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Garlic Butter Chicken Meatball Stuffed Spaghetti Squash. A seasonal take on everyone’s favorite pasta and meatballs. Roasted spaghetti squash stuffed with a creamy béchamel sauce. Then infused with homemade Italian-style chicken meatballs and sweet buttery roasted garlic. Everything is baked together until the cheese is melted and the meatballs are cooked perfectly. And it’s all made on just one sheet pan! This is an easy, delicious, and healthier way to enjoy pasta and meatball night.
Say hello to what might be Creighton’s favorite recipe of all time. Just watch my Instagram stories for this recipe. At the end, you will see his love for this recipe. He says it’s like a cheesy meatball sub sandwich only minus the carb-heavy bread (which he tries to avoid).
I’m not sure why he refers to a meatball sandwich and not pasta, but whatever the case, Creighton thinks this is his favorite recipe to date. He’ll be watching the video of this recipe tonight and wishing so badly he could eat this again for dinner.
There’s certainly a lot of all-around love for this recipe. It’s going to be a hard one to top.
I certainly don’t think meatballs and spaghetti squash are a new concept by any means. It’s the way I’ve cooked everything together that I think is a little more special. And while the recipe takes over an hour to create, it’s mostly just time allowing the squash to roast in the oven. This will typically take anywhere from 30-45 minutes depending on the size.
The process is actually relatively simple. Bake the squash with cheese. Then while the squash gets a head start in the oven, mix and form the meatballs. Then add the meatballs to the pan, and cook again.
Using the roasted garlic, make a garlic butter. Then slather it all over the cheesy meatballs and the squash. Use a fork to scrape up the squash and enjoy this wonderful goodness.
Onto the finer details
Step 1: mix the cheese sauce
I love to use a blend of fontina, mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan. Sometimes I’ll use a gouda in place of fontina. It’s a really nice mix of creamy cheeses, but the provolone adds all the flavor, so don’t skip that one. Of course, you can also use your own favorite blend of cheese. Or even pick up a pre-shredded mix from the store to keep things really easy.
Mix the milk with the mozzarella cheese, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. This is our cheese sauce.
Step 2: season and stuff the squash
Ideally, find two smaller spaghetti squash. Think of each half as a personal spaghetti squash boat.
Cut the squash in half, pull the seeds out, and place the squash on a sheet pan. Now season with salt and pepper, add the parmesan cheese, and then the cheese mixture from above.
Arrange a handful of garlic around the squash, then bake everything to get the squash cooking.
Step 3: mix the meatballs
I make mine using ground chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and parmesan cheese. Just mix everything together and roll it into meatballs.
Pull the squash from the oven and add the meatballs to the pan. Bake again to cook the meatballs while the squash continues to cook.
Step 4: add cheese and mix the garlic butter
Grab the pan from the oven one last time. This time remove the garlic from the pan. Set the garlic aside.
Next, top the squash with additional cheese and place the cooked meatballs into/on top of the squash. Bake to melt the cheese.
While the squash and meatballs are cooking in the oven, chop the roasted garlic, then mix it with butter and fresh herbs. I love to use a mix of basil, oregano, thyme, and sage.
When you pull everything out of the oven, don’t be worried that the sauce looks soupy. Once you scrape the squash into strands of spaghetti and mix it together with the sauce it’s so delicious.
Spread the garlic butter over the meatballs and mix the rest into the squash. Use a fork to pull the squash into spaghetti. The smell alone will make you so excited.
This is a great recipe for busy weeknights when you want something warm and cozy, but still full of protein and vegetables.
Or serve this up to guests at your next dinner gathering. Either way, it’s perfect for autumn!
Looking for other autumn squash recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara with Rosemary Bacon
Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
Lastly, if you make this Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs Stuffed In Spaghetti Squash be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs Stuffed In Spaghetti Squash:
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 577 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk or heavy cream
- 6 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed/squeezed dry
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or gouda
- 2 spaghetti squash, halved and seeds removed
- 1 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or turkey
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 chopped fresh herbs, basil, thyme, oregano/ sage (fav mix)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. In a bowl, mix together the milk, spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Season with chili flakes, salt, and pepper.3. Place the squash on a baking sheet and season the cut sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan cheese into the bottom of each squash. Then evenly divide the milk/cheese mix among the squash cavities. Cover with foil, bake 15 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, mix the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (makes 15-16 meatballs). 5. Remove the squash from the oven, remove the foil. Arrange the meatballs around the squash. Bake another 15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked. 6. Grab the squash. Remove the garlic from the pan. Sprinkle the provolone cheese over each squash half. Put the meatballs on top of the cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted. 7. Chop the garlic and mix with the butter and herbs in a bowl. Spread the butter over the meatballs, then use a fork to scrape the squash into strands, mixing the cheese with the squash. Enjoy!
