We love using our slow cooker to make Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs all in one pot! Our low carb homemade meatballs make this dish a go-to low carb crock pot meal for our family.
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How to Make Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs in a Slow Cooker
Cris here.
We love this easy trick to making Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs all in the same pot! We love using our Low Carb Meatballs to make this dish a low carb meal. However you can use our recipe for Freezer Meatballs if you are not eating low carb. By wrapping our squash in foil and cooking the raw meatballs around it, we are able to cook up both the meatballs and the squash in one pot, making clean up a cinch!
After the cooking is done, the once stubborn squash easily slices open to reveal its seeds (to be discarded).
And the flesh easily scrapes away into what I like to call “nature’s noodles”.
The Low Carb Low Down About Spaghetti Squash
As much as I would LOVE to tell my low carb friends this is a substitute for Spaghetti and Meatballs, this is not. Much like our Crock Pot Low Carb Lasagna Casserole is NOT Lasagna. However, that does not mean these are not a really yummy dishes in their own rights. Our Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs is a low carb dinner that both carb lovers and those with a low carb lifestyle would love. My best tip for sharing this dish with others– especially with kids– is not to make it out to be something it isn’t. Don’t tell folks it is “just like spaghetti”. Instead, let the dish speak for itself. You might be surprised how much everyone likes it on its own merits!
Notes on Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs (Low Carb)
- We used our Low Carb Meatball Mix (doubled, 24 meatballs) for this dish. If you don’t want quite as many meatballs, we have made this dish with 12 meatballs before and enjoyed it as well.
- If you aren’t eating Low Carb, you could also use the mix from our Freezer Meatballs instead.
- When purchasing your spaghetti squash pay attention to shape. Try to find one that will easily fit inside your slow cooker.
- Wash and score your spaghetti squash like you would a baked potato- pricking skin with a knife several times on all sides.
- If you didn’t pay attention to bullet point #3 😉 … And the lid of your slow cooker does not lay like usual, you can always use foil around the lid and top of slow cooker to keep the heat in.
- When using our recipes for homemade meatballs, no liquid needs added to the crock pot using this method. We haven’t tested this method with pre-made frozen meatballs.
- The marinara sauce you choose will greatly impact your carb counts. We typically use Rao’s sauce but use it sparingly because of the cost. We recently were told about the brand Mezzetta that has a low carb count that we find is much cheaper in our grocery store.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- You can find more low carb recipes in our Low Carb Recipe Library that we update weekly.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. Your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs (Low Carb) Recipe
Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash with Homemade Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 Spaghetti Squash Washed & Scored
- 2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
- 24 oz jar Marinara Sauce Divided
- 2 Tablespoons Dried Minced Onion
- 2 teaspoons Minced Garlic I used freeze dried
- 2 teaspoon Pizza Seasoning or Italian Seasoning
- 2/3 Cup Shredded Parmesan
- 2 Egg
- Garnish Shredded Mozzarella or Parmesan
- salt to taste.
Instructions
- After scoring the Spaghetti Squash, wrap it in foil and place in a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
- Mix together 1/2 cup of the Marinara with the beef, onion, garlic, seasoning, Parmesan cheese and eggs and form into 24 meatballs.
- Carefully place meatballs around the squash, stacking as necessary but do not press them together.
- Cook on high for 4-6 hours until meatballs are cooked to 165 degrees and you can easily insert a knife into the squash.
- Carefully remove squash and set aside. Squash will be hot. Slice quash in half and scoop out seeds to discard. Allow to cook briefly before handling further.
- Meanwhile, carefully break apart meatballs in the slow cooker and stir in remaining marinara sauce.
- Then use a spoon or fork to scrape squash until squash "noodles" begin to break off and place squash noodles in the crock pot, salting to taste and stir.
- To serve, plate squash and meatballs and top with cheese.
Video
Notes
- We used our Low Carb Meatball Mix (doubled, 24 meatballs) for this dish. If you don't want quite as many meatballs, we have made this dish with 12 meatballs before and enjoyed it as well.
- If you aren't eating Low Carb, you could also use the mix from our Freezer Meatballs instead.
- When purchasing your spaghetti squash pay attention to shape. Try to find one that will easily fit inside your slow cooker.
- Wash and score your spaghetti squash like you would a baked potato- pricking skin with a knife several times on all sides.
- If you didn't pay attention to bullet point #3 😉 ... And the lid of your slow cooker does not lay like usual, you can always use foil around the lid and top of slow cooker to keep the heat in.
- When using our recipes for homemade meatballs, no liquid needs added to the crock pot using this method. We haven't tested this method with pre-made frozen meatballs.
- The marinara sauce you choose will greatly impact your carb counts. We typically use Rao's sauce but use it sparingly because of the cost. We recently were told about the brand Mezzetta that has a low carb count that we find is much cheaper in our grocery store.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- You can find more low carb recipes in our Low Carb Recipe Library that we update weekly.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. Your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Wanted to ask if you have tried this with ground chicken instead of beef, and if so how it tastes?
Thanks, Kaley
Hi Kaley-
We haven’t tried it with chicken. Let us know how it goes. Enjoy!