My Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Lemon Garlic Sauce is an easy and healthy recipe that's made with 4 clean, real food ingredients. It's the perfect plant-based meal that's gluten-free and the cauliflower-free sauce can be prepared in under 5 minutes!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Dairy-Free With No Cauliflower - It's a nice break from the popular dairy-free cauliflower alfredo sauce and has a tangy taste of lemon.
- Naturally Gluten-Free - It's made with spaghetti squash instead of traditional pasta (which you could also use if you didn't like spaghetti squash or need the dish to be gluten-free).
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients - You only need 4 ingredients (not counting water + salt) and the sauce is ready in a matter of minutes with a Vitamix.
This is a good dish to make when you need to meal prep by using leftover spaghetti squash or can multi-task and do something else while the spaghetti squash is cooking.
Also, although the sauce can be made in under 5 minutes, it can also be made in advance for a quick lunch or dinner.
You can enjoy this dish because my healthy plant-based version is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, paleo-friendly, oil-free, and Medical Medium® Compliant!
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible.
- Spaghetti Squash
- Cashews
- Filtered/Purified Water
- Lemon Juice
- Garlic
- Himalayan Pink Salt
That's it! My Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Lemon Garlic Sauce is super easy to make!
Frequently Asked Questions
In my opinion, yes!
This is a clean, light dish that's made with only a few simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand - completely opposite from a typical heavy traditional pasta dish covered with a very unhealthy sauce.
For example, here's the 54-ingredient list for a similar store-bought creamy pasta sauce:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Prego Homestyle Alfredo Sauce Ingredients: Water, Buttercream (Cream, Water, Salt), Cheese Parmesan (Milk Part Skim, Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Milk, Culture, Salt Enzymes), Enzymes Modified, Wheat Enriched Bleached Flour, Egg (Egg Yolks, Salt, Phospholipase), Corn Starch Modified, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or less of the following: (Salt, Cheese Romano [Milk Part Skim Cow's, Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Sugar, Whey Dehydrated, Disodium Phosphate Dihydrate, Granular, and Cheese Parmesan [Milk Part Skim, Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Milk, Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Xantham Gum, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Spices, Flavoring, Yeast Extract, Cheese Cheddar [Milk, Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Sodium Phosphate, Wine, Enzymes, Caramel Color, Disodium Phosphate, Milk Fat Anhydrous, Sulfur, Sulfur Dioxide).
It contains GMO's (corn starch-modified, soybean oil), dairy, MSG (monosodium glutamate), seed oil (soybean oil), refined sugar, refined salt, and preservatives.
And homemade creamy lemon garlic sauce recipes are full of dairy products with the typical ingredients containing:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Homemade Alfredo Sauce Ingredients: ¼ cup butter, ½ cup heavy whipping cream, 4 ounces cream cheese and parmesan cheese.
My healthy plant-based version is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, paleo-friendly, oil-free, and Medical Medium® Compliant!
Yes! You can make the sauce in advance and all you would have left to do to prepare the rest of the recipe is prep the spaghetti squash and let it bake for about 45-50 minutes.
If you make the sauce in advance, just store it in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
You will need to give it a good stir before adding to the spaghetti squash and if you don't add it to hot spaghetti squash right out of the oven, you may want to warm it slightly in a saucepan on the stovetop.
A Vitamix is very useful in this recipe because it will blend the cashews into a creamy, smooth texture.
A high-speed blender will also do the same.
However, if you make the recipe without a Vitamix or high-speed blender, you may want to soak the cashews before blending them to soften them so they will blend as smooth as possible.
How To Soak Cashews:
1. Add the cashews to a bowl filled with filtered/purified water.
2. Allow them to soak for at least 2 hours.
3. Rinse the cashews and add them to your blender.
The sauce -may- be slightly gritty in texture but it will not affect the flavor.
For this recipe, you should use "raw" and "unsalted" cashews instead of "roasted" or "salted".
