Garlicky Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Kale is a squeaky clean and satisfying meal, loaded with zesty, rustic flavor! Perfect for those who love to eat clean, or folks who follow a ketogenic, whole30, or Paleo lifestyle.
I made this recipe for the first time back in 2014, and it has not only been a staple ever since, it has also inspired many-a-spaghetti-squash recipe.
For instance, my Chicken Pesto Spaghetti Squash, Mixed Vegetable Spaghetti Squash Marinara, and Spaghetti Squash Bolognese all employ the same concept: spaghetti squash + loads of saucy goodness.
It covers all the bases! It’s loaded with protein and antioxidants from the chicken and kale. The spaghetti squash provides a low-carb alternative to pasta and contains complex carbs and fiber, and the saturated fat content is low, which makes this healthy dinner recipe perfect for those who are mindful about their macros.
This clean and straight-forward recipe is marvelous for a myriad of eaters. Doing a Whole30? This will not just sustain you, it will bring you life! Enjoy a clean eating, paleolithic, or keto lifestyle? This x 100!
How about we make it?
How to Make Garlicky Spaghetti Squash with Chicken:
Begin by roasting the spaghetti squash. To do so, you can follow my instructions on How to Roast Spaghetti Squash.
While the squash is roasting, prepare the rest of the recipe. Heat the avocado oil to medium-high and add the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is deeply brown, and almost caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes. If at any point the onion begins to burn, reduce the heat to medium-low and add broth to deglaze the pan.
Add the garlic, mushrooms, and chicken and continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened and the chicken has browned slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, thyme, sea salt, and lemon zest and bring to a full but gentle boil. Add the kale leaves and cover the skillet. Cook until kale has wilted and chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Once the spaghetti squash has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool enough to handle. Use a fork to release the spaghetti strands from the squash and place them in a large bowl.
Transfer the chicken mixture to the bowl with the squash and toss everything together until combined. Taste for flavor and add sea salt, and/or lemon juice to taste.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Omit the onion and garlic to make recipe low-FODMAP.
- Replace the chicken with 1 pound of ground beef or turkey.
- Add more vegetables – broccoli and/or cauliflower would be great!
- If you eat dairy, add feta cheese crumbles or grated parmesan cheese.
More Healthy Spaghetti Squash Recipes:
- Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls
- Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti Squash
- Keto Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash
- Spinach Artichoke Pesto Spaghetti Squash Bowls
Enjoy this squeaky clean dinner recipe!
Garlicky Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Mushrooms, and Kale
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash roasted
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion thinly sliced
- 5 cloves large garlic minced
- 3 cups baby Portobello mushrooms chopped into sixths
- 2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 2 large chicken breasts sliced into strips, about 1 to 1.5 lbs
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 cups kale leaves
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the spaghetti squash using these instructions and set aside until ready to use
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the rest of the recipe. Heat the avocado oil to medium-high and add the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is deeply brown, and almost caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes. If at any point the onion begins to burn, reduce the heat to medium-low and add broth to deglaze the pan.
- Add the garlic, mushrooms, and chicken and continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened and the chicken has browned slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, thyme, sea salt, and lemon zest and bring to a full but gentle boil. Add the kale leaves and cover the skillet. Cook until kale has wilted and chicken is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Once the spaghetti squash has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool enough to handle. Use a fork to release the spaghetti strands from the squash and place them in a large bowl.
- Transfer the chicken mixture to the bowl with the squash and toss everything together until combined. Taste for flavor and add sea salt, and/or lemon juice to taste.
Nutrition
This is my BIGGEST fear! Since I’ve been fiddling with my site recently, I was convinced that I would totally just screw something up. I haven’t so far (knock on wood!), but if I do,I know who to call! : )
Oh girl, I’m knocking on wood for you, too. Tech stuff is not my jam at all. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that all continues to go well with the changes you’re making, and yes, feel free to reach out any time if you have issues. If nothing else, I know who to call when the shit hits the fan 😉
Oh my gosh, that has happened to me before, too! Months ago, I was fiddling around with the code, and changed something that made my website turn into a blank screen. I FREAKED OUT! Thankfully, it was the weekday, and I was able to call someone to help me restore the site to a back-up. So glad you got everything fixed. The tech guy’s burping was just an added bonus, right?
