Barbecue Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bake

This barbecue chicken spaghetti squash bake is perfect for satisfying those pizza cravings. Great for lunches with a salad or as a side to some soup.

Spaghetti Squash has got to be one of my favourites speed vegetables, it is so versatile and a great low carb side dish.

I can often forfeit pasta or noodles and instead have this amazing vegetable.

When I say spaghetti squash, I don't mean squash that you spiral with a 5 blade spiralizer like this one below (although they are super useful to have for increasing speed foods on your plate in a more interesting way)

Spaghetti squash is the name of an actual variety of winter squash. Yellow and oval in shape, once cooked it has a stringy type flesh that has a texture and appearance of spaghetti.

There are many different ways you can cook it. My favourite, is to slice it into rings and bake it in the oven. Cooking it this way, gives much longer strands, just like spaghetti, whereas, slicing it in half will give shorter strands and a longer cooking time too.

Check out my full method for How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

When I want to cut the carbs a little, I like to use spaghetti squash as my pasta for Spaghetti Bolognese, or noodles in an Asian inspired dish.

I also have these amazing Spaghetti Squash recipes:

• Spaghetti Squash Bake
• Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Alfredo
• Bacon, Fennel, Mushrooms Spaghetti Squash Bake

One of my favourite recipes to use spaghetti squash is this Barbecue Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bake, it's a perfect dish for when I fancy pizza but want to stay on plan. Delicious spaghetti squash, cheesy base, topped with a quick barbecue sauce, cooked chicken, peppers and more cheese. What is there not to like?

Luckily for us on this side of the Atlantic, spaghetti squash is available all year round, although can be slightly more expensive when it is not in season.

For those in the UK, it can be hard to source, really only available when in season in the autumn and winter. If you have a good friend with an allotment, it might be a great idea to convince them to grow you some, as it's supposedly easy to grow if you have the seeds.

If you want to try to source some, check out online at grocery stores that stock more variety of produce or ask around at local farmer's markets, there may be some online places to source it from too.

Don't worry though, if you really fancy trying this Barbecue Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bake, but can't get spaghetti squash, you can replace it with some grated or spiralized courgette (zucchini).

If you are lucky enough to get some spaghetti squash, you will need to cook the spaghetti squash first, before proceeding with the base part to this delicious Barbecue Chicken topped Spaghetti Squash Bake.

Then I combine the spaghetti squash with grated potato, egg and parmesan to make the base, this then needs baking, just to firm up, before adding any of the toppings.

For this I just used a good quality ready-made barbecue sauce in a bottle, but if you have time to make it, you can use this Barbecue Sauce. If you do the latter, then omit the passata as well, and just use the no added sugar barbecue sauce.

You could literally add any veggies of choice as this part, I just go for some red onion and green and red pepper slices, as they are perfect for this Barbecue Chicken topped Spaghetti Squash Bake.

If you are veggie, you could still make this, and omit the chicken. Then the last part is the Mozzarella cheese, which is a perfect melting cheese that completes this dish.

Once cooked, this will keep a few days in the fridge and is great for quick to grab lunches. I love it with a nice mixed salad or a yummy bowl of soup instead of salad.

What kitchen items do I need to make this Barbecue Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bake?

• Measuring Spoons
• Measuring Cups
• Kitchen Scales
• Mixing Bowl
• Chopping Board
• Baking Tray
• Parchment Paper
• Wooden Spoon
• 10 inch flan/quiche dish
• grater