Winter Red Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

This is an Italian meal especially constructed with the winter months in mind. When fresh is hard to find, this is a great tasting light meal to take the place of the traditional heavy winter meals.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Calories: 249 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¾ cup water
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• ½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
• 1 (6.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup ground vegan sausage (such as Gimme Lean®)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 2

Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on a baking dish. Fill the baking dish with about 1 inch of water.

Step 3

Bake in the preheated oven until the flesh of the squash is tender and the skin is easily pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes.

Step 4

After squash goes in the oven, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the vegan sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook and stir until vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, brown sugar, sea salt, and black pepper. Cover and simmer while the squash continues to cook, about 35 minutes.

Step 5

Scoop the flesh from the squash onto a plate, and use two forks to separate and fluff up the strands of squash. Top with the sauce to serve.