Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Nachos
These spaghetti squash nachos with homemade crispy tortilla chips are a delicious finger food appetizer.
Spaghetti squash on its own doesn’t have a lot of taste.
But what it does have is a lot of wonderful texture.
It even has a slight bit of crunch to it.
Not to mention that it’s so much fun to make because out of nowhere, the cooked squash transforms into spaghetti-type strands.
About this Recipe
In this recipe, the spaghetti squash is cooked in the microwave.
It’s easy to cook and turns out great every time.
The hardest part about making this squash is cutting it in half because the outside of the squash is quite hard.
When buying spaghetti squash at the market, an option is to ask a produce department employee if he or she can cut it in half (lengthwise) for you.
I’ve done this before, and it makes it a lot easier and safer for the chef!
These nachos are made with homemade tortilla chips but feel free to use premade tortilla chips instead.
The end result will still taste wonderful.
Blue premade tortilla chips would be very pretty in this dish.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Spaghetti Squash – Spaghetti squash and butter
Tortilla Chips – Corn tortillas and canola oil
Nachos – Crispy tortilla chips, cooked spaghetti squash, shredded Monterey jack cheese, green onions, hot sauce, salt and pepper
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the Spaghetti Squash:
Very Very Carefully, cut the squash in half lengthwise…
…Cutting this in half is the hardest part because the skin of the squash is super hard.
It may be best when buying the squash to ask a produce department employee to cut it in half lengthwise for you.
Using a spoon…
…scrape the sides…
…and scoop out and discard the pulp and seeds.
On a microwave safe plate, place one of the halves of squash and lay a wet paper towel over it.
Cook the squash covered with the paper towel in the microwave until tender (about 12 minutes; time may vary depending on the microwave).
When it’s done cooking, with the paper towel still covering the squash, set it aside for about 5 minutes so it will steam a bit longer.
Using a fork, gently pull out the strands from the inner sides and bottom of the squash (leave the strands inside of the squash).
They should pull away from the skin easily.
Continue to work your way around the edges to pull out all of the strands.
This is the fun part!
It’s just like magic.
After all of the strands are pulled out from the inner sides and bottom of the squash, add butter (the squash should still be warm).
Mix the butter with the squash so it will melt.
Set aside.
For the Tortilla Chips:
Next, cut the tortillas…
…cut each tortilla in six triangular pieces.
No worries if they’re not cut perfectly…
…imperfection gives them character.
Next,
…Heat a small skillet on medium heat…
…and add canola oil so that the oil is about 1/2 inch deep in the pan (amount may vary depending on the size of skillet).
To the pan, add about 8 tortilla pieces at a time so not to overcrowd the pan.
As the chips are cooking, keep a close eye on the oil.
If the chips are cooking too quickly, or the oil starts to smoke, turn the heat down.
Turn the tortilla chips as they cook until each side is a light golden color.
When the chips are done cooking, transfer them to a paper towel lined-plate to absorb any excess oil.
For the Nachos:
Put the chips in an oven-proof plate or skillet.
Then top the chips with spaghetti squash.
So that the squash isn’t too bunched up on the chips, spread it out evenly in a thin layer to cover all of the chips.
Next, add salt and pepper to taste.
I added a few dashes of salt and about 4 dashes of the pepper.
Then top with 3/4’s cup shredded cheese (reserving 1/4 cup).
Feel free to use any type of cheese you like.
Chop the green onions (including the green tops).
Top with chopped green onions…
…and dashes of hot sauce.
Heat in preheated oven (at 350 degrees F.) until the cheese starts to melt (about 6 minutes).
Once out of the oven, top the nachos with the remaining shredded cheese.
Serve warm.
