Beef and Mushroom Ragu with Spaghetti Squash
I swapped traditional pasta for roasted spaghetti squash to enjoy this cozy and delicious Beef and Mushroom Ragu served with a dallop of ricotta and grated Pecorino Romano – you won’t miss the pasta!
This dish is totally satisfying, without being too heavy. I made this for my family and everyone loved it! It makes a lot of sauce, so we had enough for leftovers the next day.
I made the Ragu in my Instant Pot, but you can also make it on the stove. I’ve included directions for both.
Although you can make the spaghetti squash in the pressure cooker or microwave, I much prefer to roast it for the best taste and texture. I usually look for medium sized ones so I can serve the sauce right in the squash to use as bowls, but you can also transfer it to a dish. Roast the spaghetti squash in the oven until tender, then scrape out the flesh with a fork, the squash comes apart in spaghetti-like strands that hold the sauce well. You can serve this over pasta if you prefer.
Freezer Directions:
- The mushroom beef sauce is freezer friendly, I recommend serving this for dinner one night and freezing the rest for another night. To reheat, leave it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw, then reheat on the stove or pressure cooker. It will taste as good as it did the day you made it!
- Spaghetti squash does not freeze well so I would plan to cook just enough. It does last for several days in the refrigerator, you can store any extra in ziplock plastic bags to reheat later.
A few more spaghetti squash recipes I think you may enjoy:
- Spaghetti Squash Turkey Taco Boats
- Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats
- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
- Spaghetti Squash “Mac” and Cheese
Beef and Mushroom Ragu with Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 4 medium spaghetti squash, halved and roasted
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pound chuck eye roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces*
- kosher salt
- fresh black pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 35-ounce can Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup water
- Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese rind, optional
- 1 teaspoon beef boullion, Better than Boullion
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- For serving:
- 8 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano, for serving
- 8 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese, for serving
- chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Press saute on the Instant Pot and heat the oil, add the onions, carrots and garlic and cook until golden, about 3 minutes.
- Season the beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper then transfer to the pressure cooker.
- Top with mushrooms then pour the tomatoes and water over the beef, add the boullion, cheese rind, bay leaves and thyme.
- Cover and cook high pressure, 45 minutes. Quick or natural release.
- Let the pressure release, discard bay leaves, thyme and rind.
- Transfer the beef to a plate and shred the meat with two forks, return to the sauce.
- To serve, place just under 1 cup sauce over each spaghetti squash half, 1 tablespoon of grated Percorino Romano and 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese. Finish with parsley and serve hot.
Stove Top:
- In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high, add the onions, carrots and garlic and cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Season the beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper then transfer to the pot.
- Top with mushrooms then pour the tomatoes and 1/2 cup water over the beef, add the boullion, cheese rind, bay leaves and thyme.
- Cover and cook low heat, until the meat is tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
- Discard bay leaves, thyme and rind.
- Transfer the beef to a plate and shred the meat with two forks, return to the sauce.
- To serve, place just under 1 cup sauce over each spaghetti squash half, 1 tablespoon of grated Percorino Romano and 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese. Finish with parsley and serve hot.
Will this recipe fit in a 6-quart Instant Pot or is this for a larger capacity?
Do the calories include the spaghetti squash?
Yes
I love spaghetti squash as an alternative to pasta so when I saw this recipe I added it to my list to try eventually. Nowadays I have plenty of time and nowhere to go, so I made it tonight. I had closer to 2 pounds of chuck roast and I was afraid it would be too meaty but that wasn’t the case. I cooked it in the IP for an hour and let it naturally release for 15 minutes. It was a little on the watery side but I added a tablespoon of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of water and put the IP on saute mode for 10 minutes and it thickened up nicely. Nobody else in my family would ever sub squash for pasta so the rest had their sauce over penne. My son is anti-red meat but he loved it. The whole family raved and went back for seconds. I will be making this more often!
So good! I used shiitake mushrooms and it was a hit.
This recipe is absolutely delicious!
just made this on my instapot and its delicious! I have never made any beef just beans in my pot and I love it! im Spanish and it reminds me of ropa vieja so I want to try to make that next! ( meat was super soft)
Very easy recipe. A little time consuming but worth it. I used stir fry beef from a local farm, which I bought at my local food co-op. They don’t have a lot of choices on meat cuts so the beef cut specifically for stir frying fit the bill. No need to remove the beef for shredding. Mine was fork tender after cooked in the Instant Pot. Looking forward to using the leftover sauce on more spaghetti squash and maybe on real pasta, too.
