BBQ Chicken Spaghetti Squash Boats

I’ve spent the last two days trying to readjust my sleep schedule. I usually work nights (11pm-7:30am), but for the next few days I’ll be working in the land of the living.

It’s been more than a year since I’ve been to work when normal people are there. I’m so used to spending mass amounts of quality time with myself, since I only work with one other person for more than half of my days. How am I going to handle groups of people!? I zone in 100% into my work since nobody is usually around me. I play music all night. I’m used to making hard decisions by myself.

This will be a weird change of pace, to say the least.

Since my schedule is disrupted, I need to make sure my food prepping isn’t. I made a few things yesterday and plan on making more today before I go into work this afternoon. I usually intermittently fast through the weekdays, not eating until 4:30 am (I wake up at 9:30pm). I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep that up for the next few days—but I guess I can try.

We’re talking mass amounts of comfort food this week. I’m still staying on the squash kick, but will be making all of my comfort food faves with squash. First up is this: barbecue chicken spaghetti squash.

I’m talking barbecue chicken along the same lines as the California Pizza Kitchen pizza, my all-time favorite frozen pizza. Shredded chicken, smoked gouda, red onion, bacon—you know the one. Anytime I’m feeling down or blue I would always turn to that pizza. And don’t judge—more often than not, I’d eat the whole pizza in one sitting.

This spaghetti squash version has all of the same qualities of that classic pizza with a lot less guilt. Spaghetti squash is low(er) carb than a pizza crust, even if the crust you choose is thin. The only obstacle I had to overcome was finding a keto-friendly barbecue sauce.

That was pretty much impossible. I just had to make my own. I used this recipe from Wholesome Yum and it came out amazing. It tasted exactly like a tangy, sweet, slightly-spicy barbecue sauce! I now have a whole jug of it my fridge ready for my next barbecue recipe.

BBQ Chicken Spaghetti Squash Boats

• Servings: 4
• Time: 40 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Cheesy, smoky barbecue chicken bake inside of spaghetti squash with bacon and red onions.

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (I used rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half and deseeded
• 1 TBS. olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup smoked gouda, shredded
• 1 cup crumbled bacon
• 1/2 a red onion, diced
• Green onions, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush olive oil over spaghetti squash halves and season with salt and pepper. Lay on a baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until squash flakes easily with a fork. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, toss shredded chicken with barbecue sauce. Add half of the red onions and half of the bacon and stir.
3. Shred spaghetti squash and add to chicken bowl. Toss together until everything is well mixed. Spoon chicken mixture back into spaghetti squash halves and top with cheeses and the rest of the bacon & onions.
4. Return squash to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve with green onions sprinkled on top.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush olive oil over spaghetti squash halves and season with salt and pepper. Lay on a baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until squash flakes easily with a fork. Let cool.

Meanwhile, toss shredded chicken with barbecue sauce. Add half of the red onions and half of the bacon and stir.

Shred spaghetti squash and add to chicken bowl. Toss together until everything is well mixed. Spoon chicken mixture back into spaghetti squash halves and top with cheeses and the rest of the bacon & onions.

Return squash to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve with green onions sprinkled on top.