You guys, I think this Tuscan Spaghetti Squash Casserole may be one of my new favorite recipes. I wasn’t even planning on recipe testing (or cooking in general) today, but I had a spaghetti squash that I needed to use up, so I was trying to think of fun ideas. I got some pork and kale at Trader Joe’s today, and decided all 3 together would be tasty, but…it needed a sauce. Enter: dairy free creamy garlic sauce! I used a combination of garlic, cashews, and coconut milk to create an Alfredo-like sauce without any dairy. And it’s so delicious, if I do say so myself!
Thursdays are our busiest day of the week, so I was not expecting to make dinner (we usually get Chipotle), nevermind photograph it during daylight hours before dance class tonight. Gotta love when things work out like that! This took about 1 hour total to make (cooking time-wise), since you have to bake the spaghetti squash first. You could always prep that and cook the sausage ahead of time and make the sauce/bake the casserole later.
The coconut milk that I use is Native Forest brand, which I usually get on Thrive Market! Use either of the links here to get 25% off your first Thrive order.
You can use any type of sausage you want for this recipe, or make your own using the instructions below (it’s super easy – promise!). It would be great with turkey, as well. If you’re doing Whole30, just make sure to look for sugar-free sausage. Butcher Box has amazing sausage!
Ok, so add this Tuscan Spaghetti Squash Casserole to your meal plan for next week, mmk?! And as always, if you make something and love it, it would mean the world to me if you could give it 5 stars and leave a review on the blog!
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Whole30 Tuscan Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Ingredients
Sausage (If making your own)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground sage
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp white pepper black is fine if you don't have it
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp all spice
Creamy Garlic Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk Coconut milk separates in the can, so make sure to whisk it well before measuring!
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Remaining ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 4 cups kale stems removed, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Cut your squash in half (I like to cut it in half horizontally which is different than how most people do it, but it creates longer "spaghetti" strands this way!) Scoop out the seeds and lay both halves cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the squash for 35-40 minutes (depending on the size of the squash).
- Meanwhile, make the sausage: Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat and add all sausage ingredients. Stir/cook for 5-7 minutes until browned and cooked through. Drain fat. Add the kale and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until it begins to wilt. Set the pan aside.
- Make the creamy garlic sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds or until very creamy. The cashews do not need to be soaked beforehand.
- Once the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and use a fork to remove the strands. Add the squash and the garlic sauce to the pan with the sausage and kale. Mix well. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until sides are bubbling and it's warmed through. Serve and enjoy!
This was so delicious. I will definitely make this again. I made it as written, except I didn’t add all the spaghetti squash, because I wanted it extra creamy. Well done Mary!
Thank you, Lani!!
Made this last night for lunches this week, and holy cow was it amazing. My husband taste tested it for me and went back for a second scoop. Without knowing the ingredients, he said it tasted just like Alfredo sauce. What a win. Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can i use Spiraled spaghetti squash?
I’ve only used it with baked spaghetti squash strands, but any spiraled veggie should work!
How would you substitute chicken for the sausage? We don’t eat pork
I would do ground chicken or pre-cooked/Rotisserie chicken instead!
My husband and I really enjoyed this dish! We’ll be making it again. We used ground turkey instead of pork, which tasted great and eliminated the need to drain the meat after browning. Next time, I’ll double the kale too — it cooks down so much they you don’t have to worry about overdoing it. Thanks for this recipe!
You’re so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is sooo easy and sooo good!! We’re on Round 4 of Whole 30 and took to a church dinner we have once a week. Almost all of it was gone by the end of the night! I also doubled the recipe! So many compliments!
This looks fantastic! Thanks for the great idea!!
You’re so welcome!
This was delicious!! My best friend is allergic to nuts, any suggestions for a substitution for cashews?
I am working on testing out some alternatives – stay tuned 🙂
I didnt have any cashews on hand so I put a small can of diced chilies in 🤷♀️ it’s not the creamiest but it’s still delicious. I’m thinking some sliced or diced white potatoes would thicken it up a bit as well. Make it practically the casserole version of the zuppa tuscona soup at olive garden!
Yum! Glad it still worked out!
Can you make it without the coconut cream and just use homemade cashew cream?
I am afraid the coconut cream will over power the flavor and all you taste is coconut?
Please let me know Because I would love to make this tonight
Thank you
Hi Patricia- So sorry I missed your comment yesterday – it doesn’t taste like coconut, but if you prefer to just use cashews you certainly can.
This dish was super easy to make and delicious! My husband and kids all loved it. Definitely will put it into our dinner rotation. Just wondering … for those with nut allergies, is there anything to use in place of the cashews?
I haven’t tested it without the cashews but there has to be a way! I will work on that. Thanks so much, Danielle!
This is absolutely delicious! About to make it for the second time.
Thank you Katie!
I’m so glad I was able to find this recipe. Planned on making Tuscan soup but had leftover spaghetti squash I needed to use. Those asking about a nut free sauce, I didn’t have cashews but had leftover “alfredo” sauce from a dish I made several days ago (bonus I was able to use additional leftovers!). I did add 1/2 c nutpods (no coconut milk), and omitted the water because I didn’t have enough alfredo” sauce but the recipe below should be enough…
This may change the flavor from the original recipe but it was really good!
2 TBS ghee/oil
1 TBS arrowroot flour
1 1/2 c coconut milk
salt/pepper for flavor
Melt ghee/oil, whisk in arrowroot flour until combined. Add in milk and whisk until mixture thickens and is smooth. Recipe by realfoodwithjessica.
Thank you so much for sharing a nut free option!
Do you have any nutritional information on this delicious recipe? We really enjoyed it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Unfortunately I do not have nutritional info on my site (yet) but hope to change that soon!
This has become one of my Top 5 Whole30 meals (on and off round). I love it… I am not a fan of kale, however, so subbed in broccoli instead- and we inhale it. Thank you so very much for sharing the recipe.
That sounds like an amazing sub! Glad you enjoyed it Sarah!
This was fabulous. Made with chicken sausage, as that’s what I had on hand. Will definitely make again, with even more veggies. The sauce was thick and creamy. So good!
So glad to hear that, Sue! Thank you!
I made this for my lunches for the entire week and it did not disappoint! Usually after eating the same lunch for a whole week I am sick of it but I could have eaten this for another week…it’s that good! It’s easy to make, full of flavor and you can’t beat the ingredients. This is definitely going to be a recipe that I make again and again!
Woo hoo! Thanks Kelsey!
this is amazing and one of our new favorites!!! The only thing I add is a little Nooch for a bit of umami/cheese flavor.
Great idea! Glad you liked it!
Absolutely love this dish, even the kale! Any updates on nutritional info? Thanks!
Not yet! My new site will be up in August, hoping to have the info available then! Glad you loved this dish 🙂
Delicious & easy.. I didn’t have ground pork so I used sweet Italian turkey sausage .. we will make it again!
Awesome, thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved this! And it was loved even more by my boyfriend. We used chicken instead of pork and it turned out great. Also used spinach instead of kale – just what we normally have on hand. This is a staple in our meal rotation! At the beginning of COVID-19 it was hard to find spaghetti squash and all we wanted was this recipe. So glad we are able to find the squash now!!
Thank you Teresa, so glad you both enjoyed it!