Just new to your website. I made this recipe with left over roast beef from french dip sliders. Just prepared the sauce on a skillet and added the prepared beef. Excellent dish and we will definitely make this again. And, we have a couple days of leftovers. Great recipe! Thanks.
Another hit! I bought lean stew meat, before I read to use chuck. So I just put it all in the crock pot. I didn’t sauté the veggies, just put it all in! Easy! I cooked it on high, about 4-5 hours. It wasn’t tender enough to shred, but it was still very good! Going to freeze the leftovers. It was very good and super filling!
I cooked the meat for 45 min in the instapot (actually a mealthypot) and the meat was still very tough. Not sure if it is my pot, the meat, so I’m cooking for 45 minutes more to see what happens.. anyone else have this issue?
I made this recipe on the stovetop but was short on time so didn’t shred the meat. The market didn’t have medium spaghetti squash, only large, so I served it ‘spaghetti style’ from a separate bowl after roasting. I’m trying to get more veg in my menus so the idea was to serve a little ragu on a lot of squash. It’s a good thing I dished up the first serving for everyone because my family loved it so much that the second helping they went for was just the ragu eaten like a bowl of stew! It was much too rich for that, IMO.
Next time I will try it in the slow cooker so it will be tender and shredded. Also, as with your other recipe that I’ve tried, I will multiply this because it is delicious and I love leftovers!
Do I drain the crushed tomatoes before putting it in the Instantpot? Thanks!
No
Hi! When you say 1 teaspoon of beef bullion, am I to just drop 1 teaspoon of the bullion crumbles into the pot? Or dissolve it in water and pour that broth into the pot?
Does 1 cube equal 1 teaspoon? Seems like way more!
Yes 1 regular sized cube = 1 tsp. I would try to dissolve in the some of the liquid.
Bland … Made this and it came out completely bland. Seems like everything I make in the instant pot is bland. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong?
What meal did you make with the left over ragu? Any suggestions?
My boyfriend and I loved this recipe and it was so easy to make! I am making it for a second time tonight. (:
This is the second recipe I’ve done that I have issues with the cut of meat. I have been unable to find chuck eye roast. I think mine said “cross cut”..? And the only reason I care is finding a roast to substitute that doesn’t up the WW points. The wrong cut jumps this recipe up from 4 to anywhere from 8 to 11!
It was also a little watery.
Hi Gina!
The recipe calls for 1/4 cup water, yet the stove top directions say 1/2 cup. Is there a difference in liquid between the instapot and the stove top versions? I am making on the stove, and poured in the 1/2 cup without looking back at the ingredient list. FYI, thanks for your awesome recipes! I have made so many of them and every single recipe has been a hit!
Yes, the liquid between IP and stove top versions will be different, usually by 1/4 of a cup.
Made this in the crock-pot 8hrs on low and it was AWESOME, even without the parm rind. Definitely will be remaking.
Good to know, I was just thinking it would be great in the crock pot, giving all the flavors plenty of time to meld. Thanks. 🙂
How can I find the recipe on WW?
How do I find this recipe on WW?
You can’t find her recipes on WW. Only company recipes can be posted on the WW site. If you want it on the WW app you would have to input the ingredients into the Recipe Builder and it will save as your own. I usually just add it through the Quick Add option since Gina is nice enough to post the points for us. I only input her recipes if I made changes to her original recipe.
This was delicious! Not sure if I did something wrong with the sauce but it was thin after the InstantPot released. I just put the IP on sauté and let it boil for about 10 min. I also skimmed the fat off while it was reducing. It was so good!
Can I use ground chicken or turkey for this? We do not eat red meat. This looks too good to not make.
I have done this with 1.5 pounds of ground turkey, but I brown it prior with the garlic and onion. It taste great.
This looks wonderful!! for 1T each of the cheeses on top, shouldn’t it be 8T each? Also, I’ve never cooked spaghetti squash…do you peel it?
No, 1 tbsp of each per half of squash. No need to peel.
Recipe is easy and delicious. Thank you! Very confused by the amount of carbs. Is that correct?
Are you supposed to brown the meat when you transfer it to the pot? Thanks!!
