Plant-based roasted portobello mushroom and spaghetti squash parmesan
One of my favorite things to do is take a warm, cozy comfort food and find a way to make it super clean and healthy - without sacrificing the flavor.
So that’s what I tried to do here with this veggie-loaded roasted portobello spaghetti squash parm - my take on the classic eggplant parmesan. But instead of one simple vegetable as the center piece, it has many - giving you a greater variety of nutrients per serving . And instead of heavy cheese or even highly-processed vegan cheese, I used nutritional yeast, which is just one single ingredients and an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants (it even contains a bit of protein).
Unlike most of my recipes, this one is a little more high maintenance, since it has more moving parts (don’t panic, all that means is you’ll need the stove and oven going at the same time). That said, it can still be made in just 20-30 minutes.
Before you get started, here are a couple of important things to know that will help make this dish is as easy and flavorful as possible when you go to make it yourself.
First, I recommend choosing a very flavorful tomato sauce such as Raos as your base. A great tomato sauce means less work for you to come up with all the right herbs and spices to achieve the best flavor.
And second, I used a freeze-dried spaghetti squash instead of baking a fresh one. This will save you a ton of time and will give you the same taste and texture as baking your own fresh spaghetti squash. Either will work but do know that the cook/prep time reflects this.
Finally, while there’s not much protein in this dish (apart from what the vegetables and nutritional yeast offer), you can easily dice up some tofu, tempeh or throw some frozen edamame into the vegetable marina if you’d like. It would probably be delicious.
As always, feel free to riff on some of the ingredients and do your own thing where you see fit. Let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love to hear from you!
Enjoy!
Roasted portobello mushroom and spaghetti squash parmesan
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Yields: 2 servings
Ingredients:
2 portobello mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed
1/3 package of freeze dried spaghetti squash by Solely
2 tbsp vegetable broth or water
1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup Raos tomato sauce
2 cups leafy greens such as kale or spinach, roughly chopped
small handful of fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place portobellos on top and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
Place a small saucepan filled with water on medium to high heat, and bring to a boil. Add spaghetti squash, and reduce to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, and stir every 1-2 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
Place a large skillet on low-medium heat, add broth/water and vegetables (except leafy greens) and mix well.
Once vegetables begin to soften (after about 5 minutes), transfer and stir in spaghetti squash, add tomato sauce and mix well. Then, add leafy greens and basil and continue to mix well. Reduce to a low heat and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir often.
Remove portobellos from the oven, allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
Once cooled, make sure the bottom of the portobellos are facing upward. Take the spaghetti squash vegetable marinara and place on top of the portobellos. Add salt and pepper, and top each portobello with a healthy amount of nutritional yeast. Serve warm.
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