Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti Squash Bowls

Enchilada-style baked spaghetti squash bowls with chicken, sautéed sweet bell peppers, black beans, and cheese. Top with guacamole, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt for a delicious, lighter Mexican meal! 

I’ve fallen in love with stuffed spaghetti squash in the past couple of years. I’ve always been a huge fan of baked pasta like lasagna, baked ziti, etc. and stuffed spaghetti squash kind of reminds me of those. Noodle-like strands mixed with veggies and a good sauce, plus melted cheese on top…what’s not to like?

And I love that with spaghetti squash, you can eat a BIG serving and you’re just eating tons of veggies!

I often make these spaghetti squash vegetarian burrito bowls, and they were the inspiration for this recipe. The base of sautéed sweet bell peppers, red onions, and black beans is the same, and then I added enchilada sauce and shredded chicken to the filling.

Since spaghetti squash takes a while to cook, I’ll sometimes bake the squash in advance. I’ll make it either the night before or early on the day I’m planning to have it for dinner, even at 6:30 a.m. while I go for a run.

Then, I’ll pop the cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge while I’m in class for the day.When I get home, I’ll make the filling, stuff the squash, top it with cheese, and then bake the squash at for a bit longer to heat it all back up. Then, top with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt and dig in!

As an additional note, whenever I sauté veggies, I usually cook extra to add to future egg scrambles! I eat eggs scrambled with veggies almost every day, so this takes care of an extra step for me later. (This is why you see three colors of bell peppers in the photos when the recipe only calls for one.)

Substitutions in these chicken enchilada spaghetti squash bowls

I love easy recipes like this that aren’t too finicky. Stuffed spaghetti squash is forgiving, so you could definitely make similar ingredient swaps if needed. Some ideas:

• Try pepperjack or Mexican-blend cheese instead of cheddar or monterey jack
• Add fresh or frozen corn
• Add spinach to the filling
• Use frozen diced peppers instead of fresh
• Make your own enchilada sauce (I typically buy mine from Trader Joe’s because it’s MSG-free!)
• Omit the chicken for a vegetarian version

Hope you enjoy!

If you try these spaghetti squash chicken enchilada bowls, feel free to let me know in a comment where you can leave a star rating, or take a photo and tag me @livbane on Instagram!

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5 from 7 votes

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Enchilada Bowls

Enchilada-style cheesy baked spaghetti squash with chicken, sautéed sweet bell peppers, and black beans. Top with guacamole, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt for a delicious, lighter Mexican meal! 

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Author: Liv

Ingredients

• 2 small spaghetti squashes, approx. 1.5 lbs each (or 1 large, 3+ lbs)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. cooking oil (I use avocado or grapeseed)
• 1 large sweet bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup of your favorite enchilada sauce
• 14.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• Optional: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a large, sharp knife, carefully slice spaghetti squash in half. Place face-up on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for 55 minutes for two small squashes or up to 75 minutes for a large. Strands should be only slightly crunchy when they're done cooking.
• While squash is in the oven, sauté bell pepper and red onion over medium heat until softened but still slightly crunchy. Add enchilada sauce, black beans, chicken, fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir mixture and heat through. Keep on low heat.
• When squash is done cooking, remove baking sheet from oven, scoop out seeds and gooey innards, and drain any water that may have collected inside the squash during cooking. Fork through the squash to loosen the strands from the shell.
• Turn oven up to low broil setting. Fill spaghetti squash shells with pepper mixture and stir to mix the squash strands with the filling. Top each squash half with shredded cheese and return the baking sheet to oven for 1-2 minutes, until cheese is just melted under the broiler. Serve with guacamole, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, and salsa.

Notes

To prep in advance, cook the spaghetti squash fully (and the filling if desired) ahead of time and refrigerate. Then, increase the baking time to 40 minutes and bake at 350 degrees, covering with foil for the first 20-30 minutes.

The best spaghetti squashes are the ones that are bright yellow! The pale ones tend to be more watery.

Adapted from my Mexican stuffed spaghetti squash recipe