Notes
Roasting the Squash:Â if your squash is on the larger side, pre-roast it for 20-30 minutes before adding the cheese mixture.
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The instructions were unclear in a few parts. Therefore, it was a pain to make. This also has a lot of steps. Overall, flavor was okay. It’s definitely not worth making again because of time and labor. I highly recommend par baking your squash if it is on the larger side.
Hey there! Thank you for letting me know! I appreciate it! xT
My grocery was out of squash so I used orzo instead. I baked the milk, spinach, tomatoes and cheese in a pie pan and then added al dente orzo halfway through. The meal was delicious!! My kids enjoyed the meatballs and the adults really liked the pasta with the garlic and herb butter.
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Have an amazing week! 🙂 xT
We usually love your recipes and really wanted to love this after Creighton’s rave review. However, we found it very bland and the chicken meatballs were just OK. I think the meatballs would have benefitted from an egg as ground chicken can be quite dry. The best part was definitely the garlic herb butter.
Hey Nina! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thanks for letting me know! xT
Is there a video for this recipe?
I liked the flavor but the mozzarella cheese kinda balled up and became really chewy.
Good flavor but cook chicken meatballs seperately before adding them to the spaghetti squash to make sure they cook all the way through
I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything I can do to help?
Can you use Stripetti squash instead of spaghetti sqaush?
Hi there! Yes, that should work fine! xT
Hi Tieghan, i am planning on making this next week. Here in UK spaghetti squash hard to come by, any other substitute i could use please?
Thanks
Hi there! Maybe some zucchini and then add in some pasta so you get the same noodle affect that the spaghetti squash gives! xT
I made this last night and it was magnificent……however the instructions on the recipe are missing some key points that I read (after the fact) in the narrative. If you put 1/4 cup parm in all four halves…and then use 1/2 cup for the meatballs, thats 1-1/2 cups not 1-1/4. Also, the recipe doesn’t reference when the garlic should be placed on the sheet pan to roast. It just says to chop them at the end. I guessed incorrectly and put them in with the meatballs…they were not as carmelized as I would have liked but they were soft! Also, the last instruction says to “grab the squash”..nothing else….which made me giggle. I won’t be doing that.
For those of us sourcing squash at the grocery store, they are sometimes pretty large. I decided to use just three halves and it seems to have worked out. Thank you for the note to par roast them a bit. I am truly a devotee to your site. You always have such fresh takes on the classics. Bravo!
Thank you for all of your input! I really appreciate it! xT
Can you post the stories video again somewhere? I recall it differently with cooking the squash face down first with the garlic inside etc. the visual is always nice! Thx
Hi Nickie! thank you for the feedback! xT
This was a big hit in our household! A perfect recipe for elevating the mild/neutral flavour of spaghetti squash! That delicious cheesy sauce seeped through to all the spaghetti like strands as it was being pulled away from the squash. Yum, Yum Yum! That herby garlic butter was a nice finishing touch! Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe.
Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
Delicious – understand why this is loved! Helpful tips and answers to some questions:
– Don’t fill the squash halves more than 3/4 full so the meatballs have space and don’t push out the filling (and spill/burn all over my sheet pan as I did).
– I added the garlic loosely on the pan with the first heating of the squash, and collected them before the final heating (and so I could chop and add to the butter).
– To ensure they cooked thoroughly, the meatballs were first placed on the sheet pan, not on the squash. Then for the final heating: provo cheese on the squash, then I placed the meatballs on the squash.
– 1/2 cup was a perfect quantity of final herbs with the garlic and 6 tsbp butter.
– I let my guests pull and mix the spaghetti from the squash as they ate. Saved me time, and they had fun with it.
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you have a great fall season! xT
This. May be a dumb question, but do you cook the meatballs on the cookie sheet or on top of the squash?
On the actual printable recipe, it didn’t say when and where to put the garlic cloves (to roast). But I went back to the description notes and figured it out. In step 3, on the sheet pan. I need to use up some shredded spaghetti squash (frozen from last season), so may try to just spread that in the bottom of a casserole dish and wing it from there!
Do you take the meatballs out and then the scrape the squash into strands and replace the meatballs or do you let everyone scrape as they eat.
Hi Teagan, just wondering where the garlic comes to play with the pan in step 6? Does it get Roasted as well? Thanks!
This looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you so so much Christina! xT