Italian Sausage Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the squash in 2 halves, scrape out the seeds and the fiber out of each half. Repeat with a second squash.

(Note: before cutting each squash, you can microwave it. In this case, make large slits with a knife in a spaghetti squash along the line where you will slice it in half. Then, microwave the whole squash for about 5 or 10 minutes to soften it a bit. Then cut each squash in half.)

Drizzle olive oil over the cut sides and inside of the squash. Generously season with salt and pepper.

Place the 4 squash halves on the prepared baking sheet cut side down.

Bake for about 30 or 40 minutes on the middle rack. Remove it from the oven when it’s cooked through and soft. You can check by pulling the baking sheet out of the oven and piercing the squash with the fork – it should be soft.

Proceed with the rest of the recipe while the squash is in the oven.

Make the stuffing while the spaghetti squash is roasted in the oven. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided skillet.

Add crumbled sausage and sliced mushrooms and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked. Drain excess fat if you like. Or, you could leave it in since you will be adding a lot of spinach to be wilted in the same skillet.

Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and chopped tomatoes (reserving some for later use).

Add fresh spinach in batches to the sausage mixture and cook until the spinach wilts.

By this time, you have roasted the spaghetti squash for 30 or 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven and turn cooked squash halves cut sides up.

Let it cool slightly.

Divide the Italian sausage mixture among the 4 halves and stuff the squash until the mixture is leveled. Top with the remaining sliced cherry tomatoes and the shredded Parmesan cheese.

Return stuffed spaghetti squash to the preheated oven and roast at 400 F for 15 more minutes until the cheese mixture melts.

When serving, top with fresh thyme.