Healthy Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli
If you're looking for something healthy, quick, easy and very satisfying I've got you covered. This spaghetti squash gets filled with chicken and broccoli and smothered in a creamy cashew Alfredo sauce.
Healthy Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli
If you’re looking for something healthy, quick, easy and very satisfying I’ve got you covered. This spaghetti squash gets filled with chicken and broccoli and smothered in a creamy cashew Alfredo sauce. Oh also, it’s also made with less than 10 ingredients. The sauce is made with softened cashews, onions, garlic, nutritional yeast and some salt, garlic powder and water. Say what!? You heard me right. It may sound weird but I promise you it is absolutely delicious. If you’re questionable I urge you to give it a try but you could easily substitute an Alfredo sauce made with milk and parmesan cheese too. On the other hand, if you want to omit the chicken and make this vegan this is a perfect vegan dinner. Just add peas in place of the chicken.
What You'll Need
- Spaghetti Squash – 1 medium sized spaghetti squash or frozen works too!
- Broccoli – 2 medium sized heads of broccoli for about 3 cups of bite sized pieces. You can also use frozen broccoli thawed and drained.
- Chicken – I love to use a rotisserie chicken for this because it makes it that much faster!
- Cashews – You want to use raw cashews that have either been soaked in water overnight or you can gently boil them for 10 minutes.
- Onion – 1 medium onion
- Garlic – 2 large garlic cloves
- Nutritional Yeast – Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy umami flavor to the Alfredo sauce without adding cheese. It also happens to have a lot of vitamins and minerals as well as all nine essential amino acids making it a complete protein.
- Garlic Powder – Because I love garlic powder. It adds more of a roasted garlic flavor vs a sharp garlic flavor.
- Fresh Bread Crumbs – I prefer fresh bread crumbs that I make from a few slices of bread that I throw in the blender or food processor. You can substitute store bought bread crumbs or panko if you wish!
To Make the Cashew Alfredo Sauce
- Soak or Gently Boil the Cashews
- Cover the cashews with water and allow to soak overnight at room temperature.
- Bring the cashews and water up to a gentle boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drain the cashews
- Sauté the Onions & Garlic
- In a pan over med-low heat add a little olive oil, the chopped onions and a little salt. Cover and stir occasionally for about 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes longer.
- Blend
- In a blender combine the softened cashews, the onions and garlic, nutritional yeast, garlic powder (optional), salt and water.
- Blend until smooth.
- Season to taste!
Make the Spaghetti Squash Chicken & Broccoli (Cashew) Alfredo
- Preheat the oven to 350°
- Prepare the Spaghetti Squash
- Pierce holes in the spaghetti squash and microwave for 5 minutes.
- This makes it easier to cut in half.
- Cut in half length wise.
- Remove the seeds – use a spoon to scrape the seeds out.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place cut side down on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven at 350° for about 30 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.
- Pull the strands of the spaghetti squash with a fork
- Pierce holes in the spaghetti squash and microwave for 5 minutes.
- Broccoli
- Cut the broccoli florets into small bite sized pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl with 2-3 tbsp of water. Cover with plastic wrap and pierce some holes in the top.
- Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes and let stand for 3 more minutes.
- If using Frozen Broccoli – unthaw and drain of any water
- Chicken
- If using Rotisserie Chicken – cut the breast meat off of the bone and cube into 1 inch pieces. Use any dark meat if you would like as well!
- My favorite method for easy juicy chicken breast. Learned from Katie Lee Biegel on the Kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 300°
- Pound the chicken breast a little bit until it’s an even thickness.
- Sear on both sides for 1-2 minutes.
- Put a lid on the pan and transfer to preheated oven for 8 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven and let sit for 8 more minutes with the lid on.
- Combine & Mix
- In a large bowl combine the spaghetti Squash, cubed chicken, broccoli and the cashew Alfredo sauce. Fold and mix together to thoroughly coat.
- Transfer back into the spaghetti squash boat or into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- Breadcrumbs
- Pulse 3 slices of bread in a food processor or blender
- Drizzle in a tablespoon or so of olive oil and mix together.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the spaghetti squash with chicken and broccoli
- Bake
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is browned and it’s bubbling.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
- 2 Medium Heads of Broccoli 3 cups bite sized pieces
- 3 Cups Chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Large Onion chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 1/2 Cups Raw Cashews soaked overnight or *see notes
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder optional
- 1 Cup Water Add up to 1/4 cup more water to reach desired consistency
- 3/4 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs *see notes
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Bake the Spaghetti Squash
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Pierce holes in the spaghetti squash and microwave for 5 minutes. Cut in half length wise. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a sheet pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
- Once cool enough to handle use a fork to pull the strands of spaghetti squash.
- Preheat the oven to 400°
Make the Cashew Alfredo Sauce
- Heat a pan over medium-low - medium heat and drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally and allow to sweat with the lid on for about 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer.
- Combine the cashews, onions and garlic, nutritional yeast, garlic powder if you're using (optional), salt and 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth. Add up to 1/3 cup more water to reach desired viscosity.
Make the Chicken and Broccoli (Cashew) Alfredo
- Put the broccoli florets into a microwave safe bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Cover with plastic wrap and pierce holes in the top. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes then let stand for 3 more minutes.
- In a large bowl combine the spaghetti squash, chicken, broccoli and cashew alfredo sauce. Mix until everything is thoroughly coated in the sauce. Transfer the mixture back to the spaghetti squash boats or into a casserole dish.
- Mix together the breadcrumbs with about a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle on top.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400° for about 25-30 minutes until browned on the top and bubbling.
Notes
- CASHEWS : Soak the cashews overnight at room temperature OR gently simmer the cashews in water for 10 minutes to soften before blending.
- BREAD CRUMBS: Tear up 3 slices of bread and put in a food processor, blender or magic bullet. Blend until they turn into fine breadcrumbs. You can also use store-bought.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!