Pistachio Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Chicken Sausage + Goat Cheese Recipe

Long title, short ingredient list, full belly. Mama like.

I’m already a tinge uhbsessed with spaghetti squash but I’m not going to lie, it took some convincing at first. Pasta is reaaall hard to replace because, pasta. So I’m not gonna tout this as a replacement… but just as an alternative that promises a flavor punch.

I first came upon this pistachio pesto recipe and fell in love with the flavors, but really wanted to lighten it up. Most pestos are made up of four simple elements: nuts, herbs, cheese and oil. The most traditional combo is pine nuts + basil + parmesan + olive oil… howevs you can easily switch up any of these four elements to make something of your own. I had a freakout when I figured out you can replace the oil with avocado – that was a game changer.

So hold onto your hats… where we’re going, we don’t need roads. We just need squash. And pesto with pistachios!!!!

PISTACHIO PESTO SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH CHICKEN SAUSAGE + GOAT CHEESE

serves 4

1 medium spaghetti squash
4 links chicken sausage (spicy or mild), about 1 lb.
1/2 4-oz. log plain goat cheese or 2 tbs. goat cheese crumbles
olive oil
salt + pepper

pistachio pesto

1 small package organic basil, roughly chopped
1/2 cup hulled pistachios
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
1/2 ripe avocado, diced
1-2 tbs. water (as needed)

for spaghetti squash: preheat oven to 400. Slice your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and using a silverware spoon, scoop out the seeds and any slimy strings from the middle and discard. Place two halves on a cooking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Turn cut-side down onto sheet pan and roast for 40 minutes. Remove to cool.

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Snip the edges of each sausage link and remove the ground meat from their casings into heated pan. Using wooden spoon, break up meat into bite-sized pieces and cook until meat is no longer pink. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove ground meat from pan and place onto plate covered with paper towel to drain extra oil. Place sausage into serving bowl.

Once your squash halves have cooled enough to handle, take a fork and run in it lengthwise to loosen up “pasta” strands. Add squash strands into bowl with sausage. Add in goat cheese crumbles and pistachio pesto, tossing with tongs to combine. Serve warm!

for pesto: Combine chopped basil, pistachios, cheese and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until well nuts are well chopped. Add avocado and blend until smooth. If pesto is too thick, add 1 tbs. of water and blend. Continue thinning with water by the tbs. if needed.