Best Low Carb Spaghetti Bake-With Ground Beef

In this post I will show you how to prepare the Best Low Carb Spaghetti Bake-With Ground Beef. 

If you’ve been missing your favorite spaghetti dish then this post is definitely for you!

This low carb spaghetti bake is delicious and luscious and is by far our family’s most cherished dish.

Full of wonderful creamy cheeses, hearty ground beef, and the perfect amount of tomato sauce, it’s a dish that is sure to impress. 

This post is all about making the Best Low Carb Spaghetti Bake.

The Best Low Carb Spaghetti Bake-With Ground Beef

Spaghetti 

Pasta. I can’t be the only person that misses pasta right?  If you’re a pasta lover like me, then you probably mourned over the idea of never having delectable pasta dishes while on a low carb diet. But guess what? You still can. Pasta is literally just the vehicle that carries all that luscious sauce.  Once you understand that, then you’re set. 

In this recipe we will be using spaghetti squash. The reason I chose this vegetable over all the others is that spaghetti squash is incredibly easy to cook, has a mild flavor and is low in carbs.

I only had to use one spaghetti squash for this recipe. Prior to cooking, you will wash the outside, cut squash and remove seeds with a spoon. If you want shorter “noodles” cut vertically (this was the option we chose) and if you want longer cut horizontally. 

Our favorite cooking method by far is the instant pot. Add your trivet, one cup of water, set on high pressure for 7 minutes, natural release for 10 minutes and you’re done.

Alternatively you can cook yours in the microwave or oven. Follow the same steps listed above for cleaning and removing seeds.

Microwave instructions:

Place spaghetti squash in a microwave safe dish and add 1/2 inch of water. Prick flesh (outer shell) with fork and cook for 10-13 minutes. Be extremely careful removing your dish from the microwave as it will be VERY HOT.  

Oven Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. You may drizzle the inside with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Place squash cut side down, prick flesh with fork and roast from 30-40 minutes.

Ground Beef Meat Sauce

Luscious, beefy, tomato based sauces are my absolute favorite. When I make my meat sauce aka “gravy”, it is usually an all day event, whereas this recipe is incredibly EASY and takes barely any time at all. Yet still, it has so much flavor. I was actually in disbelief as to how phenomenal it tasted while testing the recipe. 

Our ground beef meat sauce will of course begin with the ground beef. Get whatever meat you prefer or can afford. I’ve said in other posts and I’ll say it here as well: you do not need to purchase grass fed, grass finished, pasture raised meats if you cannot afford them and that is absolutely okay. 

To start, pre-heat your pan and add onion. To the onion you’ll need to add just a pinch of salt and pepper. It is truly vital you’re seasoning while assembling your meals for the purpose of  building your flavors. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Now we add our ground beef. To your ground beef you will add the following dried seasonings:

• Italian Seasoning
• Basil
• Garlic
• Salt & Pepper

Follow that up with Worcestershire Sauce. 

I LOVE my meat chopper. If you’ve never heard of it, or you simply do not have one, I highly recommend it. It makes working with ground beef a cinch!

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Now that our beef is cooked, add garlic.

The tomato sauce I used was from a local grocery store. I have no idea if it is sold everywhere. However, I do know of a fantastic tomato sauce called Rao’s that I highly recommend.  Rao’s has amazing flavor with good, clean ingredients and only 5 net carbs! If you don’t have Rao’s or the sauce shown above at your local store, you can substitute another brand.  Just be sure to read the back label as not all sauces are the same, and many have added sugars and artificial ingredients. 

Once the tomato sauce is added to the meat mixture, we will simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste your sauce and make any necessary adjustments. Turn off the heat when done.

Building Our Spaghetti Bake

Pre-heat oven to 475°F.  We’re so close!  

Now that our meat sauce and spaghetti squash are done we’ll add our cheese! 

To your meat mixture add cottage cheese. I personally prefer cottage cheese over ricotta, but you can sub with ricotta instead. 

Follow-up with shredded mozzarella cheese. I shred my own as I find that pre-shredded cheese really doesn’t melt as well as freshly grated. 

Carefully remove your squash from the instant pot and shred with fork into pan.

Stir to incorporate all ingredients. There are a couple different way you can serve this up. You can spoon the mixture back into the squash “shell” or simply place in a baking dish, or leave in your skillet if it’s oven safe.

If you plan on baking within their shells go ahead and grab a baking sheet and add parchment paper. Fill spaghetti squash shells, top with more mozzarella cheese and pop in the oven for 15 min.

Once cheese has browned and is bubbly, remove from the oven. 

Serve with a delicious salad or asparagus for a full low carb meal! 

Let me know if you enjoyed this super easy, super simple and delicious Best Low Carb Spaghetti Bake- With Ground Beef!

Best Low Carb Spaghetti Bake- With Ground Beef

Yield: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Packed with so much flavor and ooey-gooey cheesy deliciousness, this bake is out of this world amazing! You must try it!

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Ingredients

• 1 small spaghetti squash (around 1 lb)
• 1 oz yelllow onion
• 1 lb ground beef (I used 85/15)
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. Prep spaghetti squash. Place in instant pot 7 minutes on high with a natural release for 10 minutes.
2. While spaghetti squash is cooking chop onions and add to pre-heated pan.
3. Sauté onion for 3 minutes and add ground beef.
4. To beef add seasonings and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Once ground beef is cooked add tomato sauce, simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Turn off burner and pre-heat oven to 475°F.
7. Add cheeses and spaghetti sauce to ground beef.
8. Mix all ingredients well and add to baking dish.
9. Top with extra cheese.
10. Bake for 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browned.
11. Let spaghetti bake rest for a minimum of 5 minutes.
12. Enjoy with side salad or choice of veggies.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 220Total Fat: 14.4gSaturated Fat: 5.8gCholesterol: 50.1mgSodium: 369mgCarbohydrates: 7.8gNet Carbohydrates: 6.6gFiber: 1.2gSugar: 4.4gProtein: 18.7g