Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pot Pie

Happy Monday, all!

A few weeks back when I posted a Lemon Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole, I seemed to hit a nerve…a good one! Who knew spaghetti squash was trending, but it does seem to be a popular veggie that many of you are working into your menus. So when my daughter Grace found this recipe for a Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pot Pie, I had to give it a try.

Let me preface this recipe by saying that it’s very good and very easy to pull together. However, the one thing it’s missing is that delicious, flaky crust. But if a healthier version of a chicken pot pie is something you have a hankering for, give this one a try because you won’t be disappointed. This recipe is adapted from Mantitlement.com.

What You Need

• 5 cups cooked spaghetti squash (1 large spaghetti squash)
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups shredded chicken or browned ground turkey
• 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
• 10 ounces of button mushrooms, sliced
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 4 tablespoons of flour
• 2 cups milk (I used 2% but the original recipe calls for whole milk)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs (or another idea I’ve seen people use is tortillas to give a little of that crust texture to the casserole)

What You Do

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Add the onions, stirring into the butter and cook until the onions have completely softened, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the garlic and cook one minute longer.
5. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and rosemary then cook until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the frozen peas and carrots then add the flour and stir to combine. Cook for a minute while stirring, then slowly pour in the milk.
7. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the bottom of the skillet and stir the milk into the vegetables. Let the filling come up to a simmer and then let thicken for 3-4 minutes.
8. Stir in the chicken and 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, then remove the skillet form the heat. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.
9. Pour the filling into a large bowl along with the cooked spaghetti squash. Stir gently to combine the filling, then pour into your baking dish.
10. Top the casserole with the remaining parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs then bake for 30 minutes.
11. To brown the topping even more, place the casserole under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.

AMOTS Hack: Did you know that it’s easier to open a spaghetti squash if you microwave it first? I finally just tried this and it saved some muscle. To soften your squash, poke some holes in its exterior and then microwave it for 5 minutes. It will be so much easier to cut off the ends and slice in half to remove the seeds. I then season the halves with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake face down on a baking sheet at 400 for 25 minutes.

Have a great week!

xo,