This is one mighty fine bowl of spaghetti squash!
The white screen of death!!! OMG…I’ve heard the horror stories but have yet to experience that one. Glad you got yours back lickety split. And yes, burpy tech man just made the whole experience that much more delicious 😉
Oh my gosh I would have freaked out!! So glad you were able to get the backup loaded and things turned around. This recipe looks great – I love spaghetti squash and have so much kale eeek! Will be making a vegetarian version of this for sure 🙂 Thanks for sharing
Technology…when it’s broken, it totally sucks. But I tell ya what, I couldn’t have been happier just to see my site back in working order. Gotta love these little hiccups. Lemme know how you like the chicken-less recipe! I bet adding some black beans would be fab!
I’m really into this spaghetti squash thing right now. I’m actually roasting one for myself for dinner when I get home from work. I’m assuming that it reheats ok, because I don’t think I can handle a whole one, since the Schaidles grow humongous ones. And this looks so yummy! Glad Stephie helped you out. She can be a smart one, that’s for sure.
Cheers to spaghetti squash! I hope you enjoy yours tonight. I like to re-heat spaghetti squash on the stove top instead of the microwave – it works out really well 🙂 And that Steph, she sure is a genius, and I’m betting it has a lot to do with being raised by her two genius parents 😉
This looks PERF!!! Mmm like all I want to eat all week! All the best flavors in one dish. Yes!
Thanks, Lina! It’s definitely a winner. I could seriously make this meal every week and not get sick of it 😀
Oh man I would have been freaking the frack out! I’m so glad you got it worked out, I’d really miss delicious recipes like this spaghetti squash one!
I think I would have fell over and died. I don’t deal well with tech related stress. I think I would have reached for my old pal bacon for comfort. This recipe needs to make its way into my life.
Yum to spaghetti squash and yuck to losing half your site with one little blip! Glad it got restored 🙂 Also yuck to the guy burping on the phone! That is just gross… but he is probably not pleased about working on Sundays. I love that you spend your weekends tackling blog coding projects! Except maybe stop doing that, hah.
I know how you felt, Ju! That has happened to me before, too! I did something wrong with the code and my website disappeared. Luckily I called the host company and they were able to to fix the problem. I am very happy you got everything fixed.
And this spaghetti squash looks very very yummy!!
Oh my gosh. I can feel my heart constricting just reading this post. I would have been an emotional disaster…and I would have eaten ALL THE THINGS in my house. Glad it’s all fixed up now. Whew.
Things did get pretty ugly for a how minute…my chocolate stash was in danger of being eradicated in one fell swoop, but thankfully my host fixed the issue before any desperate chocolate-eating measures were taken 😉
Noooo! My blood pressure went up just reading that! Ugh. Glad it worked out! This dish looks like total comfort food! Sign me up for a big bowl.
IIII know, right? Things like this have to happen from time to time to remind me how delicate this thing called technology can be…and how big of a pain in the ass it is when it’s broken, ha!
For whatever reason I’m still laughing at the fact that the support tech burped three times, haha! You’re the best storyteller ever.
But I’m so glad you got the problem fixed! I panic whenever something isn’t working right with the blog and it’s not even my main source of income so I can imagine how freaked out you must have felt. Sausage to the rescue, lol!!
Oh, and anything with the word garlicky and kale is a win in my book. 🙂
I’m glad you got yo shiz figured out, because it was giving me high blood pressure, too, and it’s not even my site! Ah!
Stress eating to the rescue.
I love your no-tech rule!! I had to restore my site once (and once only, thank goodness) and I also had my provider do it. Afterwards, my email account disappeared. Fun was had by all! NOT 😉
Your spaghetti squash dish looks mouthwatering!! Like, I want some NOW!! This couldn’t come at a better time as I keep making the same old (tasty) dish with spaghetti squash and it is SO time to branch out!!