Yes! If you don't like spaghetti squash you can use the sauce with your favorite gluten-free pasta, Miracle Noodles, or even zucchini noodles.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Spaghetti Squash: The sizes of spaghetti squash vary, but if you get a medium-large size, it should be enough for 4 small servings. If you don't like or can't find spaghetti squash, you could substitute it with zucchini noodles or even gluten-free pasta. Just make sure it's gluten-free, grain-free, and corn-free.
I typically brush the spaghetti squash lightly with avocado oil before placing them in the oven, but it's not needed in this recipe which makes it oil-free!
Cashews: You will need "raw" cashews for this recipe and not "salted" or "roasted". It is optional to soak them before adding them to your Vitamix, but doing so will make them soft and the sauce extra smooth.
- Soak the cashews in filtered/purified water for at least 2 hours.
- Rinse and drain the cashews before adding them to your Vitamix.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give the best flavor and nutrients since it hasn't been pasteurized, but you could substitute it with store-bought organic lemon juice.
Garlic: In this recipe, freshly crushed garlic is going to give the best flavor and nutrients but you could substitute it with organic garlic powder - just add the amount to your preference.
Himalayan Pink Salt: This is my salt of preference, however, it can always be substituted with sea salt.
Order Recipe Ingredients
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Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Lemon Garlic Sauce
Equipment
- Vitamix (or high-speed blender)
Ingredients
- 1 large organic spaghetti squash
For the sauce:
- 1 cup organic raw cashews
- 1 cup filtered/purified water
- 3 tablespoons organic lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 4 cloves organic garlic (freshly crushed)
- ¾ teaspoons Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then set aside.
Prepare the spaghetti squash:
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half from the top to the bottom
- Scrape out all the seeds from the inside of the squash with a spoon.
- Sprinkle the edges and center of the spaghetti squash with a few pinches of Himalayan pink salt and ground black pepper.
- Place the squash onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 45-50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the squash to cool enough to handle it with an oven mitt.
- Using a fork, scrape out the inside of the squash into pasta-like strands.
- Transfer the cooked spaghetti squash pasta to a medium mixing bowl.
Prepare the sauce:
- Optional Cashew Soaking: This step is optional and recommended if you are not using a Vitamix or high-speed blender because it will make the cashews soft and the sauce extra smooth and creamy.While the spaghetti squash is cooking, place the cashews into a bowl of filtered/purified water and allow them to soak for at least 2 hours, then rinse and drain them.
- Add all ingredients for the sauce, including the cashews, to Vitamix and blend until creamy and smooth.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
Assembly:
- Transfer the sauce to the mixing bowl with the spaghetti squash pasta and gently toss until the sauce is evenly distributed.
- Optional: Garnish with red pepper flakes or ground black pepper.
Recipe Notes
- Soak the cashews in filtered/purified water for at least 2 hours.
- Rinse and drain the cashews before adding them to your Vitamix.
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Spaghetti Squash Recipes
- Italian Spaghetti Squash Bake
- Spaghetti Squash with Basil and Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
- Spaghetti Squash Pasta with Creamy Vegan Cilantro and Lime Tahini Dressing
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Jerry says
I just made this, tasted so amazing! I normally hate spaghetti squash and on the surface the ingredients didn't seem that phenomenal, but so simple and fantastic! Thanks for creating and sharing this recipe! I'll be dreaming about it for days!
Karielyn says
Hi there Jerry! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that you took a chance on it!
Thank you for taking the time to let me know you liked it...I really appreciate it 🙂
Camille says
Spectacular! Love the fresh garlic and lemon flavor of this. Mine came out more like a paste than a cream sauce, probably because I didn't add enough water and/or let it blend long enough. But I enjoyed the textured and found it very satisfying when combined with the spaghetti squash.
Karielyn says
Hi there Camille! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe and I'm sure if you add just a little more water with it next time, you would get the creamy texture you're looking for.
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it...I really appreciate it 😉
Devan says
Wow! That cream sauce was fantastic!! I used it on some veggies I had marinating in the fridge and made the sauce at the last minute to dip them in! So glad I did! I'm adding this to my recipe book for sure!
Karielyn says
Hi there Devan! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that you even found another use for it...dip! That was a great idea!
Thanks for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it...I really appreciate it 😉