Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein
This Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein is the perfect dish to make when you are craving takeout. It’s made with spaghetti squash in place of noodles and is packed with shredded chicken, cabbage and carrots. This Whole30 Chow Mein is also Paleo, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal and can easily be made Vegan or Vegetarian too!
I used to have a weakness for really greasy and packed with MSG Chinese Food. SA tells a story about our first date, when I (always the graceful one) had chow mein noodles hanging out of my mouth, it will haunt me until the day I die. It was always sooo good at the time (usually eaten post midnight) but then I would feel sick and sluggish for days after, talk about a food hangover.
I am so excited about this Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein. I experimented with 3 different types of noodles, zucchini, butternut squash and carrot, but finally settled on spaghetti squash, which had the closest texture to traditional chow mein noodles.
WHY YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS SPAGHETTI SQUASH CHOW MEIN
- It’s hard not to love this Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein. It’s packed with all of the ginger, soy and garlic flavour of chow mein, has a very similar texture, but is so much lighter! You get all of the same satisfaction as eating a traditional chow mein, but without that heavy food hangover feeling.
- It’s super quick to make and from start to finish can take less than 30 minutes, making it perfect for weeknight dinner.
- The recipe for this Whole30 Chow Mein is super versatile, you can add in more veggies or use a different type of meat
- Leftover Paleo Chow Mein are just as delicious on day 2 or 3 and reheat well
HOW TO COOK SPAGHETTI SQUASH
There are two ways to cook spaghetti squash, one which is much quicker (under 10 minutes!) and one that takes longer but may result in slightly dryer strings of “spaghetti”.
- If you have a microwave I would highly recommend using it to cook spaghetti squash to save time. Start by pricking the spaghetti squash all over with a fork and then microwave it for 3 minutes to soften and make it much easier to cut through. After 3 minutes cut the spaghetti squash in half widthwise and scoop out all of the seeds. Place the two halves back into the microwave cut side up and cook for a further 7-8 minutes until tender.
- If you prefer to cook spaghetti squash in the oven, preheat it to 400° Fahrenheit. Cut the spaghetti squash in half widthwise, scoop out the seeds, place it cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes until tender.
WAYS TO MODIFY THIS SPAGHETTI SQUASH CHOW MEIN
- Make it Vegan or Vegetarian: Swap the shredded chicken for sauteed shiitake mushrooms to make this Paleo Chow Mein Vegetarian or Vegan. Thinly slice the shiitake mushrooms and then cook them in a pan with sesame oil until they are tender and golden in colour. Alternatively if you eat soy you could add tofu to the chow mein.
- Switch up the meat: In place of shredded chicken you could add cooked slices of pork or beef or cooked ground meat such as ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork.
- Add more vegetables: I kept the veggies in this Whole30 chow mein simple, but you can add in more vegetables such as broccoli florets, thinly sliced bell peppers, asparagus or bok choy.
IS THIS SPAGHETTI SQUASH CHOW MEIN WHOLE30?
This Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein can easily be made Whole30 by replacing the honey in the sauce with 1 medjool date. Soak the pitted medjool date in hot water for 5 minutes before placing it in a blender with the other sauce ingredients (vinegar, coconut aminos and sesame seeds) and blend until completely smooth then transfer the liquid to a skillet and bring to a gentle simmer.
CAN I MAKE THIS SPAGHETTI SQUASH CHOW MEIN IN ADVANCE?
Although cooking the spaghetti squash in the microwaves takes just 10 minutes, if you wanted to save even more time you could roast the squash 1 -2 days in advance, I find that the texture or flavour of the spaghetti doesn’t change when left in the fridge for a few days. If you chop the veggies and make the sauce in advance as well then all you have to do is toss everything together in a pan which should take less than 5 minutes.
WHAT ABOUT LEFTOVERS?
Leftover Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein will last for up to 4 days stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. To reheat you can warm them in the microwave or in a skillet on medium heat. If the spaghetti squash seems too dry you can add a teaspoon of coconut aminos to help loosen the strands up.
Here are a few more takeout fakeout recipes that you might enjoy…
- Black Pepper Chicken
- Crispy Chilli Beef
- Chicken Teriyaki Bowl
- Sesame Chicken
- Chicken Chop Suey
- Egg Drop Soup
- Szechuan Pork & Green Bean Stir Fry
- Thai Basil Beef
- Sweet & Sour Pork
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Kung Pao Cauliflower
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Spaghetti Squash Chicken Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 3 cups chinese cabbage napa cabbage, shredded
- 1/3 cup green onions/scallions
- 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
Sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tsp honey (omit for Whole30)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
To Prepare the Spaghetti Squash
- Method 1 (Oven): Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius). Cut the spaghetti squash in half widthwise and scoop out the seeds and stringy middle bit. Rub the 1 tsp olive oil over the inside of each of the squash halves and then place them on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes until the center of the squash is tender.
- Method 2 (Microwave): Prick the spaghetti squash all over with a fork and then microwave it for 3 minutes to soften. After 3 minutes cut the spaghetti squash in half widthwise and scoop out all of the seeds. Place the two halves back into the microwave cut side up and cook for a further 7-8 minutes until tender.
To Make the Chow Mein
- Once the spaghetti squash is done cooking, use a fork to scrape out of the inside of the squash into long strands. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add in the crushed garlic and finely chopped onion and sauté until the onion has softened (4 minutes). Add in the ginger, carrot and cabbage and continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes unit the carrots are tender and the cabbage has wilted.
