I have loved spaghetti squash since the first time my wife made it for me, but I made this dish in my Ninja Foodi for the first time in the video. I’ve tweaked the recipe a little after making it several more times, but you can enjoy this single-pot meal cutting down on the number of dishes you need to clean!
Grab a spaghetti squash and cut it in half to resemble two bowls. Clear out the middle of the seeds and extra bits. Insert the wire rack or trivet in the Ninja pot and the spaghetti squash cut face side up on the rack. You can stack them if they do not fit perfectly, however, try to keep them balanced and bowl up. You can also cook them each separately if you only need 1 half at the moment.
Fill the hole with 1/2 Cup of olive oil in each half(some people use water). Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pot, seal, and cook on high-pressure mode for 15-20 minutes.
Let the pressure release on its own for 10 – 20 min. Slow-release the pressure, remove the squash from the Ninja, setting it aside to cool.
Prepare the meat sauce. Dispose of the remaining water in the Ninja pot (optionally rinse it out). Change the setting on the Ninja to Sear/Saute and brown the desired amount of ground beef, seasoning with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Pour in the sauce of your choice, mix well, and let the sauce simmer.
Separate the “noodles” of the spaghetti squash by using a table fork to pull the squash strands away from the sides to the middle of the oil and stir gently.
WOW! It really does look like spaghetti noodles. Place the spaghetti squash on a plate and cover it generously with the meat sauce.
Top with shredded parmesan cheese or basil.
Enjoy your meal and the fact that you only have one pot to clean!
Whenever my wife is out of town, I love to invade her kitchen and try new things or make the things she is not partial to eating. I’m trying an old favorite tonight, but in the Ninja Foodi, spaghetti squash with red meat sauce.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Spaghetti Squash (cut in half and cook both sides for two people or one for one person)
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil (per spaghetti squash half)
- 1 Cup water
- 16 oz. Jar of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce
- Optional: 1 Onion
- Optional: 1 Pod of Garlic
- Optional: Salt
- Optional: Pepper
- Optional: Parmesan Cheese
- Optional: Basil
Instructions
- Cut your spaghetti squash in half and remove any seeds and extra bits.
- Place the squash in the Ninja Foodi on a rack, bowl face up. (Cut a small flat bottom if balancing is an issue.)
- Add the water to the bottom of the pot.
- Add 1/2 cup of olive oil to the inside of each spaghetti squash half. (I like to fill the bowl halfway with oil)
- Set your Ninja Foodi to High Pressure and cook for up to 20 min.
- Use NPR to let the pressure release naturally waiting about 10-20 min.
- Optional Now or later: Use a fork to separate the "noodles" from the sides of the squash. The optional part is you can let it cool first while you cook the meat.
- Dump the water from the pot and rinse it out.
- Put the pot back in the Ninja Foodi and set it to Sear Mode (I use high)
- Add the ground beef, onion, & garlic. Salt & pepper it to preferred taste.
- Set the Ninja Foodi to LO:MD on the Sear/Sauté Mode and dump your sauce right onto the meat to simmer until hot.
- Add the "noodles" to the plate and pour the meat sauce on top.
- Add any optional spices.
