Vegan, gluten-free, or none of the above? You'll love this flavorful pesto spaghetti squash bowl filled with spinach, roasted cauliflower & pine nuts.
Back by popular demand – spaghetti squash!
If you’ve been following for long you’ll know that I haven’t always been the biggest fan of it. But here’s what I’ve learned: it’s best to get the “spaghetti” thought out of your mind. As pasta, it’s kind of mushy. As a roasted vegetable that happens to form into little strands, it’s so delicious. Especially with a squeeze of lemon and a few dollops of pesto. And if you’re new to this veggie, check out my guide to how to cook spaghetti squash to find my best tips for cooking it.
For texture and crunch, I tossed the squash with roasted cauliflower, spinach, and pine nuts. This pesto spaghetti squash is a simple, healthy weeknight meal or vegetable side dish. Serve it like it’s pictured or mix everything together with the pesto. (It’s not as pretty at that point, but still tasty).
And if you’re still feeling like pasta, check back Friday 🙂
Lemon Pesto Spaghetti Squash
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- Basil Pesto
- 2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- Juice of ½ small lemon, plus wedges for serving
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (parsley or basil)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare and roast the spaghetti squash according to the instructions in this post. Drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on the second baking sheet. Roast for about 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
- Meanwhile, make the pesto and set aside.
- Place the baby spinach in a large bowl. Use a fork to scrape the spaghetti squash into strands. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper (you can do this right in the spaghetti squash halves). Add the spaghetti squash to the bowl and gently toss, so that the heat from the squash lightly wilts the spinach leaves.
- Add the roasted cauliflower, pine nuts, parsley, and a dollop of the pesto.
- Optional step: toss it all together so that the pesto coats all of the vegetables.
- Serve with lemon wedges, extra pesto, and Parmesan, if desired.
My bad! I forgot to rate this recipe when I wrote my comment.
My little family has been eating more vegetarian meals, having decided that vegetarian is good for our bodies and the planet, and this recipe was a great find. Having said that, I thought this recipe was a lot of work and time consuming to prepare. I didn’t realize that the basil pesto was an ingredient; I thought the ingredients following it were part of the pesto preparation, so I was scrambling to make the pesto at a time when it was really inconvenient. I will definitely serve this again, but will be better prepared next time!
I’m squicked out by substituting vegetables for carbs, so when I got a spaghetti squash in my CSA, I almost said no to it…but based on the quality I always find on this site, I had a hunch there would be a recipe that didn’t pretend it was spaghetti, but gave the vegetable its own integrity. I used chard because it’s what I had and a beautiful head of yellow cauliflower from said CSA, and added a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat. May or may not have licked the bowl—will neither confirm nor deny. Thanks for another winner.
I’m glad you loved it!
I made the lemon pesto spaghetti squash, and it was delicious. My family ate it up. I can’t print the recipe though. You usually have a tab to print when you have a recipe. Am I missing something?
Just WOW!!!! And I didn’t even have all of the correct ingredients ( used walnuts instead if pine nuts and store was out of cauliflower so I subbed in broccoli)! Awesome dish!
I’m so glad you loved it, Susan!
Amazing
So glad you loved it, Rebekah!
This was so good and super easy!
I can’t believe how flavorful the pesto is, and it’s much healthier than most pesto recipes.
My boyfriend actually went back for seconds, the first time I have ever seen him do that?
Thank you for another easy, delicious and healthy recipe.
Hi Amber, I’m so glad you loved it!
So good!
I added honey to the pesto
I used all fresh ingredients , and it feels good to feed my family a healthy meal
I made this for dinner and it tastes great! my only criticism is that it’s a bit soggy. Really try to dry up the spinach and don’t put too much oil if you’re making this or it’ll be very wet and that isn’t the most pleasant experience. it is probably my own fault though given that i didn’t measure the oil but overall great taste! added lots of parmesean
I made this for dinner party of eight, and every single person person complimented me on the dish! Also, everyone wanted the recipe. It’s such a nice healthy, tasty dish and if you are a vegetable person. Perfect. Highly highly recommend. Thank you, Jeannine.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
I absolutely love this recipe! It’s an incredibly creative way to turn a classic dish into something new and exciting. Squash is one of my favorite vegetables, so I’m always excited to see new ways to incorporate it into different recipes. The combination of lemon, pesto, and squash is an interesting mix of flavors that I’m sure would be delicious. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
I hope you enjoy!
It’s okay but I wouldn’t make it again
I made this for dinner for two meat-eaters, one of whom is hardcore pro meet. And they both loved it (and so did I). The hardcore meat eater in particular raved. He was shocked he could enjoy a meal without meat. I made it with a salad – a beet citrus salad with kale and pistachios – in case anyone is looking for ideas. And it was such a healthy, delicious dinner. Thank you for this recipe!
Wow! So glad the recipe was a hit!
This was great! I roasted zucchini instead of cauliflower and accidentally toasted pine nuts to a med brown- which turned out to be awesome! Also used store bought pesto. This was a great meatless Monday dinner!
I loved this dish! And you are right about striving for al dente with the spaghetti squash. I didn’t make the pesto recipe. Instead I used fresh, store-bought. Next time I would use the juice of 1 lemon, not half. Also I roasted the pine nuts before adding them. Will definitely make this again and have shared it on FB. Thank you!
I am so excited to discover your recipes for spaghetti squash. I share your feelings about squash as pasta, but am looking forward to creating and sharing these delicious dishes! Thank you for the detail and tips included in your basic roasting recipe.
Wow! This is a really tasty dish! My non vegan husband gave it a 9! I made the pestO with spinach and basil and 3 gloves garlic, so good. I never would have thought to use hemp hearts in pesto, great nutty flavour. I swapped pine nuts for cashews. Did the squash(20-30mins) and cauliflower(15-17mins) in the air fryer. So many combination possibilities for this dish! This is my new go to pesto recipe! Thanks ?
Absolutely delicious – made it last night. A keeper!
I love every ingredient in this recipe, and although it was good, the dish just didn’t seem to cut it for me?♀️ the lemon was a definite must here. Maybe I was missing more seasonings? I’ll still eat my leftovers but won’t be making again:(
Sooo good! I didn’t have lemon so I used lime. Made it with store bought pesto because I don’t have the pesto ingredients. Will make again! Thank you!!