- In a sauce pan combine all of the ingredients for the sauce and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let is simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the spaghetti squash, spring onions and shredded chicken to the large pan with the sautéed vegetables. Pour over the sauce and stir until well combined. Garnish with a sprinkle of green onions before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I have a strong affinity for eastern cuisine and was thrilled to come upon this recipe
I love oriental food and was excited to find this recipe. I made it pretty exact to the measurements but found I needed to double the sauce recipe as the flavors got lost in the giant wok of vegetables. I can’t believe how close spaghetti squash gets to chow mein!
Sorry, but coconut aminos are not permitted on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Otherwise, this appears to be a good recipe for people following SCD.
I love this recipe! I left out the cabbage and coconut aminos (used extra sesame oil) and added peanuts. It was so good. Thank you for sharing this!
I absolutely love this recipe> There’s a lot of prep work, but it’s so worth it! I might use less ginger next time, but the chow mein is better than a chinese restaurant!
You have this recipe listed under VEGAN, ooops
As listed in both the blog post and recipe notes you can swap the shredded chicken for sauteed shiitake mushrooms to make the recipe vegan and vegetarian.
Also to answer your question from Laurens Post
YES! save the seeds from your favorite vegetables and they are easy to grow in an outdoor space!
Squash are one the easiest plants to grow and they like to vine out and produce lots!
next time you clean out a Spaghetti squash, pick the seeds out and leave them to dry on a paper towel on your counter, Then you can store them in a baggie until the spring and plant them!
A great resource for how to save seeds from all your vegetables is https://www.rockymountainseeds.org
wow! I am so grateful for you sharing your work! I am just starting out on the SCD and I get overwhelmed easily and let myself get to hungry. I love to cook and these recipes look amazing and fun which I appreciate
really really appreciate all your creativity and willingness to share!
Thank you
Thank you so much for this recipe. Like other people said, we will be making it again. Because of a communication mistake we ended up making a double batch and we are thrilled to have the leftovers. As you noted in your blog it doesn’t leave you feeling sluggish and it was a great healthy dish.
I’m new to your blog but I look forward to checking out more of your posts. Also I’ve already tagged your Spanish-chicken-chorizo-traybake for next week.
To Lauren who commented below. You noted that you are new to spaghetti squash. When you baked it, did you put it rind side up or down? If you put it rind side up it cooks nicely and you shouldn’t have any issues with liquid in that they would drain down on to your tray. It steams nicely and cooks through with no trouble. Hopefully that helps!
This was incredible! First time using spaghetti squash. I do plan to make it a more regular dinner option! Sadly our mainstream supermarkets don’t sell them, it was given to us by a friend, but I have the seeds to plant in veggie garden!
Ours spaghetti squash came out a little soggy, may be my fault as there was liquid in it when i used fork to scrape it. Maybe I should have strained it before adding to wok?
I would love to hear if you are able to grow the spaghetti squash using the seeds! Next time I would recommend removing all of the liquid before scraping out the squash and adding it to the wok, I think that that will help ensure that it isnt soggy.
Delicious! I would have never known this was “alternative” chow mein. Kids loved it too. I added egg and white radish instead of ginger. Next time I might double the sauce, but adding extra liquid aminos to fit each personal preference works too. Will definitely make again!
I’m so happy that the whole family enjoyed it!! Yes you can definitely use this recipe as a template and adapt the protein or sauces as you prefer.
I cut in rings to roast it more quickly – with more touching the pan I think there would be more crispy parts!
I love that tip!
I just made this and it’s really good! I added more chicken so I made extra sauce. Any advice on how to cook spaghetti squash so it’s a little more crispy?
So happy to hear that it was a hit! I would under cook the spaghetti squash so that its not too mushy and then when you add it into the pan turn the heat up a bit so that it becomes slightly crispy.
Like other posters, I am not usually a spaghetti squash fan. I was skeptical. But this tasted so good! Even my 6 yo son cleaned his plate. 🙂 We didn’t have Napa cabbage, so I used thinly shredded green cabbage, which worked really well. I also added some celery (1 stalk, sliced) because I can’t imagine chow mein without celery, and I liked the added crunch. We topped ours with cilantro leaves and toasted cashews. Next time (and there will be a next time!), I think I’ll add some sliced shiitake mushrooms to add some flavor richness. The great thing about this recipe is that it seems like it can handle lots of variation. Thanks so much! This one’s a keeper.
Wow i’m so impressed that your son even enjoyed it! Love the idea of adding shiitake mushrooms, that would be delicious and you are absolutely right, shrimp, bok choy, broccolini, beef, there are so many things you could add to this. Thank you for the comment!
Omg this recipe is AMAZING, will be a repeat for sure ????
Haha so happy that you enjoyed it!! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This is such a delicious recipe! I was so skeptical of whether it would really taste like chow mein but it totally does! Who knew you could have healthy chow mein!
Haha I’m so happy that as a skeptic it passed the test!
This recipe is so good! Normally I don’t love spaghetti squash, but you can’t tell in this recipe. Only change I made was I sauteed sliced chicken breast in soy sauce first because I prefer pieces rather than shredded chicken. And topped it off with sriracha!!
Thanks Jordan! I’m totally the same, don’t love the texture of spaghetti squash on its own, but it seems to be well hidden in this dish. So happy you enjoyed it!