Craving a juicy burger? Try making this delicious cheeseburger spaghetti squash casserole instead! It's a perfect low-carb dish with all of your favorite burger toppings.
Tasty Cheeseburger Spaghetti Squash Bake
There are a bunch of different ways to replace pasta - from zucchini noodles to noodles made from hearts of palm. I personally think spaghetti squash is the best one!
It's like nature created these noodles, already made in perfect little strands. All we have to do is cook them!
Seriously, once you figure out how to cook spaghetti squash, you will start looking for more recipes. It's such a versatile vegetable. If you can make something with pasta, you can make it with spaghetti squash.
For this casserole, I took my inspiration from a classic cheeseburger. Who knew that all these ingredients would taste so divine together? Ketchup, mustard, onion, pickles, and cheese - it's all there!
The only thing I didn't add was some kind of tomato. If you want to dice up a fresh tomato and mix it in, go ahead. It will taste delicious with tomatoes too.
Are you ready to find out how to make the most amazing cheeseburger casserole ever? Keep reading! You are going to love this.
Ingredients Needed
This cheeseburger casserole has all your favorite toppings and ingredients in it but it is made with gut-health spaghetti squash instead of a high-sugar white bun.
- Spaghetti Squash: To make this casserole, you need 1 spaghetti squash that is already pre-cooked. Check out my guide on how to bake a whole spaghetti squash!
- Olive Oil: You need about a tablespoon, just enough to saute the onion and garlic.
- Onion: For the best flavor, dice up ½ a yellow onion. If you use an entire onion, it might overpower the rest of the casserole.
- Ground Turkey: It takes an entire pound of turkey to make this casserole. For the best reults, use 93/7 blend.
- Garlic: Mince 2 garlic cloves. You can use more if you want it to have a stronger flavor.
- Salt and Pepper: This enhances the other flavors in the casserole. I used a pinch, which is about 1 teaspoon. Use half as much pepper, about ½ a teaspoon. Just sprinkle some in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Ketchup and Mustard: Add ½ a cup of ketchup to the sauce so that it has an incredibly tangy taste. Use half as much mustard - ¼ a cup! This brings out the zestiness of the kethcup and makes it taste like an authentic cheeseburger.
- Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt: Add ¼ of a cup as this gives the cheeseburger casserole some added protein and makes it taste really creamy.
- Pickles: I used dill pickles, just like you would find on a classic cheeseburger.
- Lite Cheddar Cheese: Use 1 cup of cheese. For the best flavor, try grating your own cheese at home!
- Eggs: These act as a binding agent, keeping all the ingredients in the casserole together. You'll need 3 eggs for the entire dish.
Kitchen Tools Required
If you have ever made a casserole before, then you probably already have everything you need. Here is what I used.
- 9x9 Baking Dish
- Saute Pan
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
For measuring, you will need 1 cup, ½ cup, ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, ½ teaspoon.
How To Make Cheeseburger Casserole With Spaghetti Squash
Here's how to make this delicious and healthy casserole. The hardest part is waiting for it to bake.
First, preheat the oven to 400F and grease the 9x9 baking dish.
Next, cook the spaghetti squash however you prefer. I have a method that I use cook a spaghetti squash. After it is baked, scoop out all spaghetti squash strands and place them in a large bowl. Set it aside for later.
In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, and minced garlic and cook until the turkey is no longer pink. Turn off the heat and add to bowl with spaghetti squash.
Mix together the ketchup, mustard, greek yogurt, and pickles in another small bowl. Pour into the bowl with the spaghetti squash and turkey.
Whisk three eggs in the leftover sauce bowl, then add them to the spaghetti squash mixture.
Next, add half of the cheese into the spaghetti squash mixture and then stir up the entire mixture very well so everything is very well combined and mixed together.
Pour into a greased dish and top with the remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake for 1 hour. Let cool 15 minutes before serving!
Recipe Tips
Below are some common spaghetti squash questions. Don't see the question you are looking for? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post!
How do you cook spaghetti squash?
You can cook spaghetti squash in the oven, microwave, and even the air fryer or Instant Pot!
My favorite way is to roast it in the oven. I think it comes out perfectly every single time, it's basically no-fail. How to cook spaghetti squash takes you step-by-step through the entire process.
My 2nd-favorite way is to cook it in the microwave. Pierce the spaghetti squash about 8-10 times with a fork. Then, place the entire thing (unsliced) in the microwave for 4 minutes. Then, let it cool and slice it open lengthwise.
Remove the seeds and bits from the middle. Place ¼ a cup of water in the bottom of a casserole dish and put the squash cut side down in the dish. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Cook it in the microwave for another 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the plastic wrap and begin to shred the strands of spaghetti squash with a fork.
How do you make this casserole spicier?
If you want this casserole to have a bit of kick, add some sliced jalapenos to the sauce!
How do you keep spaghetti squash casserole from becoming watery?
This casserole isn't usually watery - especially if you use the 3 eggs to bind it all together. If you think it has too much liquid, you can salt the spaghetti squash after you cook it and let it sit out for about 10 minutes before you add the turkey and sauce.
Storing leftovers
This casserole really tastes the best when it is fresh out of the oven. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will only last about 3 days.
It will still taste delicious the next day but eat it soon for the best taste.
If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!
Here are some more of my favorite casserole-style dishes. Enjoy!
- Buffalo Chicken Casserole With Cauliflower
- Broccoli Cheddar Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Casserole
- Lemon Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Healthy Turkey Enchiladas
Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa
Cheeseburger Spaghetti Squash Bake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 400F and grease 9x9 baking dish.