YUM. Spaghetti squash is one of my go-to’s for dinner during the week. I love adding garlic to it! Definitely will be trying it out with some mushrooms, kale and chicky next time! Maybe a little crusted red pepper for a kick? 🙂
haha oh my, I’m glad that it all worked out in the end for you! That would stress me out sooo much! (and sort of did, as I was reading your story). Annnd that pretty much explains why I chose the host I did (because I’m hopeless with technology). But on a much brighter note, your recipe looks totally delicious 🙂
I love the mixture of mushrooms, garlic, and kale! This is a really great take on spaghetti squash. xo
Thanks, Phoebe! I feel like the shroom/kale/chicken combo works so well together! Hope you try out the recipe!
so fun! I <3 spaghetti squash
YIKES. This really now makes me wonder whether my back-up company is actually backing things up. Or just 50% of things. I think I should have a word with them.
Also, I never do tech things. Ever. I really just ignore them and keep hoping that my site won’t explode one day. Sigh.
Wow this looks so delicious! Definitely going to try this!
We just did an server update that crashed our whole site – as in ‘all files gone’! So of course we called the company and they wanted to charge us $80 to fix it – needless to say a whole day gone on their malfunctioning update – here’s to no tech, no high blood pressure Sundays! 🙂
Oh girl, so sorry to hear that! Tech issues are such a pain in the ass. And when issues come up, it seems as though it’s never a simple 5 minute fix…more like 5+ hours. Hopefully you got everything resolved! xoxo
I relate to how you feel.. I have encountered some tech issues lately too and it is just the WORST feeling in the world having to rebuild! On a positive note, this spaghetti squash dish looks so delicious and definitely one I can see myself making…
Thanks for the empathy, Thalia! We’ll keep our fingers crossed that both you and I don’t encounter tech issues in the future. EVER! Not ever. Hope you enjoy the sketti squarsh.
I am ALL over no tech Sunday – with football of course, and I am ALL over this squash!
It looks delicious! I really need to make this for my husband and kids, they love spaghetti and chicken and these pictures look so tempting 🙂
Would it be okay to use the curly kind of kale instead of the dino kale for this recipe?
Absolutely! Enjoy!
This look absolutely delicious! I am trying to find a Paleo Freezer Meal in a meal train for a lady at my church. Would you be able to freeze this meal?
Man this was so awesome! The boyfriend licked the plate when he thought I was looking….lol I would definately call this a 2 thumbs up! Thx!
Yaaaay I’m so happy to hear it, Colleen! It’s definitely one of those meals I can eat over and over again 😉 So glad you and your boyfriend liked it! xo
Am I to assume one onion 1/4 inch slice?
Thanks for catching that, Jean! Yes, that’s correct 🙂
This sounds lovely, and I expect to make it within the week. However I no longer save recipes in bookmarks – too many to actually find anything, ditto my pdf “print” copies, so I finally started using Pinterest to keep them organized and accessible…..but suddenly no Pinterest access to this site?!? Neither a link, nor hovering over the photos opens access. Was this deliberate for some reason, or a glitch? Hoping for the best and bookmarking, but that has become a black hole :-/
Hi Sylvie!
Oh strange!! I don’t know what the situation is with pinterest. I’m getting traffic from pinterest and when I go on pinterest, I’m able to click through my pins to the site. Feel free to email me a screenshot if you’d like!: roastedrootfood@gmail.com
@Julia,
As of this evening everything is working properly again. The option shows up when I hover over a picture, and the new widget which offers sharing options is back as well (it was nowhere to be found as of my attempts this morning), so yay for things being back to normal <3
I wish you would allow us to send this recipe. Most all other sites do except you. I find it exasperating!!
Hi Kathy,
I’m not sure what you mean by sending the recipe. Could you please explain?
Truly delicious …. loved this, such a flavorful dish – I didn’t have any kale so used broccoli and zucchini …. definitely do again 😋👍🏼