with a sharp knife (and on a cutting board), and remove the seeds with a spoon. Add the squash cut side down in the slow cooker into the sauce.
Step Five – Cover and cook spaghetti squash in the slow cooker on HIGH for 4 hours. Do not open the lid during the cooking time to not allow steam to escape.
Step Six – After the cooking time, place one of the halves of the spaghetti squash into a small bowl. Use a fork to gently scrape to form noodle like pieces. Serve with a generous helping of the meat sauce and enjoy!
How to serve
- One of the more creative ways to serve slow cooker spaghetti squash is to place one of the halves in a bowl and a helping of the sauce poured into the bowl.
- You can also place a bed of spaghetti squash strands on a plate and top it with homemade meat sauce.
- Since this dish resembles actual spaghetti, don’t forget to serve it with garlic bread or garlic sticks.
- If you want to serve a side dish, you can serve vegetables. They will go perfectly with the meat sauce.
Recipe FAQs
If your regular kitchen knife won’t cut the squash in half, make a few piercings in a straight line (think a dashed line) and microwave your squash for 5-6 minutes and then slice down the dotted line you made. It should cut fairly easily.
A small squash will yield a good amount of spaghetti and ensure that both halves will fit in the slow cooker.
Yes! I highly recommend keeping the seeds and roasting them.
Although, I used ground turkey, you can use ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork.
Sure! Be sure to cook the spaghetti according to the box instructions and wait to add it to the sauce.
Place the leftovers in the fridge for up to four days or freezer for up to three months.
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Slow Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Sauce
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey I used 7% fat
- 1 Tbsp. cooking oil
- 3 lb. spaghetti squash
- 23.5 oz. jar marinara sauce
- 1 portabello mushroom diced
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. basil
Instructions:
- In a large pan on the stove-top set to medium-high heat, add cooking oil. Brown the turkey. Add to the slow cooker. Add the marinara sauce, mushrooms, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to the slow cooker as well. Stir.
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half, remove the seeds with a spoon.
- Add the squash cut side down in the slow cooker into the sauce.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Do not open the lid during the cooking time.
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
- I use ground turkey, though you can use ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork.
- Place the leftovers in the fridge for up to four days or freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
This was very delicious. I did 3.5h on high, which was adequate. I also used 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic that was kinda getting old and not very fresh. Used Rao marinara sauce and ground chicken. Very flavorful
Delicious! We love it. Decided to use organic ground chicken and not turkey as recipe calls for. Have made it at least 10 times.
Very good!
This recipe is perfection!
Newbie me…. 1st meal cooked using my brand new slow cooker, and it’s been a total success!
Simple and affordable ingredients provided a healthy, flavorful, and nutritious meal.
Thank you so much Sarah for your detailed instructions; from the selection of ingredients, condiments to the cooking time…everything works perfectly! This will definitely be a weekly staple – husband approved
So glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorites.
So easy, so healthy, so delicious. My husband loves it, he can eat it once a week! He doesn’t even know or care it’s healthy!! I use chop ground beef some times. When it’s fine serve with parm cheese! Wow! I’m avoiding pasta, this is a good replacement! Nothing quite like pasta! But yummy!