- Cook spaghetti squash however you prefer. I have a method that I use to cook a spaghetti squash.
- Scoop out all spaghetti squash strands and place in a large bowl.
- In a saute pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook about 2 minutes. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, and minced garlic and cook until no longer pink. Turn off heat and add to bowl with spaghetti squash.
- In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, mustard, greek yogurt, and pickles. Pour into bowl with spaghetti squash and turkey.
- Whisk three eggs in leftover sauce bowl, then add to spaghetti squash mixture.
- Add half of the cheese into spaghetti squash mixture and then stir up the entire mixture very well so everything is very well combined and mixed together.
- Pour into greased dish and top with remaining cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 1 hour. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
Alicia says
Always trying to find ways to get my kids to eat squash. Everyone loves this!
Erin says
Hi Alicia, so glad it was such a hit!!
shelby says
Great recipe for the whole family, especially my toddler! Was unsure about the casserole concept but glad I gave it a try. Will definitely make again.
Erin says
Hi Shelby, so happy everyone loved it so much!! 🙂
Carrie says
Delicious use of spaghetti squash. Tastes so much like a cheeseburger. I passed this recipe on to a friend who loves it as well. Highly recommend trying it.
Erin says
Hi Carrie, so happy you loved it!!
Alyssa says
Delicious! Will definitely be making again!
Erin says
Hi Alyssa, so happy you loved it!!
Allison says
We LOVE this recipe! It's seriously so good and maybe even better the next day for leftovers. It's in our rotation of recipes now. Only advice is to look ahead at recipe bc there is quite a bit of cook time but don't let that deter you!!!
Erin says
Hi Allison, so so glad you liked it!!
Eliza says
Another amazing ELW recipe! So unique, creative, filling and tasty!
Erin says
Hi Eliza, so glad you loved it!!
Katie says
I put off making this because I was intimidated by the spaghetti squash. It will now in rotation for our weeknight meals! It was easy to prep the spaghetti squash and turkey the night before and mix it all together when I was ready to bake. I love how unique this dish is but also comforting!
Erin says
Hi Katie, so happy you tried and loved it so much! 🙂
Brooke says
A really good casserole. Takes a big of time to prepare but it does have the perfect cheeseburger flavour
Erin says
Hi Brooke, so glad you loved it!
Lacey says
This was so good! The hubs agreed! I will definitely be making this again!
Erin says
Hi Lacey, so glad you both enjoyed it!!
Hannah says
Omg this is SO GOOD! I’m not a huge mustard fan and this sounded like an interesting (but could be really weird) recipe…so glad we gave it a try. We’ve already eaten the whole casserole and it’s definitely added to our “must repeat” list
Erin says
Hi Hannah, so glad you loved it!
Clare says
Such a great way to use spaghetti squash!! I think it is the sauce mixture that really makes it so great. I actually subbed lentils and mushrooms for the ground turkey, and this recipe still came out perfect!!
Erin says
Hi Clare, so glad you loved it and made it your own!!
Kelly says
This went together easy and the directions were easy to follow. The taste is off the charts. My picky child that said she doesn’t like cheeseburgers ate 3 servings!
Erin says
Hi Kelly, so happy you both loved it! 🙂
Nicole says
I have wanted to try this since I first saw it and I kept putting it off because cooking intimidates me 😂 but I am so happy I made it because it was easy and tastes DELICIOUS! Really tastes like a cheeseburger and felt pretty filling for the low macros per serving (type 1 diabetic with celiac so I have to pay attention to everything I eat haha) Will be making this regularly, thanks so much Erin!
Erin says
Hi Nicole, so happy you loved this so much! Thanks for sharing!
Aimee says
I make spaghetti squash multiple ways every fall and decided to try this out of curiosity. I made it exact to the recipe. The eggs added a weird texture that I don't have in other spaghetti squash casseroles, so I recommend omitting them.
Erin says
Hi Aimee, so glad you liked it!
Ellie Rittenhouse says
Ok this is so delish. Used ground chicken and tbh I halved the cheese (🤫) and it was AWSOME. 20 yo son loved it and he hates when we lean “healthy” and two 50 somethings all LOVED. Make it!
Erin says
Hi Ellie, so glad everyone enjoyed it!!
Maureen says
Holy YUM! This was delish. Hubs couldn’t stop eating it! Definitely a “keeper”.
Erin says
Hi Maureen, so glad you both loved it!!
Laura says
This recipe will be on my rotation of dinner recipes for sure! So delicious and filling!
Erin says
Hi Laura, so happy you loved it!
Casey Colodny says
Such an easy and delicious way to add extra veggies to your diet!! YUM!
Erin says
Hi Casey, so glad you loved it!
Rebecca says
This is SO good!! This dish is so simple but has great flavor - will definitely be making this again!
Erin says
Hi Rebecca, so happy you loved it!!
Sydney says
So delicious! Whole family loved including my difficult to please toddler. Thanks Erin!
Erin says
Hi Sydney, so glad you all loved it!!
Erin Poynor says
This was DELICIOUS. It seriously tastes EXACTLY like a cheeseburger. I will definitely make this again!
Sydney (again) says
Ah forgot to rate! 5 stars!
Erin says
Thank you!!
Erin says
Hi Erin, so happy you loved it!! 🙂
Alyssa says
One of the best recipes to use a spaghetti squash for! The flavor has the perfect cheeseburger taste. My little one devoured it and this is going to be a repeat recipe for us!
Erin says
Hi Alyssa, so glad you loved it! 🙂