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!
Ragu with Spaghetti Squash
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.
More spaghetti squash recipes you will love!
- Spaghetti Squash Turkey Taco Boats
- Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Boats
- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
- Spaghetti Squash “Mac” and Cheese
- Roasted spaghetti squash
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.
My sister in law gave us a spaghetti squash. I wanted to make something I haven’t cooked with the squash so gave this recipe a try. I made it in my IP and the instructions were easy to follow and everything came out perfect. I will say for the garnish, using the Pecorino Romano was a strong cheese for me. I used the cheese rind amd that was great. I’m eating the left overs and I uses the ricotta cheese and a sharp cheddar and parmesan and I absolutely love this dish!! I scooped out the roasted spaghetti squash and served the ragu over the “noodles “. I didn’t make the boat. I stored the separately in the refrigerator and was easy to reheat in the microwave. Really great meal! Thank you Gina!!!!
Made this last night. I had a little over a pound and a half of chuck roast after trimming as much fat as I could. Cooked it in my 8 quart Instant Pot for 30 minutes (that’s what the manual says for cut-up chuck roast) and it was perfectly cooked. I did tweak the seasonings because I thought the tomatoes made it a bit too acid-y. I love using Parmesan rind. It just makes everything taste so good. Thank you Gina.
Unreal! This was so good. It took 3 hours on the stove top but so worth it! I served it over pasta because I didn’t have spaghetti squash. This will be made again in the future. Thanks Gina, again for another flavorful, easy dish.
Amazing dish. Family approved. Great flavors, and soon to be a regular in our home!
Thanks AnnaLee!
Do you think this could work with a whole chicken and chicken bouillon? I don’t have beef but it looks so good and easy!
I haven’t tried it but if you do, let me know how it comes out.
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.