Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash features delicious homemade pesto sauce and tender chicken for an easy, satisfying, nourishing dinner recipe that happens to be paleo, whole30, and! Make it for the whole family or as a meal prep recipe.

Pesto Chicken Spaghetti Squash is an easy healthy dinner recipe - low-carb, keto, paleo, whole30, delicious

If I had a dollar for every time Iโ€™ve made this chicken pesto spaghetti squash…

…Iโ€™d be cashing in early retirement in the Maldives.

Itโ€™s one of those meals that covers all the bases and is just so nice to cozy up to on a chilly evening.

The best part about this recipe is you can either prepare it in parts – roast the spaghetti squash and/or make the pesto sauce up to 5 days in advance, or make everything as the squash is roasting. 

Bonus: you can customize the recipe to your heartโ€™s delight by changing up the pesto recipe or using different animal protein.

Craving additional veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, or carrot? Toss them in!

Letโ€™s whip it out!

How to Make Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash:

Begin by roasting a medium to large-sized spaghetti squash. If youโ€™ve never roasted a spaghetti squash, no sweat! I made a nifty little tutorial on How to Roast Spaghetti Squash, which you can follow!

Once the squash has finished roasting, allow it to cool.

Roasted spaghetti squash for pesto spaghetti squash

While the squash is roasting, prepare the homemade pesto sauce.

To do so, add all ingredients except the oil to a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop the ingredients. Leave the food processor on and stream oil through the top. Continue processing until desired texture is reached.

Pesto sauce for chicken pesto spaghetti squash recipe using basil

Heat a skillet to medium-high and add 1 to 2 tablespoons avocado oil or coconut oil. Add the chopped chicken, sea salt, paprika, and garlic powder.

Brown the chicken without stirring for 3 minutes. Stir and continue browning without touching another 3 minutes.

Cover the skillet with a lid, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 2 to 5 minutes more.

Once the squash is cool enough to handle, transfer the โ€œspaghettiโ€ strands to a large mixing bowl.

Add in the pesto sauce and toss well. Stir in the chicken, including all of the liquid, and toss until everything is combined.

Taste for flavor, and add sea salt to taste.

Recipe Adaptations:

  • Turn this into a casserole by following all the steps outlined in the recipe, then transfer everything to a casserole dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 375. If you arenโ€™t dairy-free, be sure to give it a hefty shower of grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
  • Use any type of homemade or store-bought pesto sauce. Just be sure youโ€™re using 1 to 1.5 cups.
  • Replace the chicken with shrimp or ground turkey.
  • If you donโ€™t follow a strict paleo or whole30 diet, add 1 cup grated parmesan cheese to the pesto sauce.
Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Chicken - easy, few ingredients, paleo, low-carb, keto, healthy

More Healthy Spaghetti Squash Recipes:

My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!

If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag me at @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!

Close up top down image of two bowls of chicken pesto spaghetti squash with basil leaves and red pepper flakes for garnish.

Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash

4.55 from 61 votes
Pesto spaghetti squash with chicken – an easy paleo, keto, whole30 dinner recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

For the Spaghetti Squash:

For the Chicken:

Pesto:

  • 2 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 2/3 cup pumpkin seeds see note
  • 2/3 cup avocado oil
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 1 cup parmesan optional, omit for whole30

Instructions

  • Roast the spaghetti squash according to these instructions.
  • While the squash is roasting, prepare the homemade pesto sauce. To do so, add all ingredients except the oil to a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop the ingredients. Leave the food processor on and stream oil through the top. Continue processing until desired texture is reached.
  • Heat a skillet to medium-high and add 1 to 2 tablespoons avocado oil or coconut oil. Add the chopped chicken, sea salt, paprika, and garlic powder. Brown the chicken without stirring for 3 minutes. Stir, then continue browning without touching another 3 minutes. Stir chicken well, cover, and cook until cooked through, about 2 to 5 minutes more.
  • Once the squash is cool enough to handle, transfer the โ€œspaghettiโ€ strands to a large mixing bowl. Add in the pesto sauce and toss well. Add in the chicken, including all of the liquid, and toss until everything is combined. Taste for flavor, and add sea salt to taste.

