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Make some room on your holiday tables for this Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts. It’s the perfect, make-ahead side dish. Seasonal spaghetti squash is oven-roasted, then tossed with an extra creamy goat cheese-based cream sauce that’s swirled with pesto and hinted with garlic. Toss the roasted spaghetti squash with the cream sauce and finish this simple side with buttery walnuts and crisped sage. This is an easy and delicious seasonal squash recipe that can double as a hearty side dish or vegetarian main course.

overhead photo of Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts

Crazy as this is, I don’t believe I’ve ever shared my history with spaghetti squash. Over the years, I’ve only shared a handful of spaghetti squash recipes. But did you guys know that spaghetti squash was one of the first real dishes I learned to cook?

Way, way back in the day (think little thirteen-year-old Tieghan), my mom turned me onto roasted spaghetti squash. She would roast it in the oven, scrape the strands, and simply toss with butter and salt. She’d serve it to me straight out of the spaghetti squash shell and I remember it tasting SO GOOD. Buttery, salty, and the noodles had just the slightest bit of sweetness to them. To this day, it’s still a favorite. I make roasted spaghetti squash every single year for Thanksgiving. I’ve done so since my family’s very first Thanksgiving in Colorado. It’s always one of the first side dishes to disappear.

Also? Thinking about it now, I have no idea how my mom discovered spaghetti squash. She’s not the most adventurous eater and crazy looking vegetables like spaghetti squash wouldn’t be something she’d typically reach for.

Who knows, she does love buttered noodles…so. Thankfully she turned me onto spaghetti squash, and it’s been one of my favorite fall vegetables to roast ever since.

Browned Butter Walnuts

Roasting spaghetti squash is easy….

If you’ve let spaghetti squash intimate you, don’t. Simply microwave the squash to soften the shell, then slice in half, scrape the seeds out, and roast. It does take a while to fully roast, about 30 minutes. But the time in the oven is worth it.

Roasting the squash brings out its sweetness and turns its strands into buttery deliciousness. Sounds too good to be true, but promise, it’s not.

side angled photo of Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts

Now for that cream sauce…

While the squash is roasting away in the oven, make the sauce.

This cream sauce it extra special. It’s made with browned butter and a little milk (you can use any variety you’d like). But the real the secret?

Goat cheese. Using goat cheese keeps the sauce creamy. It gives it an almost Brie like flavor, and it’s all-around delicious.

In addition to the cheese, I also use a little pesto to flavor sauce, and a good amount of garlic too. Once the spaghetti squash is roasted, just scrape it into “spaghetti” and toss the strands with the sauce.

overhead photo of Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts

That final touch…

The last thing you must do is toast the walnuts in butter with a little bit of fresh sage. This step takes five minutes to do this, but it makes ALL the difference and creates a recipe that’s truly mouth-watering.

The butter turns nutty, the walnuts golden, and the sage gets perfectly crisp.

Simply spoon the nuts over the creamed squash, kind of like a bread crumb finish, SO GOOD.

Without a doubt, this is one of my current favorite recipes. I made it on a whim the other week and it’s already been remade multiple times.

It’s simple, but warming, and so delicious.

And yes, this is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu. It makes for a great, updated, but still traditional side dish or a vegetarian main course.

side angled photo of Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts with hands pulling up the spaghetti squash

If you make this creamed spaghetti squash with browned butter walnuts, 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!

Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 337 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
    2. Place the squash on a plate and microwave 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and discard. Place the squash in a baking dish and season the cut sides with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until the squash is tender.
    3. Meanwhile, heat 6 tablespoons butter, the walnuts, sage, and a pinch of salt in a large skillet. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butter is browned and the walnuts are toasted. Remove the nuts from the skillet to a plate.
    4. In the same skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter with the garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper flakes, milk, goat cheese, manchego, and pesto. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy. Remove from the heat.
    4. When the squash is ready, use a fork to scrape the squash into strands, then toss the squash with the pesto cream sauce. Serve the squash warm, topped with buttery walnuts.

