We love this easy spaghetti squash with chicken, parmesan, and fresh lemon. Healthy, delicious, and one of our favorite spaghetti squash recipes!
This recipe is one of my favorite ways to serve spaghetti squash! I find plain spaghetti squash a bit dull, so I love this recipe with butter cooked chicken, parmesan cheese, and plenty of lemon. It’s easy and absolutely delicious. It keeps well, too. Leftovers make a perfect lunch the next day.
If you have other varieties of winter squash in the kitchen, try our roasted butternut squash, roasted acorn squash, or this parmesan roasted delicata squash!
Key Ingredients
- Spaghetti Squash: Choose a firm spaghetti squash without any soft spots. It should feel heavy for its size. I’m also picky about the stem and like to choose squash with it still intact (look for it to be dry, short, and rounded). I roast my squash for this recipe. For more tips on roasting spaghetti squash, see how to cook spaghetti squash.
- Chicken: I love boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this recipe, but chicken breasts work really well, too! Use what you have or love. I cook the chicken in butter and olive oil.
- Parmesan: I love Parmigiano-Reggiano, but other cheeses work great here. Try a sharp cheddar, feta, creamy goat cheese, or Gruyère. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s flavorful so it bumps up the flavor of our roasted squash.
- Lemon: I use lemon juice to deglaze the pan after cooking the chicken. It brightens up the chicken’s flavor and mixes nicely with the butter in the skillet.
- Parsley: I use a generous amount of fresh parsley for color and flavor. It’s optional, but I love it!
How to Make Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
I roast my spaghetti squash before mixing it with the chicken. You do this the same day or ahead of time (roasted spaghetti squash lasts a week in the fridge).
To roast it, cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and rub the flesh with oil. Then, roast the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet until tender in a 375°F oven.
While the squash roasts, you can prepare the chicken. I cut it into 1-inch pieces, season them with salt, and then cook them in a skillet with olive oil and butter until browned on all sides and cooked in the middle.
Then, I squeeze in fresh lemon juice to help scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. From there, you can stir in the spaghetti squash, cheese, and parsley and season as needed with salt and pepper. It’s easy and delicious!
Parmesan Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
If you find plain spaghetti squash dull, I highly recommend trying this spaghetti squash with chicken! It’s super flavorful and delicious. What used to be boring turns into something that’s almost impossible to stop eating. I love chicken thighs, but you can substitute chicken breasts if you’d prefer.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 medium spaghetti squash, 2 ½ to 3 pounds
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for roasting the squash
1 tablespoon butter
1 ¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lemon, halved
3/4 cup grated parmesan, pecorino or a mixture, 2 ounces
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Roast Spaghetti Squash
1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a rimmed baking sheet (or large baking dish) with parchment paper.
2Use a heavy chef’s knife to cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Pierce the knife into the middle of the squash and cut it from stem to end, but don’t try to cut through the stem (it’s too tough). Remove the knife, then pull the two halves apart.
3Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Lightly drizzle the cut side of each squash half with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
4Place the squash on the baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
5Roast the spaghetti squash halves until they are soft and easily pierced with a knife, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Prepare Chicken
1Start cooking the chicken about 20 minutes before the squash finishes baking. Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks, season with salt, and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
2Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter sizzles, add the chicken thighs and cook until nicely browned on one side, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook another 5 to 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
3Add the juice of half a lemon and cook for about 30 seconds, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
4When the squash is ready, flip the halves so that the cut side is facing up and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
5Run a fork through the flesh to separate the “spaghettilike” strands, and place in the skillet with chicken. Stir in most of the cheese, parsley, and some fresh ground pepper. Serve with more cheese and an extra squeeze of lemon juice on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Cutting the squash: This spaghetti squash video shows you two ways to cut the squash. I highly recommend watching.
- Microwave the squash: If you are short on time, you can microwave the squash. See how to cook spaghetti squash to learn how we do it.
- Roasting the spaghetti squash seeds: You can roast them just like pumpkin seeds! Use our roasted pumpkin seeds recipe as a guide.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We omitted salt from the calculations since you will need to add to your tastes.
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So, every Thursday evening I cook a meal for our Bible study group. (My husband is the pastor) Usually there are 15-20 people attending. Today I found myself in a jam. No time to run to the store so I went through my cupboards and freezer. I had 1 3lb pack of boneless thighs and like 9 spaghetti squash a friend had given us. I grabbed my phone and typed in “Chicken and spaghetti squash recipes” your page popped up so I decided that’s what’s for dinner! I’ve made it, and will let you know tomorrow how everyone liked it. (Bible study is at 6:30 tonight)
This was DELICIOUS! The only thing I would do differently next time is use a larger spaghetti squash! I DID toss fresh rosemary under the squash before baking.
Delicious! Will definitely make again!
So happy you enjoyed it!
This recipe is now a repeat. It’s soooo good!!
This was amazing we added more lemon,minced garlic is and we shallots. Even my dogs loved it mixed in with their kibble! Will definitely make this again.
I think this recipe is a great BASE. It’s lacking seasoning as it is. Based on other reviews, I added the following: sauteed onion, garlic, then added sliced mushrooms and cooked a bit. Instead of adding lemon, I put in a small jar of artichoke hearts (drained) PLUS a couple Tablespoons of capers (with some brine). Added a good dash of red pepper flake and cayanne. Also initially seasoned the chicken liberally with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. This added acid for brightness, but not too much. We sprinkled the romano/parmesean cheese on the top. It was delicious this way! The best way to cook spaghetti squash is roasting. The rosemary sprigs were a very nice touch but it’s not noted in the recipe (only in the video). The microwave method always makes it watery.
Thank you so much for sharing your adaptations! I love how you’ve built on the base recipe with the artichoke hearts, capers, and extra seasonings. It sounds absolutely delicious, and I agree about roasting the spaghetti squash – the best way for sure!
I added red onion, and chopped up rutabaga. Go figure. I just needed to use it so why not? It added some crunch and a little bit of sweetness. I also used mozzarella because we didn’t have parmesan. We do dairy free and gluten-free at our house.
I loved this dish but I will say that I did add fresh garlic, onion, mushrooms and asparagus. I also added some rosemary, crushed red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning.
This was an absolutely DELICIOUS recipe. We so enjoyed it. I’d never cooked or had spaghetti squash before. Cooked as per the recipe. Wonderful. Will definitely make it again. Thank you.
Pretty good!