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Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Nachos with Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
For the Spaghetti Squash:
- 1/2 of a spaghetti squash small size
- 1 tablespoon butter (salted)
For the Crispy Tortilla Chips:
- 8 corn tortillas cut each tortilla chip in 6 triangular pieces
- 1/2 cup canola oil amount may vary depending on the size of skillet
For the Nachos:
- Crispy Tortilla Chips
- Cooked Spaghetti Squash
- 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 2 green onions chopped including the green top
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce (tabasco or other type)
- 3 dashes salt or to taste
- 4 dashes ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Spaghetti Squash:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Very Very Carefully, cut the squash in half lengthwise......Cutting this in half is the hardest part because the skin of the squash is super hard.It may be best when buying the squash to ask a produce department employee to cut it in half lengthwise for you.
- Using a spoon, scoop out and discard the pulp and seeds.
- On a microwave-safe plate, place one of the halves of squash and lay a wet paper towel over it. Cook the squash covered with the paper towel in the microwave until tender (about 12 minutes; time may vary depending on the microwave).
- When it’s done cooking, with the paper towel still covering the squash, set it aside for about 5 minutes so it will steam a bit longer.
- Using a fork, gently pull out the strands from the inner sides and bottom of the squash (leave the strands inside of the squash).
- After all of the strands are pulled out from the inner sides and bottom of the squash, add butter (the squash should still be warm).
- Mix the butter in with the squash so it will melt. Set aside.
For the Tortilla Chips:
- Heat a small skillet on medium heat and add canola oil so that the oil is about 1/2 inch deep in the pan (amount may vary depending on the size of skillet).
- To the pan, add about 8 tortilla pieces at a time so not to overcrowd the pan. Turn the tortilla chips as they cook until each side is a light golden color.
- As the chips are cooking, keep a close eye on the oil. If the chips are cooking too quickly, or the oil starts to smoke, turn the heat down.
- When the chips are done cooking, transfer them to a paper towel lined-plate to absorb any excess oil.
For the Nachos:
- Put the chips in an oven-proof plate or skillet. Top them with the spaghetti squash, and salt and pepper to taste.
- So that the squash isn't too bunched up on the chips, spread it out evenly in a thin layer to cover all of the chips.
- Then top the squash with 3/4 cup shredded cheese (reserving 1/4 cup), the green onions, and dashes of hot sauce.
- Bake the nachos in a preheated oven (at 350 degrees F.) until the cheese starts to melt (about 6 minutes).
- Once out of the oven, top the nachos with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Serve warm.
Notes
TIP:
If the squash is too round and smooth to get a good footing on the cutting board, just cut a thin slice off of the bottom side so the squash will sit more firmly on the cutting board while you cut it in half.Recipes with Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips
Here are more homemade crispy corn tortilla recipes you may like “Brie and Olive Tapenade Nachos“, “Chili Bacon Nachos” and “Chipotle Lime Tortilla Chips“.
Mexican Food Recipes
More Mexican Food Recipes You May Like:
One-Skillet Enchilada Sauce Taco Meat
Just checking in from FoodBuzz. Love this recipe! I love that you can print it out without all the pics – great idea. Feel free to stop by our site and say hi!
Hi Pam, thank you for stopping by. I’m heading over to your site now. Have a great day!
Oh my goodness…I have to try these! What an original and delicious idea 🙂
So glad you like this. Have a great day!
Oh boy,this looks great! Right up my alley! This recipe I am going to try! Thanks!!
Hi Jennifer, so glad you like it. I just visited your blog and it’s so nice! Have a great rest of the weekend!
This is such a good idea – and what’s even better – I have corn tortillas in the fridge! This is going to make a great Saturday snack. Do you think I could use a courgette? Or even some aubergine?
Hi Jules, I think both the courgette (zucchini) and aubergine (eggplant) would work just fine. Perhaps cutting the courgette in small pieces would be an option so that the vegetable still has some texture to it but is small enough to be on a tortilla chip. It may be a good idea to chop the aubergine into small pieces too…and also cut off the skin. I would love to know how these turn out for you. Actually, I’m also going to give these vegetables a try with tortilla chips so thank you for this great idea!
How creative is this! I have seen the cheese and squash combo for soups, so why not nachos?! Great idea for those days when you want to go meatless. Definitely worth a try-it looks delicious.
Hi Tina, glad you like this!