This is delicious! I have a question. I want to make double the quantity to freeze. How do I change the liquid amounts and the pressure cook time to make this work if I double the other ingredients?
Thanks!
I wish you had put the longer time as well instead of just the instant pot time. Started cooking just to see it would take an extra hr to cook….
I will definitely make this again, easy and delicious comfort food on a cool fall day. All I had at home was sirloin tip steak, so I extended the cooking time in the IP to 70 minutes… the meat shredded beautifully. Thank you for this fantastic recipe, the point value is so low that I may serve it over pasta next time. I would also like to add that the sauce was not watery at all and I didn’t get a burn notice on the instant pot.
Can the Ragu be frozen?
I know this was a while ago but I’m hoping you answer! Is the insant pot directions the same for a normal pressure cooker??
Yes, pretty close in time.
This is the first recipe my hubby and I made with our new Instant Pot and we absolutely love it! This is now a go-to recipe that we prepare weekly! Thank you for the excellent recipe!
This was delicious! This was my first Instant Pot recipe and it came out perfectly. I didn’t have thyme or bay leaves, so I added some extra garlic, salt, and pepper. For the life of me, I could not cut open that dang spaghetti squash to bake so I just microwaved it. My not so health conscious boyfriend ate it over ramen and he loved it, and with the squash, I did not miss the pasta at all. Thanks for the great recipe; I will be making it again!
What is the Cheese rind? Sorry I am just not clear on what that is. Cannot wait to make this!
Thanks
Cindy
I’m sad, the meat turned out extremely tough. I did it in the slow cooker. I am clueless when it comes to buying cuts of meat and didn’t see chuck at all..but i told the clerk at the meat counter what i was doing and they recommended one (i dont even remember what it was, the packaging has been thrown out). it did say ‘pot roast’ so i thought it would work but it was clearly too lean. its not a total loss however..the sauce is nice and i will use it 🙂 just a little sad after waiting 8 hours haha. Are there any other cuts of meat this will work for? I really do hope to get this right one day 🙂
I do have an EDIT: I left it cooking (because why not at this point) and the meat did eventually shred and the recipe tasted really good. I’m confident I can make this again with the right cut of beef 🙂
Suunds like you used top round or bottom round which does not have enough fat for this type of dish.
I’d like to use flank steak instead of chuck. Basically, I’d like to do the Beef Ragu from your cookbook but in the Instant Pot since I don’t have a slow cooker. How long of a cooking time would you recommend? Thank you in advance!
My guess is the same time
Made this tonight, it is delicious! The ricotta cheese really sets this off so make sure not to leave it out. The only thing I would change is the parsley flakes at the end. Would make again!
Love so many of Gina’s recipes. They have helped me lost 57 lbs. made this tonight and loved it but agree with the posters who said it came out a bit watery. I will simmer the sauce for a bit to reduce or add thickener as others have suggested.
I just made this recipe the other night. I forgot to buy the ricotta but even without it, it was amazing! The ragu had so much flavor I could have eaten it alone. Thanks for the amazing WW friendly recipe!
I made this tonight. It was really good! It was only two of us so I had plenty of meat sauce left for another night. I only use one squash cut in half. Baked in oven as directed and it came out perfect! Nice change to use a spaghetti squash instead of traditional spaghetti. Will buy another squash to use with our leftovers.
Thank you Gina!
Hi Gina – quick question. When I put the nutrition information into my WW app the points calculate much higher. Am I missing something?
Are you using the recipe builder?
It says it makes 8 servings but the Romano and Ricotta look like they are for a 6 serving portion. Is it 8 servings for the whole recipe and if so, 8T for the cheeses, or take the overall serving size down to match the 6T of the cheeses? Can’t wait to try this one!
I just added this to my weight watchers calculator and it says it is 11 points based on the nutritonal values you listed. How did you get to 4 freestyle or 8 points plus?
Did you use the recipe builder?
This came out very well, and I have high standards! The one thing I did do it hit take the beef out to shred and then hit saute to boil down the sauce. Otherwise it would have been too watery. It make a ton too!
I only have a 28 oz can of sauce -is that ok,
Delicious and healthy!
I have a chuck steak. Will this work okay?
Making this tonight and I have a quick question, the ingredients call for, “Perorino Romano or parmesan cheese rind”. Do you mean Perorino Romano rind or parmesan cheese rind or is the rind reference for the parmesan only? As you can guess I am a cheese amateur and I appreciate the lesion.
