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Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl

April 27, 2017 | 10 Comments

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Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls | Gluten-free | Vegan | Plant-based | Recipe | Grain-free | Oil-free | https://passtheplants.com/

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls – sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? There’s your 5 dollar word for the day. Because I am always looking for new ways to use spaghetti squash (Spaghetti Squash Peanut Noodles, anyone?), and because the food ideas are ever-revolving through my brain, I decided to give spaghetti squash burrito bowls a whirl. And friends…they were everything I hoped they would be, and more. That’s not hyperbole, either. Another 5 dollar word! You’re raking in the vocabulary green.

I figure if I’m going to be the self-appointed Ambassador of Spaghetti Squash (unpaid), then I’d better step up to the plate and let this wonderfully strange curcubit really shine. That word’s gotta be worth $10, at least. Anyway…let’s dispense with the big words and get this burrito bowl party started, shall we?

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls | Gluten-free | Vegan | Plant-based | Recipe | Grain-free | Oil-free | https://passtheplants.com/

This is less of a recipe and more of a template. The basic idea is – take all of the ingredients that you would normally put in a burrito, and then put them in a spaghetti squash bowl instead. It’s not revolutionary, but it is delicious. But if I may, here are some suggestions for what you might want to put in your own bowl.

Protein | I used Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans, but you can use whatever burrito-bowl-appropriate protein floats your boat. If you happened to have some leftover chili hanging around, that would also be a great option.

Vegan Cheese/Sour Cream | Because it’s awesome and super versatile, I use Savory Cashew Cream, thinned out with a little bit of water to make it pourable and also to stretch it out so I can use more. I make at least one batch of this recipe every week and use it for so many things. In this bowl it’s used two ways, plain and spiked with some chipotle puree. It’s like getting two sauces for the price of one. SCORE.

Fresh Toppings | This is where you can really get creative and follow your own tastebuds. I love avocado, green onions/scallions, tomato, roasted red peppers (more on this in a sec), fresh jalapeño (SO GOOD), pepitas (for crunch), black olives, and, of course, cilantro.

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls | How to Roast Red Peppers | https://passtheplants.com/

Have you ever made your own roasted red peppers? It’s so easy, and super delicious. Basically, you char the outside of the skin either directly over a gas burner or in the oven on broil (turn on the fan!), and then let them hangout in a sealed environment for a few minutes to steam the skins off. Then you just use a kitchen towel to brush off the blackened skin. For the love of all things flavor, please do NOT rinse off the peppers after you do this. You’ll basically wash a whole bunch of flavor down the drain. The skin should peel right off, and if there are a couple of tiny black bits left over, no biggie.

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls | Gluten-free | Vegan | Plant-based | Recipe | Grain-free | Oil-free | https://passtheplants.com/

On the topic of simple ways to use peppers, let’s also chat about one of my very favorite fridge staples – chipotle puree. This is so easy to make, and it keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator in a pint-sized mason jar. If you use a wide-mouth jar, and you have an immersion blender (I’ll convince you to get one of these  handy tools one day if you don’t have one), you can just dump the can of chipotle peppers into the jar, and blend away. Then store the puree in the fridge and dip into it anytime you need some smoky, spicy flavor. And you can control the amount, which is important. I also use this in Southwestern Potato Salad and Southwestern Coleslaw, because YUM.

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls | Gluten-free | Vegan | Plant-based | Recipe | Grain-free | Oil-free | https://passtheplants.com/

As far as the spaghetti squash bowl itself, you can have that cooking away while you prep all the toppings, and have burrito bowls on the table in less than an hour. Even faster if you use the microwave to cook the squash, which I’ve been doing lately with great results. This post covers how to cook spaghetti squash in the oven, the microwave, the slow cooker, and the pressure cooker. I’ve got you covered, friends.

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls, people! Make them for dinner, or lunch, or heck, even breakfast. I won’t judge. I won’t even know unless you tell me. 🙂 Give them a chance any time of day and surprise yourself with a new way to enjoy the flavors of a burrito without the carb-bomb tortilla situation. There’s a time and a place for that, for sure, but this is a nice change of pace. Let me know if you try it! Makes my day, for real.

Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl

Beth Hornback
Spaghetti squash burrito bowls are a low-carb way to get all of your veggies and plant-based protein in one dish! Gluten-free, vegan, and oil-free.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Dinner
Cuisine American Vegan
Servings 4 bowls
Calories 399 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 spaghetti squash
  • 2 cups pinto beans (or other burrito-appropriate protein)
  • 1/2 cup savory cashew cream (thinned to pourable consistency with a bit of water)
  • 1 to mato (chopped)
  • 6 ounces can sliced black olives
  • 1 red bell pepper (roasted, peeled, and diced)
  • 1 jalapeno (sliced thinly)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 avocado (peeled and chopped)
  • 1/2 cup raw pepitas
  • 4 green onions (sliced thinly)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400F.
  • Cut the spaghetti squash across the width, and scoop out the seeds.
  • Place the squash on an oven-safe cooling rack set over a baking sheet, and sprinkle the flesh liberally with salt. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to let salt draw out some of the water in the squash.
  • Pat the squash dry with a kitchen towel and roast the squash for 30 minutes. See this post for alternate cooking methods such as microwave, slow cooker, and pressure cooker.
  • While the squash is roasting, prep the toppings.
  • Make savory cashew cream (recipe follows), and set aside 1/2 cup (store the rest in the fridge for another use). If desired, mix in a bit of chipotle puree into part or all of the reserved cashew cream. Start with a 1/2 teaspoon and add more if you like it really spicy.
  • Roast the red bell pepper, if using, and cover with plastic wrap to steam the skin off. After 5 minutes, remove the skin with a kitchen towel, remove the seeds, and dice the flesh.
  • Slice or chop the tomato, jalapeño, cilantro, avocado, and green onions. Set aside in individual bowls for easy customization of each bowl.
  • When the spaghetti squash is cooked, use a fork to separate the “noodles” in the bowl, then add the toppings and drizzle with the sauce. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 399kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 14gFat: 20gSodium: 490mgSugar: 6gVitamin A: 350IUVitamin C: 89.1mg
Keyword plant based burrito bowl, vegan burrito bowl
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Home » Dinner » Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl

223 shares

Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish bulk cooking, gluten-free, grain-free, kid-friendly, meal prep, Mexican-inspired, oil-free, spaghetti squash, wfpb, whole food plant based

About Beth

Beth is a food photographer and recipe developer based in the Pacific Northwest. She never tires of snuggling with her two beautiful kids and owes piles of chocolate chip cookies to her husband, aka the most wonderful person she knows. Keep in touch with Beth on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Teresa says

    April 28, 2017 at 6:44 am

    YUM! that looks delicious!

    ~Have a lovely day!

    Reply
  2. Ana Balenovic says

    May 1, 2017 at 1:44 pm

    “I love your cooking, Beth! What a great idea to use the left over squash shell as a bowl to eat out of! At least I think you used the squash shell as a bowl? 🙂 The roasted red peppers looks so good in this and so does the cashew cream. I’m always looking for substitutes for mayo and am going to make your cashew cream it looks good!

    Reply
  3. Nola says

    May 10, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    5 stars
    Made these for supper tonight; they were *amazing*!!! That cashew sauce is tdf as well, thanks so much for sharing this recipe! :0)

    Reply
    • Beth says

      June 15, 2017 at 3:09 pm

      SO late to reply, but YAYYYYYY!!! So glad you loved these! I kind of want one right now, and I have everything. Hmmm… 🙂

  4. Rachel Bates says

    May 16, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    I can’t wait to try this!!! Yummy!

    Reply
  5. Krista says

    July 22, 2017 at 6:44 am

    Beth,
    I love these spaghetti squash recipes! I have two questions unrelated to the actual cooking that I’m hoping you can answer. I’m growing my own squash for the first time and the plant is dying prematurely. Can I still eat the squash that are not at their mature size? Also, can you successfully freeze cooked spaghetti squash?

    Reply
    • Beth says

      July 26, 2017 at 10:37 am

      Hi Krista! SO sorry I forgot to respond to this sooner. So sorry your squash plant is dying! From what I’ve read, squash plants dying prematurely are probably infected with a disease or bug problem that would impact the squash, so it’s not recommended to save them. That said, I would highly suggest reaching out to a local nursery in your area and showing them a photo. They may be able to give you better advice based on your local growing conditions and also their expertise in general. Yes, you can freeze cooked spaghetti squash, but the texture is compromised, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Even after salting there is still quite a bit of water in it, so it can go mushy in the freezer. That said, I have kept cooked squash in the fridge for up to a week with no issues at all, so you can at least stretch out the squash meals by a week. 🙂 Hope that helps!

  6. Christina says

    April 16, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    I have recently found out that certain meats I’m allergic to do I’ve transitioned to a vegan it was hard but the biggest thing is my protein levels have dropped. Do you have any recipes family will enjoy and ones to help on the protein side?

    Reply
    • Beth says

      April 16, 2019 at 11:46 pm

      Hi Christina! Yes! Try my vegan ground beef, which is super versatile and can be used in so many dishes (which you’ll find links to in that post). I also did a search for the word “protein” within the blog because I have several recipes with “protein-packed” in the title, to make it easy! You can find all of those recipes here. I’ll be adding recipes more often going forward, in fact my next post will feature chickpeas which are a great source of protein! I’d love to help you with your transition however I can, please stay in touch! 🙂

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223 shares