Deep Dish Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole

So I was having an early breakfast with my Rick one morning when this idea came to me to make for dinner that night based on the fresh ingredients I knew we had on hand. If you are new to this blog, we participate in a local farm fare farm bag delivery that brings freshly harvested, locally sourced produce to our door. As each bag features what was harvested that day or within a few days of delivery, they are all different and we have the opportunity to try new things and revisit the familiar favorites. Needless to say, we often have a nice selection of fresh produce to work with for dinner. In this case, I thought to myself that I should make a deep dish pizza casserole using spaghetti squash for the “crust,” yeah, that’s the ticket!!

I had this ginormous spaghetti squash, it almost did not fit into my 6 quart crock-pot. Cooking a spaghetti squash does not have to be a Sword in the Stone event, use a crock-pot. I have fallen in love with preparing squash in the crock. You simply stab it a few times, toss it in the pot with an inch or so of water (roughly a one cup) and set it on high for two hours. (Less for a smaller squash) Once it is done, it is so easy to slice open and dispose of the seeds and seed pulp. You will need to let it cool for a bit before you can do this. This is a a good time to prep the rest of the veggies you will be layering into the casserole.

Once you remove the meat of the squash, strain it in a colander to remove as much of the water as you can. Now you make your crust. In a bowl, mix together the squash with your eggs, cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder and herbs to form something of a batter. Spread the squash mixture into a baking dish sprayed with coconut oil, use a spatula to form a crust shape. (I think if I had stirred some some oat flour into the spaghetti squash mixture this could easily be a gluten free deep dish veggie pizza!!) I even sprinkled some garlic powder and Italian herbs on the outer edges of my “crust.”

Time to build the layers!

Bon appétit!

• 1 Very Large Spaghetti Squash
• 2 eggs (can use flax seed prep)
• 1+ C Sharp Cheddar
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Italian herbs
• Roast Garlic Powder
• 1 Carrot, shaved into curls
• 2 medium Zucchinis, spiralized
• 1 Cubanelle Pepper, diced
• 4oz White Mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1 small Red Onion, sliced
• ½ a Sweet Bell Pepper, finely diced
• 2 Scallions (green onion), finely chopped
• ½ a small jar prepared Alfredo sauce
• Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1. Pre-cook your spaghetti squash, slice open and remove the seeds.
2. Place the squash in a colander and strain the water/liquid off.
3. Mix together the spaghetti squash, 2 beaten eggs, cheddar, salt, pepper, Italian herbs, roast garlic powder.
4. Press the squash mixture into a lubricated 9″ × 13″ baking dish use a spatula to create a crust edge. Set aside to rest.
5. Saute onions, mushrooms and peppers until soft and golden
6. Build layers: Begin with a layer of carrot curls, then half the zucchini noodles, season with salt, pepper, Italian herbs, roasted garlic powder… make sure you get some of all the seasonings on the “crust edge.” Add the middle layer of sauteed mushrooms, onions & sweet peppers and top with some fresh cubanelle peppers. Top that layer with the other half of the zucchini noodles and season as before.
7. Spoon on prepared Alfredo on top.
8. Sprinkle with finely chopped green onion and shredded Parmesan cheese.
9. Bake for roughly 40 minutes in a 350º oven.
10. Allow it to set up for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!