With its distinctive spaghetti-like texture and a light, slightly sweet flavor that takes so well to smoking, Smoked Spaghetti Squash is an easy side dish that turns out perfectly. A blank canvass for flavor, smoking spaghetti squash is easy, and I, Chef Jenn, will show you just how to do it!
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Dressed with a bit of garlic butter, parsley, and red pepper flakes, this Smoked Spaghetti Squash doesn’t get much better. It cooks up low and slow, making it a great pick to pair alongside just about anything else you’ve got cooking. Plus, this Traeger spaghetti squash recipe is easy enough for even novice smokers to handle.
What You Need To Smoke Spaghetti Squash
- Traeger Pellet Smoker/Grill
- Hardwood pellets – or your favorite blend
- Spaghetti squash – see my notes below on how much and how to buy it
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
How To Buy Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash come in a variety of sizes, but you always want to pick on that feels heavy for its size, and that has a hard and firm skin. Don’t worry about blemishes too much, especially on the bottom. This vegetable does grow on top of the ground and it’s not unusual for them to be scarred or discolored on the bottom.
Because the size can vary so much, my rule of thumb is to get about 6-8 ounces of uncooked spaghetti squash per person. That yields a reasonably sized portion. If you’ve got big eaters, go closer to 10 ounces per person, of uncooked weight.
How To Prepare a Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash are big, round, and wiggly – perfect for making cutting them open a knuckle-biting anxiety-riddled affair. Some people suggest popping them into the microwave for a few minutes to help soften the skin, but this never really worked for me. Instead, here are my tips on cutting a spaghetti squash without losing your fingers:
- Get a big knife. A seriously big knife, like a chef’s knife. And a cutting board.
- You want to cut the squash from stem to end, so cutting it lengthwise. To cut it, insert the tip of the knife into the squash and pull the knife down toward you, cutting through the tough outers skin as you go. Hold the squash still with your other hand.
- Instead of trying to cut the squash open in one turn, pull your knife out, spin the squash around 180 degrees, and do the whole thing again, this time cutting in the opposite direction.
- Flip the squash over and repeat until the squash is fully cut in half.
How To Smoke Spaghetti Squash on the Traeger
- Load the Traeger’s hopper with the pellets. This isn’t a super long smoke so which kind of pellet you use isn’t really an issue. I use a good hardwood or blend.
- Set the Traeger to 180F or smoke – you want to give the squash a good dose of smoke before turning up the heat.
- Drizzle the cut and seeded spaghetti squash with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
- Place the squash into the smoker, cut side facing up. Smoke it at 180-F for about 30 minutes to give it a lovely smoky flavor.
- Turn the heat up to 350-F and cook for an additional 50-60 minutes or until it is fork tender and easily shreds into spaghetti strands.
- Remove the squash from the smoker and top it how you like it!
This full-color ebook cookbook features more than 50 of Chef Jenn’s tried, tested, and favorite smoker recipes! Enjoy:
- Smoked Beef Kabobs
- Smoked Chicken Thighs
- Smoked Bacon-Wrapped Pork Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
- Smoked Spaghetti Squash with Herbs
and so much more!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- This Traeger spaghetti squash recipe is pretty simple, and lends itself to plenty of flavors. My favorite are garlic and butter, Parmesan and herbs, and if the kids are around, they love it with marinara sauce.
- How to tell your spaghetti squash is cooked? It should be fork tender and it should pull away easily into strands when you pull at it with a fork.
- Spaghetti squash needs a fair bit of salt, so make sure you liberally sprinkle each cut half with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
WHat To Serve With Smoked Spaghetti Squash
This is a smoked side dish recipe that pairs so well with other grilled or smoked dishes. Try it with Smoked Tri Tip, Smoked Shrimp, or Smoked Chicken Thighs. If you have a Blackstone, try it with this steak or whip out the air fryer to make these air fryer chicken thighs. Or, keep your meal lighter with a serving of this authentic Burmese khao suey soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
That all depends on the cooking temperature and the size of your squash. Because the size can vary so much, allow for a least 50 minutes if cooking it at 350F. Smoking spaghetti squash takes longer because the heat is lower, so count on at least 90 minutes including the low smoke time.
Technically you can, yes, but squash has such a high water content that it tends to get mushy and watery when frozen and thawed. I much prefer to eat it fresh. The good news is that it’ll keep in the fridge for a few days, if tightly covered.
Yes! It is a low calorie low carb vegetable and as long as you don’t drown it in butter or a creamy sauce, this is a veggie you can feel good about eating.
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Step By Step Process
Smoked Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Load the Traeger's hopper with the pellets. This isn't a super long smoke so which kind of pellet you use isn't really an issue. I use a good hardwood or blend.
- Set the Traeger to 180F or smoke – you want to give the squash a good dose of smoke before turning up the heat.
- Drizzle the cut and seeded spaghetti squash with the olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
- Place the squash into the smoker, cut side facing up. Smoke it at 180-F for about 30 minutes to give it a lovely smoky flavor.
- Turn the heat up to 350-F and cook for an additional 50-60 minutes or until it is fork tender and easily shreds into spaghetti strands.
- Remove the squash from the smoker and top it how you like it!
Notes
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- This Traeger spaghetti squash recipe is pretty simple, and lends itself to plenty of flavors. My favorite are garlic and butter, Parmesan and herbs, and if the kids are around, they love it with marinara sauce.
- How to tell your spaghetti squash is cooked? It should be fork tender and it should pull away easily into strands when you pull at it with a fork.
- Spaghetti squash needs a fair bit of salt, so make sure you liberally sprinkle each cut half with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.