Any rind will add flavor
Can I use beef stew meat?
There are onions in the directions but not in the ingredients list. How many onions do I use?
1/2 medium onion, diced
I just made this dish for the 3rd time in the past month because my family keeps asking for it!. Gina, you are right about the roasted squash, it is so good, better than preparing it in the instant pot, which is how I usually cook it. I serve this with a simple tossed salad and It is so filling I never finish a full serving so I have leftovers for lunch. Thanks for making such clean, gluten free recipes!
Hi – I have a buffalo roast in my freezer. Do you think this would work in this recipe??
I haven’t tried, let me know if you do!
I cant use the better boullion. Is there a way to substitute it with something else?
You can use any bouillon or leave it out.
We don’t eat beef or pork but we do eat chicken. Could this be amended?
Hi Gina,
First, let me say thank you for taking the time to write and beautifully photograph your recipes. I have loved every one I have tried and bought both cookbooks last week. You and your site are amazing. You will have a lifetime fan! In just a week, I know I can trust your recipes and your recommendations. (For example, I never tried tuttorosso before last week and it was terrific.)
I have a question about spaghetti squash as I am new to it. Approximately how large is a small, medium, and large one. My grocery has them and they are all about the same size. I have no idea which size it is! Any help would be most appreciated.
I again thank you sincerely for all you do. Simply amazing!
Hello Josephine, that is lovely to hear, thank you. To answer your question, a medium spaghetti squash can weight 4-6 pounds.
Gina, did you brown the meat first before adding liquids?
No but you can.
I made this tonight and it was fab! Even my husband liked it and he is super picky! I love your site and receipes!
great!!
I made this with whole wheat pasta instead of spaghetti squash – SO good!! We all loved it. Definitely better than just a meat sauce. The mushrooms are my favorite part!
Hi Gina,
Made this tonight and it is delicious! Does the 4 points include the ricotta and Pecorino Romano, or is it just for the sauce? I’m new to the freestyle program.
yes its included.
I made this for our dinner last evening with some modifications that suits our eating habits. I used lean ground turkey instead of the beef and let the whole thing simmer for almost 2 hours. I did thicken with a roux for a thickness I was striving for. Fabulous, fabulous! The carrot gives it such a nice sweetness. We will enjoy this recipe often.
Super, super delucious! I like my sauce thick so I added some arrowroot. Everyone loved it at my house!
Great!
Made this last night and was so delicious. This is not a recipe that would normally appeal to me because I’m not usually a fan of spaghetti squash nor this cut of meat, but I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful. I made it in a dutch oven on the stovetop. I even forgot to top with the ricotta and cheese and it was still soooooo good. Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
My roast came out tough. Sauce was watery and bland. I broke in my new insta pot with this recipe (which I followed exactly) and I was so disappointed. I usually love all of your recipes. If you start to shred a roast and it’s tough can it be put back in the Insta Pot and pressure cook some more?? Thanks!!
Sounds like you used the wrong cut of beef, if it’s lean it won’t work, it should be chuck which has more marbling and perfect for pressure cooking.
i just made this and the meat reached over 145 degrees in under an hour and has the texture of shoelaces…impossible to “shred” at this point. i had such high hopes as i love an easy meal and it looks delicious. i’m not sure what i’ve done wrong. so sad.
How did you cook this? What cut of beef did you use?
Hi. I made this last night, and it was so good and satisfying. I have been making your recipes over the last year and am so impressed. They are a great combo of healthy and weeknight appropriate. I really like the Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer options as well. I have just been amazed at what you can achieve for a quick weeknight meal in a pressure cooker. I am loosely following your meal plan this week, and it has worked great for us. Keep up the great work and site. You have inspired me to really open up my meal options!!!
Dave
Awesome Dave!
I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit with my whole family!
I’m not a big fan of spaghetti squash but the flavors in this recipe mask the squash taste. It is also very filling, I was only able to eat half of my portion and felt very satisfied. Thank you for this wonderful recipe Gina!
I made this for my family last night! It was amazing! I actually served it over egg noodles for the kids because I am still warming them up to spaghetti squash but the flavor was so rich and delicious! Perfect for a -5 degree night!
Made this dish tonight – OMG! YUM! The only comment is i calculated points using your nutritional values and it works out to 11 points not 4 or 8? Keep up the great work! Love your recipes!
