If you are a fan of pesto then you will like this recipe. I find pesto belongs to “love or hate it” foods.
This pesto sauce is super healthy. Made with spinach, barely any oil and sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts. Sunflower seeds are lower in calories, fat and higher in protein than traditionally used pine nuts. That’s why I chose them.
Served with spaghetti squash instead of traditional spaghetti. Saves lots of carbs. It is quite a clean dish. Of course you can serve the pesto with whole wheat spaghetti.
It is gluten free, vegetarian and could be vegan if you omit the parmesan cheese.
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Wash squash, cut in halves lengthwise and spoon the seeds out. Punch randomly with a fork, place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes.
Take out of the oven, let it cool and separate the strands with the fork.
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup basil leaves, packed
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted & salted
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, large
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/8 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- Extra parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Wash squash, cut in halves lengthwise and spoon the seeds out. Punch randomly with a fork, place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Take the squash out of the oven, let it cool and separate the strands with the fork. Place in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine all remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You will have to stop and scrape the pesto off the sides of the food processor bowl. Keep blending until desired consistency.
- Gently mix pesto with spaghetti squash and serve with extra parmesan cheese on top. Serve hot.
Nutritional Info for Pesto Only
Servings Per Recipe: 3
Amount Per Serving: 1/4 cup
Calories: 194.0
Total Fat: 17.3 g
Cholesterol: 6.6 mg
Sodium: 842.1 mg
Total Carbs: 4.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 6.2 g
WW Points+: 5
Nutritional Info for Pesto & Spaghetti Squash
Servings Per Recipe: 3
Amount Per Serving: 1.5 cup squash & 1/4 cup pesto
Calories: 248.9
Total Fat: 17.3 g
Cholesterol: 6.6 mg
Sodium: 869.9 mg
Total Carbs: 15.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.8 g
Protein: 7.2 g
WW Points+: 6