Video

Notes

Replace the pumpkin seeds with pine nuts, almond, walnuts, or pecans

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving ยท Calories: 450kcal ยท Carbohydrates: 11g ยท Protein: 28g ยท Fat: 34g ยท Fiber: 3g ยท Sugar: 3g
Author: Julia
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken pesto spaghetti squash, clean eating, healthy spaghetti squash recipes, keto dinner recipes, low-carb recipes, paleo dinner recipes, spaghetti squash recipes, whole30 dinner recipes
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @the.roasted.root on social media!
Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash made with whole food ingredients - paleo, keto, low-carb, whole30 dinner recipe

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Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Powers, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

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4.55 from 61 votes (61 ratings without comment)

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Questions and Reviews

    1. Hi Alli! I’m not sure what you mean by squash seeds. Do you mean a different type of squash other than pumpkin, such as butternut squash or kabocha squash? If so, you can definitely use them as long as they are roasted. Hope you enjoy!

  1. Canโ€™t wait to try this! Cooking for my 88 year old mom, and was wondering if this could be frozen for individual portions

    1. Hi Terry! That’s so sweet of you to make the recipe for your mom! I haven’t tried freezing it myself but I think it would work. Because there’s a decent amount of sauce (and fat), it should thaw just fine. I hope she enjoys the recipe!

  2. This was fantastic! Made this for dinner and it was superb. I used almonds in the pesto (previously Iโ€™ve only used pine nuts in pesto but didnโ€™t have any on hand), and no cheese. It was a big hit for my mom and I! I love pesto and she has many allergies including dairy, added sugars, barley, etc. so not only was this exciting to find something delicious, but something so delicious that she could enjoy too! 10/10, will make again!

  3. How much pesto is needed in this recipe if using storebought or preprepared? And, is spaghetti squash peel edible? I never peel my butternut squash as it’s thin, gets very soft while cooking and is delicious. Just wondering about spaghetti squash as this is my first time to cook with it.

    1. Hi Sara! There is a recipe card at the end of the post that has the breakdown of all of the ingredients with their measurements. You can either scroll down or slick the ‘Jump to Recipe’ link at the top of the page, which will take you right there ๐Ÿ™‚ Spaghetti squash peel is edible. To be honest, I personally wouldn’t eat it because the texture is a little rough. Hope you enjoy the recipe! xo

    2. @Julia, The recipe card has the ingredients for making the pesto but not for buying it already prepared. If one makes up the recipe as specified, how much does it make, i.e, 1/2 cup, etc??

      1. Ah jeez, sorry for misunderstanding your question the first time! If you use store-bought, you’ll need about 1 and 1/3 cups of pesto sauce. You can adjust the amount to your personal taste as well ๐Ÿ™‚ Hope you enjoy it!

  4. This was delicious. I made as is except I had some leftover rotisserie chicken & already had some homemade pesto so that shortened the prep/cooking time. Thanks for a great recipe!

  5. This is AMAZING! Just cooked it to meal prep lunches for the week and of course had to taste it. I could have eaten the whole bowl! Yum yum yum! I used pine nuts in the pesto and no cheese. So good!

  6. Loved the flavors and the option for dairy free, but for some reason my food processor didn’t chop up the pumpkin seeds very well. I think I’ll try a different seed the next time I make it. ๐Ÿ˜Š

    1. Hi Carita! Thanks so much for the feedback! Pine nuts, walnuts, and pecans tend to be pretty easy to blend up, so those are always great options for pesto. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. @Margaret, me too! I love most of the products from Aldi’s. I added some sautรฉed cremini mushrooms to the squash and it was delish.

    1. @Michelle, I calculated using chicken breasts (0 points), store bought pesto (1 cup), only 1 tab. avocado oil baking the squash and 1 tab. cooking the chicken and 8 tab. of parmesan cheese and it came to 8 points for 6 servings.

      1. Thanks so much for sharing this, Deb! I’m betting it’s very helpful to others! xo

  7. I made this recipe for my dinner tonight. It is very good and I know I will make it again.
    I reduced the ingredients because I only cook for one.
    I used a small spaghetti squash, which I cooked In the Instant pot. I used one chicken breast , and reduced the amount of the spices. I also added an onion to the chicken while it browned in the skillet.

    My pesto was Costcoโ€™s brand, Kirkland.

    This is so delicious to eat.
    Thank you.

  8. Do you have a low FODMAP version of this? I’m wondering what to substitute for the garlic in the pesto sauce

    1. Hi Margaret! I replace garlic with cider vinegar or lime juice. I’d say start with 1 tablespoon of either and adjust up according to your personal taste ๐Ÿ˜€ Hope you enjoy! xo