Notes

To Make Ahead: prepare the squash through step 4, but leave the walnuts off the squash. Cool and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, gently warm the squash over low heat on the stove, stirring until warmed. Top with walnuts. 
To Keep Warm in the Slow Cooker: prepare the squash through step 4, but leave the walnuts off the squash. Transfer the squash to the slow cooker and keep on the WARM setting for up to 4 hours. Keep the walnuts to the side of the squash until ready to use for topping. 
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Comments

    1. Hey Kara,
      Yes, that would work well. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan

  1. 5 stars
    I just made this recipe and I’m not upset at all the my partner refused to try it simply because it’s spaghetti squash…because now I get to eat it all myself! So delicious and creamy but not too heavy and super easy to make!

    1. Hey Rachel,
      Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    We made this for a thanksgiving side dish and it was AMAZING! We ended up using a little heavy cream in lieu of milk because we needed to get rid of it, but holy wow was this recipe GOOD. The tangy richness of the goat cheese, with the warmth of the brown butter and walnuts was just amazing. The pesto was a great touch but I do think the dish would be delicious even if you didn’t have pesto on hand. So good and so easy!

  3. 5 stars
    This was delicious. Normally spaghetti squash falls short for me but not this recipe! Nice job. I did cut down on the brown butter but otherwise followed exactly.

  4. 5 stars
    This dish was practically the star of our Thanksgiving dinner (lunch since we eat at 2 before the football game)! We skipped making Mac and cheese this year, and I substituted this dish instead. Almost everyone at our table went back for seconds on my spaghetti squash dish. I wish I could attach a photo of it!

    I did use only 2 tablespoons of basil pesto instead of the 3 this recipe called for. I also added a little extra garlic, goat cheese, milk, and Manchego cheese since my family loves dairy. I also only needed to use 3 halves of squash since the ones I bought were a little bit larger.

  5. 5 stars
    This dish is so good that we are adding it to the thanksgiving menu! One question- if using the slow cooker to keep warm, do you keep the cream sauce separate until ready to serve? Or can you add it to the slow cooker too? I know walnuts are to be left off until serving. Thank you for this amazing recipe!!

    1. Hey Courtney,
      You can go ahead and add the cream sauce:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan

  6. 5 stars
    Made this dish tonight and we both loved it! My husband said it was the best squash dish he ever had. Easy to make and the easy of reading the recipe is perfect.

    As Always, Thank you!
    Cheryl

  7. 5 stars
    O.M.G. That was SOOOOO good. I will make this FOR SURE for Thanksgiving but I surely won’t reserve it for once a year. Absolutely delicious! So creamy. So decadent. The buttered walnuts – heaven! Plenty leftover for tomorrow. Adding spinach and mushrooms for my redo. Love love! Thank you!!!

  8. 5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious. Th brown butter walnuts… I mean, is there anything tastier? I also like that it’s super creamy and comforting, but since it’s a spaghetti squash base it’s not too rich. I’ll definitely be making this again!

  9. There are two step 4s. I want to make this ahead of time so looking at those instructions. basically, do you do all the steps but not the nuts until you make it? thanks!

  10. 3 stars
    It was okay. I would personally watch the walnuts closely. They will overcook in a second, and it will throw off the entire dish. I added pomegranate seeds to mine, and it really helped the dish come together. Love HBH recipes; this one just wasn’t my favorite.

  11. 3 stars
    I followed the directions exactly. I thought it needed more flavor. I was disappointed that I couldn’t really taste the sage. Nuts were yummy. If I make it again, I’d add more sage, do three pinches of crushed red pepper and maybe more cheeses.

    Excited to be following you. Your recipes look amazing.

    1. Hi Sarah! I am sorry these did not turn out as expected. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! I hope you love all of the recipes you try of mine! xTieghan

  12. This was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it and it is now a recipe I will definitely turn to again.. Thank you!

  13. 3 stars
    Fantastic flavor, but VERY rich. A few of my family members raved about it and really enjoyed it. The rest of us were in agreement that it was yummy but just overbearingly rich. I would use half the amount of butter next time and a tad less pesto. I would also drizzle it over the squash instead of tossing the squash in it, to control how much sauce each person wants. Loved the combo of goat cheese and pesto though. And I look forward to each week’s Nine Favorite Things post! Love your recipes and blog!