Spaghetti squash used to not excite me. AT ALL. You know when you have something a little out of the ordinary once (spaghetti squash for me) and it doesn’t taste that great? Then you never want to have it again.

But then I got this longing to make spaghetti with a vegetable, and I decided to give it another try.

I learned that the problem was the sauce! If you make a very delicious-tasting sauce, you can make any vegetable taste amazing.

So I made the most delicious Moroccan-inspired tomato sauce ever, and it turned the boring old spaghetti squash into a magnificent dish that totally thrilled my sense, and I know it will thrill yours too.

Never Measure Again

It may surprise you to know that I used to hate cooking. This was before I went vegan.

When I discovered how fun it is to cook with vegetables, I fell in love. And you know what my favorite part was?

Not using recipes!

I’d google recipes all the time, but instead of measuring exact quantities, I would just borrow ingredient combinations that work well.

Have you ever tried this?

I still cook this way (almost) all the time, except when I am making a very strange and new type of recipe for me, such as perhaps an Indian curry. Yap, I have yet to make one! Once I get it down, I stop measuring.

For this spaghetti squash, I loved making up the sauce the first time I did it completely without measuring. Of course I wrote down the ingredients I used (turned out so good, so I knew I had to make it for you!!!) and then I made it again, measuring this time.

But I challenge you to try making this recipe without measuring!

Let’s begin with the most difficult part of this recipe. Cutting the spaghetti squash in half. If you have a mega sharp knife, you’ll be able to do this pretty easily. But for any one else – just microwave the spaghetti squash for a couple of minutes, and then it should be much easier to cut open!

Next, put the spaghetti squash halves on a silicone mat (optional here, but it keeps your baking trays clean), and into the oven to bake until very soft. You’ll know that it’s soft by piercing it with a fork – it should easily go through.

Meanwhile, we make the sauce, by chucking in a bunch of ingredients into a pot. I am using my most favorite post in the world, which is like a dutch oven and makes things taste incredible! This is the part where you can not measure if you choose. (I’d love to know if you did or not, and how it turned out for you! I just find that it’s so freeing not to measure).

I love making my own sauce for this, and I think you should too. Store bought tomato sauces are usually loaded with oil and sugar. I have found a great, fat free sauce at Whole Foods, but making it from scratch is also very fun if you have time! And pretty easy too…

In this recipe, we are using date sugar to sweeten the sauce. It’s full of fiber and many other nutrients, so it’s great for you while being sweet!

Once the spaghetti squash is soft, use a fork and scrape it into noodles! The noodles have very little flavor, so it makes it a perfect noodle for a really yummy and creamy sauce, like the Moroccan-spiced marinara we made.

Easy, right?

I love serving mine right inside the spaghetti squash boats. Just mix in the sauce with the noodles, and top with some basil if you’d like.

Of course you can also be extra fancy and serve it on a beautiful plate, just like regular spaghetti!

Vegan Spaghetti Squash with Moroccan-Inspired Marinara

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Vegan Spaghetti Squash with Moroccan-Inspired Marinara

A super tasty and aromatic recipe. Creamy, sweet, sour, spicy - this spaghetti squash is extremely rich in flavor and very easy to make!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Moroccan

Keyword delicious, easy, gluten-free, healthy, oil-free, plant based, raw vegan, sugar-free

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 28 minutes

Total Time 43 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 medium spaghetti squashes

For the sauce:

• 2 sweet white onions (3 cups, chopped)
• 3 teaspoons ras el hanout
• 2 medium tomatoes (4 cups, chopped)
• 7 ounces tomato paste (200 grams)
• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons date sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut butter
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 medium zucchinis (2.5 cups, chopped)

Instructions

For the spaghetti squash:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Cut the squash in half. If it’s very hard to cut, you can microwave it for 5 minutes.
• Scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat.
• Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until completely soft. You will know it’s ready if you pierce it with a fork and the fork easily goes through. The time will depend on the exact size of your squash, so begin checking after 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, and allow to cool.
• Using a fork, scrape the squash to reveal the spaghetti. You can either serve it inside the peel, or remove all the spaghetti onto a plate, and mix with the sauce.

For the sauce:

• Heat a cast iron pot on high heat
• Chop onions, and place in the pot with ras el hanout spice. Cook for 5 minutes, or until they all become translucent and even golden brown. You do not need any oil for this – it will occur naturally.
• Lower the heat to medium, and add everything but chopped zucchinis (including chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, tamari, apple cider vinegar, date sugar, Dijon mustard, and coconut butter).
• Cook for 25 minutes with the lid on. The mixture will simmer.
• Add thinly chopped zucchinis, and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until the zucchinis are completely soft.