I love cheesy hashbrown casserole. Love it. What I don’t love is how many calories it packs per serving (almost 400!) Now that we’re eating in a much healthier way – let me tell you – if I’m going to eat 400 calories, it’s going to be a piece of cake – not hashbrown casserole!

I’ve been replacing just about everything I can think of with squash (seriously – we eat a LOT of squash), so attempting to make my favorite unhealthy-but-oh-so-good side dish with spaghetti squash just seemed natural.

My husband puts up with all of the squash I serve him – but he’s not always a huge fan. So tonight when he looked over at me and said, “This is good. You could blog this.” I knew I had a winner. It really is good. If plate-licking were a habit I’d be cool with my kids having, I totally would have done it tonight.

This is still squash-based. It’s not a miracle recipe. You can still taste squash – and squash doesn’t have the same taste or texture as hashbrowns. HOWEVER, the sauce is spot on and really gives you that cheesy hashbrown casserole taste.

Ingredients

1 whole spaghetti squash

1 can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken soup

1 can 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (*I added about 1/2 cup in the dish, and sprinkled another 1/4 cup on top.)

salt and pepper to taste

 

To Prepare

Spaghetti squash is HARD to cut. (I’m not kidding – it makes me feel like a serial killer the way I have to hack at it with a knife!) So, we are going to cook this baby WHOLE in the microwave!!

Make several good cuts on each side of the spaghetti squash. Microwave the squash 5 minutes at a time. My squash took about 12 minutes in the microwave. (*Most will take between 10-15 minutes to soften.)

Once soft, cut the squash in half. Remove the seeds. Now you can string that beautiful squash.

I like to hold half of the squash with an oven mitt, and use a fork to scrape out the strings. Set the spaghetti squash strings aside.

In a baking dish, mix together the soups and the sour cream. Mix in the cheese and salt and pepper.

Add the spaghetti squash to the sauce, and mix well.

Add a sprinkle of cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The dish will be nice and bubbly.

If you divide the dish into 6 servings, each serving is under 120 calories. If you divide it into 8 servings, it’s under 100! (*Calories were calculated using the Recipe Calculator at verywellfit.com. I like to use tools like this for a  “rough” estimate. I wouldn’t swear by these calorie counts, but it’s probably pretty close! And I know it’s a LOT less than the way I usually make Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole!!)