Happy Sunday! I love using Sundays to cook fun meals because I have so much extra time 🙂 This post is inspired by a recipe sent to me by my friend, Christy, which can be found here. These spaghetti squash taco boats are an excellent substitute for traditional tacos and they are fun to eat! If you have never cooked spaghetti squash before (my first time was only a few weeks ago) this is an easy recipe to get you started!

I differed slightly from the recipe linked above when I made this dish but please feel free to check out both versions.

Timing: 

• Preparation: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 45 minutes
• Total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients: Makes 6 servings

• 3 Small or Medium Spaghetti Squash
• 1 Pound of Ground Turkey
• 1/2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 1 (4 oz) Can of Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Small Onion, chopped
• 1/2 Red Pepper, chopped
• 1/2 Yellow Pepper, chopped
• 1/2 Orange Pepper, chopped
• 1 Pinch Garlic Powder
• 1 Pinch Oregano
• 1 Pinch Chili Powder
• 1 Pinch Cumin
• 1 Pinch Taco Seasoning
• 1 Pinch Black Pepper
• 1 Pinch Kosher Salt
• 3/4 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 1 Cup Pico De Gallo (I used fresh store-bought pico de gallo but to make your own see below)
  • 1 Cup Chopped Tomato
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped Scallion
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro
  • 1/2 Minced Jalapeno *(not required)
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Poke holes in the spaghetti squash with a knife or fork and microwave for 5 minutes. This allows the squash to soften and it becomes easier to cut. Take the squash out and cut in half, long ways.

Scoop out the seeds of the squash. Drizzle olive oil on each half and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip the squash so they are faced down and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. While the squash bakes, prepare the turkey taco mixture. In a skillet, add the ground turkey and sprinkle with the taco seasoning, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and oregano. Mix together well. Add the can of chopped tomatoes and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring to break up pieces of turkey.

While the turkey mixture is simmering, chop up the onion and peppers. Saute in a separate skillet with olive oil for about 5 minutes. You can add some additional taco seasoning to this skillet.

Add the onions and peppers to the taco and tomato mixture and continue to let simmer.

Once the squash is done, take them out of the oven and mix around the insides with a fork to create a spaghetti-like appearance.

Add the turkey mixture inside the spaghetti squash halves. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake for 5 more minutes at 400 degrees until the cheese has melted.

Add the pico de gallo on top and enjoy!