Skip to main content

Spaghetti squash with mussels is easy, budget-friendly, and perfect for fall

This spaghetti squash recipe will be the star of your meal

When fall foods come to mind, one doesn’t often think of shellfish, but September is when so much of the best seafood comes into season. Mussels are one such treat. A less popular and highly underrated member of the mollusk family, mussels often take a backseat to their more fashionable cousins, like clams and oysters. This is a real shame, because mussels are absolutely delicious, very affordable, easy-to-cook, delectable treats, and you should start eating them asap. They’re also a wonderful source of protein, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Simply steamed in a bath of white wine, broiled, or grilled, these little delicacies are sure to win you over. Our favorite preparation, though, is served over a bed of another fabulous autumn ingredient — spaghetti squash. When paired together, these two underdogs of the fall food list are a thing of perfection. Spaghetti squash is a delightful alternative to other fall squashes as it not only has a beautifully mild sweetness, but a wonderful, fun spaghetti-like shape.

Related Videos

A few notes on selecting and storing mussels: Always be sure your mussels are fresh (alive), by checking that each one is tightly closed when purchased. The shells should have a nice shine to them, and their scent should be pleasantly salty, like the sea. There should be no trace of a “fishy” smell. You can store your mussels in a bowl in the refrigerator, covered with a damp cloth for up to about a day before cooking.

Spaghetti squash with mussels recipe

Lindsay Parrill/The Manual

This recipe will serve about four…technically. In our experience, though, this dish is so good that the “serving size” isn’t always enough. You may want to double the recipe. Be sure to serve with lots of warm, buttery, crusty bread because the sauce is too good to lose even a drop.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large spaghetti squash
  • 1 pound of fresh mussels
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 yellow onion, minced
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Rinse mussels in cold water and set aside.
  3. Cut both squashes in half vertically, and remove pulp and seeds with a spoon.
  4.  Place all four squash halves cut side up on a baking sheet, drizzle with 4 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and Old Bay.
  5. Bake for 1 hour or until squash is fork tender.
  6. When squash is nearly done, sauté onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft.
  7. Add garlic and continue to cook until onion and garlic are slightly caramelized.
  8. Add chicken stock, wine, lemon juice, and cream, and stir to combine.
  9. Immediately add mussels and cover the pot with a lid.
  10. Simmer, covered, 5-7 minutes until all of the mussels have opened. Discard any that haven’t.
  11. While mussels are cooking, scrape the inside of the squash with a fork, mix, and place onto a serving platter. The squash will resemble spaghetti.
  12. Pour mussel mixture over the squash, garnish with parsley, and serve.

Not only is this dish incredibly delicious, but it’s almost embarrassingly easy to make, very budget-friendly, and impressive enough for guests. So while we all adore a buttery pumpkin soup or warm bowl of chili on a crisp fall evening, why not branch out and try something a little bit different? We’re sure this will be a repeat dish in your fall recipe repertoire.

Editors' Recommendations

Feeling adventurous? 5 of the weirdest cocktails from around the globe
Would you order a cocktail with a pickled human toe? You can in Canada, apparently
unusual and unique cocktails sourtoe cocktail

We all love a good cocktail, but it's easy to tire of the classics. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly frosty, salted-rimmed margarita, or a warm-to-your-bones, cherry-topped old-fashioned, but sometimes, you just want something new. Something that makes you think. Something that, perhaps, gives you a chuckle. These are those cocktails.
Pig's Blood Piña Colada (USA)

Back in 2014, bartender Jason Brown of Chicago's Kinmont restaurant and bar, concocted this cocktail after listening to a Werewolves of London lyric about a werewolf drinking a pina colada. His creativity sparked, and the "Werewolves of London" cocktail was born.

Read more
These foods high in melatonin will help you sleep better
Get a better sleep naturally by eating these 9 melatonin foods
Hands holding wine grapes.

Getting a quality night's sleep becomes more and more of a challenge as we age. Some of us have tried blackout curtains, sleep masks, weighted blankets, or any number of supplements promising better rest. If you're looking for an all-natural solution, though, melatonin is the way to go. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally in the pineal gland in the brain. Among several functions, melatonin plays a key role in regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, or sleep-wake cycles. Accordingly, the pineal gland produces more melatonin when the sun goes down, and levels dip at daybreak. Foods high in melatonin or even melatonin supplements are a popular way to increase the concentration of melatonin and possibly improve the quality and quantity of sleep.
Melatonin supplements are typically non-habit-forming and safe for adults and children in doses of around 0.5 to 5 milligrams. However, melatonin supplements may cause drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness, and they can interfere with certain medications.

Fortunately, if you’re looking to support your body’s own natural melatonin levels but you don’t want to rely on supplements, there are several sleep-aid foods that contain melatonin. Adding any of these foods high in melatonin to your dinner plate or bedtime snack routine may help regulate your sleep patterns over time and help you get more restful sleep. Though little nutritional data exists about the specific concentration of melatonin in different foods, the following foods are known to be particularly high in melatonin.

Read more
The 8 best protein shakes that are ready-to-go
These shakes come with all the good stuff, and none of the crap
Svelte

With as busy as we have become as a society, we always seem to be on the go. This can make life challenging, especially when it comes to wellness goals. In a perfect world, you could hit the gym hard, crush a workout, then immediately refuel with a balanced, home-cooked meal. But, since life happens and we are always on the go, it’s not always feasible to take the time to actually cook up a muscle-building meal right after your workout. Whether you’re on the go and short on time, or just can't stomach a full meal after exercising, having a quick and easy, protein-packed option that doesn’t require kitchen time, is a helpful alternative to refuel your body and maximize your results.

This is where protein shakes come in handy. Numerous ready-to-drink shakes are available that provide muscle-building protein, vitamins, minerals, and calories to fortify your body after a workout. They offer the benefits of protein powders with the convenience of eliminating the need for a shaker bottle, or high-speed blender, let alone making a mess with powders. Simply give the bottle a quick shake, pop the top, and you’re good to go.

Read more