The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, that is why.
Thanks I just joined WW and was trying to figure this out and thought what you wrote was why I was getting a larger number when counting the cal, fats, etc… It’s cooking now and smells delicious. Your recipes inspired me to start WW again after two kids and gaining 45 lbs. Here we go!
So actually one more question: to put a “meal” like this in my WW tracker would you just add it as a “quick add” with the SP you listed each time you made this recipe OR I guess my other option is to input all the ingredients (nope not going to do it) and save it as a meal. 😉 Right?
I use the recipe builder.
This was delicious, but very watery. Used one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and added more, because it said 35oz, was this a typo?
No it was a 35 ounce can, but 28 would be fine too. What brand of tomatoes did you use?
The ingredient list says 1/4 cup water but directions say 1/2 cup. I doubled the recipe but didn’t check the list and ended up adding 1 cup. This was too watery, should have probably only used 1/4 cup even with making double batch.
Hi I’m making the ragu tomorrow does the cook time change if you double the recipe?
If I can’t find chuck eye roast, what is a good substitute for this type of meat?
Hi Gina,
Any thoughts on cooking time in the IP if I half the recipe? I have had trouble getting the timing right for certain meats. Thanks!
same cook time
1 (35-ounce) can Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes. Is this amount correct? Seems like a lot. (35 – ounce)
I’m so glad I thoroughly read this recipe. I deleted it because it said RAGU.
I thought you used RAGU jar sauce. Yuk! Lol. Great recipe
Dina
Hello! Any recommendations for a veggie or chicken substitute for the beef? I plan to break in the instapot with this recipe.
Maybe chicken thighs!
Looks delicious but at over 35 grams of carbs a serving probably shouldn’t be listed as low carb
I agree – although I can’t figure out what in this recipe is making it 36g carbs for just one serving – could it be a typo?
I completely agree. I made this for dinner and was very excited until I saw the amount of carbs. Then thought it must have a lot of fiber? No. For 35 g of carbs I could eat wheat pasta… It’s my fault for not reading that first but I just trusted how it was listed. Wont be doing that again!!!
Gina, this looks fabulous! Could I use chicken instead of the meat? Would I decrease the instant pot time? Thank you!
Sure, yes maybe 25?
I have never used crushed tomatoes in the IP…most comments I see re IP…is that tomato/ sauce tends to burn… Any experience with that in this recipe?? Thanks.
Any recommendations on what Instapot to purchase, it’s just myself & my husband! I do love to have leftovers one night ! Really want to get one & try this !
I think the 6 qt is perfect
Gina, I’ve been a fan of pressure cookers a long time. The IntaPot is putting the method in the mainstream for sure. This is a great recipe and shows how you can make wonderful ragu or stews quickly. A couple of tips I figured out: Cut the squash in half, across! This makes a somewhat smaller portion AND you can cook the squash in the InstaPot in 5 minutes. ( put a cup of water in with the squash). We also make it with apple cider instead of tomatoes. You could use red wine, other juices, be creative! I’ve even used boned chicken thighs.
Looks great, how much cheese do you use?
It’s posted in the ingredients
Can I cook meat sauce in a slow cooker? How long would it cook?
Sure 8 hrs low.
Instant Pot ✅, Italian gal✅
This looks like a winner. Its comfort food with a healthy twist. Just Pinned and added it to my MealPlan app. Focus is to increase protein and this recipe hits the mark. Thanks Gina.
Hi Gina!
I LOVE your recipes and have been making them for years, even when I am not following a diet plan. However, I just enrolled in the WW Freestyle plan. Could you tell me how to convert your SP to freestyle?
They are ALL converted
This recipe looks amazing! What would you recommend for cooking in a slow cooker?
I would make it 8 hours on low.
Can I make the ragu in a slow cooker? Do you know the directions for that?
Sure 8 hours on low after you saute the veggies.
Hi Gina! This recipe look delicious–I love using spaghetti squash. Do you think there would be a good substitute for the mushrooms? I don’t care for them, but really want to try this dish out because it looks so tasty :-).
Thanks!
You can just leave them out
I’m allergic to mushrooms so I leave them out or substitute with diced sautéed shallots or sweet onions.
Try subbing red/green peppers or roasted eggplant.
I just got an Instant Pot, this is the first recipe I will make!