Spaghetti Squash Chicken Tex-Mex Bowls
This past year, I decided to grow spaghetti squash and boy did it grow well! I ended up with 26 large spaghetti squash with very little effort. The beauty of this squash is that it stores quite well, and so in the middle of winter (February in my area) you can easy make this tasty dish. Enjoy the simplicity of this meal that is cooked and then served in its own container, leaving clean up a breeze. And, to make it better, you can even cook the squash and chicken the day before and assemble the bowls just 30 minutes prior to baking and eating. This spectacular fusion of flavourful squash, chicken, salsa, jalapeno, cheese and yogurt, which is then topped with scallions and blue cheese dressing, will absolutely blow your mind.
Equipment
- 2 rimmed baking sheets
- tin foil
Ingredients
For roasting the chicken:
- 8 chicken thighs bone in, skin on
- ¼ salt
- ¼ pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
To roast the spaghetti squash:
- 1 large spaghetti squash about 10 inches long.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Remaining ingredients:
- 1½ cups salsa I use my chunky homemade salsa https://cansanity.com/?page_id=3109 . If you choose a store-bought salsa, set the salsa over a fine mesh strainer and strain for 10 minutes to remove some of the liquid.
- 6 large scallions chopped.
- â…“ cup Greek yogurt
- 1½ cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded. (I like to use the one with jalapenos in it.)
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos minced. You can also use chopped fresh jalapeno. For a great pickled jalapeno recipe check out my recipe for Pickled Jalapeno Rings at https://cansanity.com/?page_id=2999
Extra ingredients to top:
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese to top just before baking.
- 4 scallions chopped
- â…” cup blue cheese dressing
Instructions
To cook the chicken:
- Line your baking sheet with the tin foil and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven. Cool, and then remove and discard the skin and bones. Shred the chicken. Cover and set aside.
To bake the spaghetti squash:
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds.
- Drizzle with olive oil and place the squash cut side down. Roast in the 400°F oven for 35-40 minutes. The squash is done when you can easily pierce a fork through the skin.
Prepare the filling and assemble the squash bowls:
- Mix the shredded chicken, salsa, scallions, yogurt, 1½ cups of cheese, pickled jalapenos or fresh jalapenos.
- Scrape the stringy flesh out of the spaghetti squash and mix it with the chicken mix.
- Fill the shells of the squash mix and top with extra cheese.
- Cover with tented foil and bake for 20-30 minutes in a 350°F oven. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
To serve:
- Remove the cooked squash bowls from the oven and immediately top with additional scallions. For easy serving just cut the squash bowls into six servings and transfer to serving plates.
- Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and serve.
Notes
Note: There is a version of this recipe under the "Vegan and Vegetarian" category that uses white kidney and black beans instead of chicken. Here is the vegetarian version https://cansanity.com/?page_id=7566
Nutrition
Serving: 1-6th of stuffed squashCalories: 693kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 43gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 20gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 204mgSodium: 1183mgPotassium: 866mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1569IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 532mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!