Vegan Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

♫ Listening to: The Way That I Feel by GGOOLLDD ♫

This recipe was inspired by the spaghetti squash at the Butcher’s Daughter in Venice Beach. They make theirs with adzuki bacon, which I recreated and you can find that recipe here. Other than the spaghetti squash, The Butcher’s Daughter also has a beautiful juice flight that I highly recommend.

This makes 4 servings.

Vegan Spaghetti Squash Carbonara Ingredients

• 1 medium spaghetti squash, halved
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shakes of cayenne
• 1 bunch of kale, washed, destemmed, and chopped
• ¼ teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon basil (or 8-10 leaves of fresh basil)
• ½ cup vegan cheese (you can use this homemade cheese if you have some on hand or have time to make it)
• sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
• vegan bacon (Upton’s is a good option if you’re buying it. If you’re gluten-free, you should try the tempeh bacon that turtle island makes. If you’re soy-free, make this one that replicates the one used at Butcher’s Daughter.)
• 4 sundried tomatoes, soaked in water, and chopped finely (optional)

Vegan Spaghetti Squash Carbonara Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the stem off the spaghetti squash and toss it into the compost.

Place the cut end on the cutting board to stabilize it, and cut it in half lengthwise, starting from the other end.

Scrape the insides out of both sides using a strong spoon, and compost the guts. If you like roasted pumpkin seeds, you can save the seeds from the squash to bake them later when the squash is done. Here’s a recipe for how to do that.

Fill a pyrex lasagna pan with a half an inch of water and place the squash cut side down in the pan.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until you can pierce the skin with a fork and have it easily go in. Make the rest of the dish while you wait for the squash to bake.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until brown: 5-6 minutes.

Add a pinch of cayenne and all the garlic, cooking for about a minute.

Add the chopped kale and continue to stir as it cooks.

Turn the heat off, and cover with a lid if you get to this step and the squash is still baking or cooling.

Cool the spaghetti squash for 5 minutes outside of the oven once it’s done baking.

Use a fork to shred the cooked spaghetti squash out of the skin. This should be easy to do. If it’s not easy, you may not have baked it long enough.

Place it directly into the pan of veggies.

Add the basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir well.

Add the vegan cheese. I’ve used all kinds of vegan cheese for this, and they all taste delicious. Violife is exceptionally good.

Stir until cheese starts to melt.

Add finely chopped pieces of bacon and optional sun-dried tomatoes last.

Serve immediately or garnish with watermelon radish flowers or some cute radish mice.

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