One of T’s favorite dinners so far is spaghetti. He would eat it everyday if I let him. Luckily, for now, I can outsmart him on occasion and give him spaghetti squash instead of spaghetti! It’s an extra hit of veggies for him and since he mostly likes the spaghetti because of the texture, he doesn’t seem to mind the substitution.
That has left me with a fair amount of spaghetti squash sitting around and not much to do with it. I like the stuff okay, but find it a bit bland on its own.
Bringing some Thai flavors to the roasted squash kicks it up a notch and is a super-healthy and flavorful way to cross dinner off the list.
There are a few different pieces to this dish, but none of them are particularly hard. Thai spaghetti squash is well within reach, even on a weeknight if you roast the squash in advance!
Thai Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash, roasted
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 3-4 baby bok choy, chopped
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 1 red pepper, sliced thin
- ½ red onion, sliced thin
- 2 eggs, scrambled
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Roasted peanuts, garnish
Spicy Peanut Sauce:
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ⅓ cup warm water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili oil
- 1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
Instructions
- Cut spaghetti squash in half longwise and lay it cut-side down on a baking sheet. Poke the skin with a fork and roast the squash at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes until the flesh is tender to the touch.
- For sauce, combine ingredients in a small pot. Stir together over low heat until smooth. The finished warm sauce should be pourable, but coat the back of the spoon. If it’s too thick, add more water to thin it out. Keep warm until serving.
- For stir-fry, chop all veggies. Add coconut oil (or other neutral oil) to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, carrots, red onions, and red peppers to the skillet. Stir-fry for a few minutes until veggies are colorful and slightly tender but still with some crunch to them. You don’t want them soggy!
- Add chopped bok choy and soy sauce to the skillet and cook for 30-60 seconds until bok choy is wilted. Keep stir-fry warm until ready to serve.
- For egg, add a small drizzle of oil to a small skillet over medium heat. Whisk eggs well and pour into skillet. Cook them for 1 minute, pushing cooked egg to the center with a spatula and letting uncooked egg flow to the outside. Flip egg when mostly cooked and finish cooking on second side.
- Slide cooked egg onto a cutting board and chop into pieces.
- When squash is done roasting, scoop out seeds and use a fork to shred the flesh into strands. Divide squash between four plates. Top with veggie stir-fry, eggs, peanut sauce, and chopped peanuts. Serve while hot.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Thai Spaghetti Squash
The longest part of this recipe is just roasting the squash. You could do this in advance if you want. The roasted squash keeps great for a few days. Just don’t shred it until you’re ready to eat.
I like to roast mine by chopping it in half and roasting it cut-side down. Poke a few wholes in the skin with a fork and roast it at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes until it’s tender.
Once you scoop out the seeds, you can just use a fork to shred the flesh into spaghetti-like strands.
Good enough to fool a baby.
If you want more info on preparing spaghetti squash, check out this full write up on the definitive spaghetti squash guide from Chew the World!
Spicy Peanut Sauce
This dish needs a really killer sauce and this spicy peanut sauce is about as good as it gets for me. Just stir together all the ingredients in a small pot over low heat.
Eventually the sauce will come together into a creamy, perfect sauce. If it’s too thick, add more water to thin it out a bit. It should easily coat a spoon, but also be pourable.
The Stir-Fry Topper
Squash and sauce would be a pretty boring meal, so I added a whole garden of veggies to it.
Toss the broccoli florets, red onion, carrots, and red pepper in a skillet with a spoonful of coconut oil (or other neutral oil).
Cook these for just a few minutes over medium-high heat until they are bright but still have a little crunch.
The Egg
Okay. Last piece: an egg! This adds some protein to the plate. You could also add a light protein like tofu or chicken without a problem. I just whisked two eggs and cooked them in a small skillet sort of like a thin omelet.
When the egg is done, slide it onto a cutting board and cut it up.
To finish the stir-fry, add the chopped bok choy and soy sauce and toss it together until bok choy is wilted.
You know the rest. Divide the squash between a few plates and top with the veggie stir-fry, egg, peanut sauce, and chopped roasted peanuts.
Spaghetti squash: Foolin’ babies and feeding adults at the same time!
Here are a few other Great Stir Fry Recipes!
- Beef Szechuan Noodles
- How to make Perfect Soba Noodles
- Chickpea Stir Fry with Homemade Chapati
- Beef & Noodle Stir Fry from Fox and Briar
Elizabeth
I recently had a salad at a Thai restaurant. They used peanut sauce as the dressing. They also put on a fried egg on top. I was skeptical at first but the yolk blended w/ the peanut sauce in the most delicious way. I imagine it would do the same in this recipe as well. Thanks for an easy week night dinner!
Nick
Totally! You could do a fried egg or poached egg instead of the scrambled. Great idea!
Cindy near Fruita
I have everything except bok choy, any suggested subs?
Nick
You could use kale or spinach Cindy, but you could also just leave it out. Not a huge part of the recipe! Good luck!
Danielle
Made this last night and it was far more delicious than I could have hoped. I used lightly fried golden tofu instead of egg, and we served it with chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime. Tastes like pad thai but much more nutritious, and I think even more delicious.
Nick
That’s awesome Danielle! So glad you liked it. :)
Lauren
This sauce is out of this world. I cheated a little and cooked chicken with frozen stir fry vegetables, soy sauce and garlic. Put that over spaghetti squash with this peanut sauce – the best quick and easy weeknight dinner. My boyfriend, who is not a spaghetti squash fan, loved this dinner and said the sauce was better than our favorite Thai place.
Nick
That’s awesome Lauren! Glad you liked the sauce. ;) Thanks for reporting back!
Karen
Another good use for leftover spaghetti squash is to make a spaghetti pie with scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese. Top with marinara or even salsa.
Nick
Oh like it Karen! Thanks for the idea!
Bill
If you cut spaghetti squash across (into doughnuts) instead of lengthwise (like boats) the strands of “spaghetti” are twice as long. Try it- you’ll see.
Felicity
I made this today for lunch because we had a spaghetti squash and some bok choy and nothing to do with them. I’m so glad I found this– it was great! I’ve never made a peanut sauce before and this was delish! I omitted/switched up some ingredients to fit what I had on hand and everything turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa
I made this today, and it is amazing! I used tofu instead of egg, and I added some maple syrup to the sauce. Also, I couldn’t find chili oil at the store, so I added crushed red pepper to the sauce. This was better than I anticipated – thanks for the recipe!
Valerie Brown
I have made this a couple of times now and absolutely love it. That peanut sauce is amazing. The only change I made the second time was to use low sodium soy sauce as I found the regular stuff too salty. Thanks so much for the recipe, it has become one of our favourite meals.
Tom
I am gonna do a Thai cooking class next week! Looking forward tasting all our creations! :)
Betsy
Oh, my! My husband regularly makes a peanut sauce with stir fry; it’s sort of his go-to no matter where we are in the world. But I never thought of using it with spaghetti squash (which is also a favorite). When we return to the U.S., I’m going to suggest we try this. Thanks!
Michelle
I love Thai spices and have been looking for a recipe that incorporates more veggies to offset all the holiday cookies I’m eating lately. This is perfect! Thank you, as always :)
Reena
This was a great recipe! i hardly ever comment, but this was really good. Did not taste like i was eating only vegetables. I made green chilis in vinegar like they have in the thai restaurants and it went perfectly with this recipe.