Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin is a delicious cheesy recipe that’s a great low-carb side dish when spaghetti squash is plentiful! 

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Many years ago I used to write about food twice a week for BlogHer.com, and when I wrote about spaghetti squash that made me think about creative ways for cooking some of my own spaghetti squash from the garden. I found great-sounding spaghetti squash recipes all around the web, but the one that inspired this Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin was a recipe for Spaghetti Squash Gratin from a site that’s no longer online.

Adding the chard was one of those “wonder how it would work?” experiments, but really liked the combination of spaghetti squash and chard in this cheesy gratin.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• spaghetti squash
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Rosemary Garlic Seasoning, or any all purpose seasoning that’s good on vegetables
• onion
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• Dried Thyme (affiliate link)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• chopped chard leaves
• green onion
• sour cream
• cottage cheese curds (put the cottage cheese in a fine strainer and rinse with cold water)
• coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• egg

Spaghetti squash is an ingredient you’ll never forget after you’ve tried it once. It’s quite magical, the squash strings apart in a way that makes it look like spaghetti when it’s cooked, and it’s a mild-flavored squash that can get along well with many other flavors. I’ve been growing spaghetti squash for years, and I love to eat it when it’s green like a summer squash, but if you don’t have a garden you’ll have to settle for the ripe spaghetti squash you find in the store.

What is Chard?

Chard is a type of leafy greens that’s also called Swiss Chard, and a variety of other names! It’s one of my favorite greens to grow in the garden. Check out my Healthy Swiss Chard Recipes if you’re also a fan!

How to make Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe.)

1. The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the spaghetti squash in half. You can cook it whole and then remove the seeds after it’s cooked, but I like to season the inside of the squash before it cooks.
2. Use a big chef’s knife, cut off the stem and blossom end, then stand the squash up and carefully press down to cut in half.
3. Then use the sharpest spoon you can find and scrape out the seeds and the slimy material that surrounds them. Throw that away.
4. Spray the pan with non-stick spray or olive oil, then rub the cut surface of the squash with olive oil rub and some seasoning. (I used some Rosemary Garlic Seasoning, but any seasoning that tastes good on vegetables would work.)
5. Pour a little water on the baking sheet before you put the squash in to bake, which helps prevent the bottom of the squash from burning.
6. Squash is done when it strings apart in strands that look like spaghetti (if you use your imagination.)
7. While the squash is cooling, chop the onion and chard. I wanted small pieces of chard so it would mix well with the spaghetti squash, so I sliced it thinly one direction, then turned the cutting board and sliced the other direction.
8. Cook onion a few minutes with Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), dried thyme, and black pepper, add garlic, then add chard. It only takes a couple of minutes for the chard to go from the previous photo to this state of being about half wilted.
9. It will cook more in the gratin, so turn off the heat as soon as it looks like this.
10. Use a large fork to gently mix the shredded spaghetti squash and finely chopped chives or green onions into the chard.
11. Combine the sour cream, drained cottage cheese curds, Parmesan, and beaten egg and gently mix it into the spaghetti squash/chard mixture.
12. Press the mixture into a gratin dish and sprinkle on a bit more grated Parmesan, then bake at 400F/200C for 30-35 minutes.
13. Serve hot and enjoy! This will keep in the refrigerator for quite a few days and reheats well. 

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

I think Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin would taste great with Greek Meatballs or Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce for a low-carb dinner.

More Tasty Recipes for Spaghetti Squash:

Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash with Pesto ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Twice-Baked Spaghetti Squash and Cheese ~ Completely Delicious
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Mizithra and Browned Butter ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Pesto Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash ~ Cookin’ Canuck
Mock Lasagna Spaghetti Squash Casserole ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 6 servings

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin is a delicious cheesy recipe and this is a fun way to use spaghetti squash!

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash (see notes)
• 2 T olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp. Rosemary Garlic Seasoning or any all purpose seasoning that’s good on vegetables
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1/2 tsp. Spike seasoning (optional but good, see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 T minced garlic (or less)
• 16 oz. chopped chard leaves (see notes)
• 2 T sliced green onion
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese curds (put the cottage cheese in a fine strainer and rinse with cold water to get the cheese curds)
• 3/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
2. Wash the outside of the spaghetti squash if needed, then cut off the stem and blossom end, stand squash upright, and using a large chef’s knife, carefully cut in half lengthwise. Use a sharp spoon to scrape out seeds and the slimy material that surrounds them, and discard.
3. Rub cut sides of squash with about 1/2 T olive oil for each half, then sprinkle each with 1 tsp. Rosemary Garlic Seasoning or other seasoning of your choice.
4. Spray the roasting pan with non-stick spray, Put squash on baking sheet and pour 1/4 cup water around bottom of squash.
5. Roast squash about 45-50 minutes, or until it separates easy into strands when pulled with a fork. Let squash cool for a few minutes, then shred into spaghetti-like strands.
6. While squash cooks, wash chard leaves if needed and spin dry or dry with paper towel. In two batches, stack up chard leaves on top of each other and slice into thin ribbons, then turn the cutting the board the other way and slice again into small pieces. Chop onion.
7. Heat 1 T olive oil in heavy frying pan, add chopped onions, season with Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), dried thyme, and black pepper, and saute until onion is softened, about 2-3 minutes.
8. Add minced garlic and cook about 1 minute more, then add chopped chard all at once. Cook chard about 1-2 minutes, turning a few times. until it’s wilted to about half the size it was. (The chard shouldn’t be completely cooked, since it will cook more in the gratin.) Turn off heat.
9. Put 3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese in a fine strainer and rinse with cold water until only the cheese curds remain, then let drain. Spray a glass or crockery gratin dish with non-stick spray or olive oil.
10. Using a large fork, gently mix the chopped chives or green onion and shredded spaghetti squash into the onion/chard mixture.
11. Combine the sour cream, drained cottage cheese curds, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and beaten egg and mix into the chard/spaghetti squash mixture.
12. Then put the combined ingredients into the gratin dish, and press down so it’s evenly distributed in the dish. Sprinkle top with 1/4 cup more Parmesan cheese.
13. Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and cheese is browned on top. Serve hot.

Notes

I used a spaghetti squash that was about 2.5 pounds.

If you don't have Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), use any all-purpose seasoning that's good on vegetables.

You could use other greens like spinach, collards, or kale instead of Chard. The cooking times might be longer for some greens.

This recipe was created by Kalyn with inspiration from Spaghetti Squash Gratin at Daily Unadventures in Cooking, a site that's no longer online.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 259Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 5.7gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 650mgCarbohydrates: 12.8gFiber: 4gSugar: 7.7gProtein: 11g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Spaghetti squash is a high-fiber vegetable that’s perfect for low-carb and low-glycemic diets, and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Side Dishes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2009. It was last updated with more information in 2021.

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