Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls
This spaghetti squash burrito bowl recipe is easy to make and so good for you, too! These beautiful burrito bowls are vegan, gluten free and so delicious.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Man alive! Monday snuck up on me after a weekend away. (Park City, Utah—have you been? It’s my new favorite mountain town.) No amount of black coffee or dark chocolate peanut butter cups have managed to wake me up from my post-trip fog, but I have this totally epic burrito bowl recipe for you. Let’s get to it.
Basically, all you do is roast some spaghetti squash until it’s tender and caramelized on the edges. While the squash is in the oven, you’ll have plenty of time to toss together a simple, colorful red cabbage slaw. It has lots of lime and some black beans for protein. Then, blend up some salsa verde with avocado for a creamy sauce that completes the dish.
These bowls are so simple and crazy delicious that I almost saved them for my cookbook, but I just couldn’t wait. Make them for dinner tonight?
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Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowls
This spaghetti squash burrito bowl recipe is easy to make and so good for you, too! These beautiful vegetarian burrito bowls are also vegan and gluten free, but above all, delicious. Recipe yields 4 burrito bowls.
Ingredients
Roasted spaghetti squash
- 2 medium spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds each), halved and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cabbage and black bean slaw
- 2 cups purple cabbage, thinly sliced and roughly chopped into 2-inch long pieces
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped green onions, both green and white parts
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, to taste
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Avocado salsa verde
- ¾ cup mild salsa verde, either homemade or store-bought
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro (a few stems are ok)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 medium garlic clove, roughly chopped
- Optional garnishes: chopped fresh cilantro, crumbled feta and/or seasoned toasted pepitas (not shown)
Instructions
- To roast the spaghetti squash: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. On the baking sheet, drizzle the halved spaghetti squash with olive oil. Rub the olive oil all over each of the halves, adding more if necessary.
- Sprinkle the insides of the squash with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Turn them over so the insides are facing down. Roast for 40 to 60 minutes, until the flesh is easily pierced through with a fork.
- Meanwhile, to assemble the slaw: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, black beans, bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt. Toss to combine and set aside to marinate.
- To make the salsa verde: In the bowl of a blender or food processor, combine the avocado, salsa verde, cilantro, lime juice and garlic. Blend until smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- To assemble, first use a fork to separate and fluff up the flesh of the spaghetti squash. Then divide the slaw into each of the spaghetti squash “bowls,” and add a big dollop of avocado salsa verde. Finish the bowls with another sprinkle of pepper, cilantro and optional crumbled feta or pepitas.
Notes
Serving suggestions: I think these bowls would go great with my favorite green salad.
Storage suggestions: Store burrito bowls, covered, for up to 3 days. There should be enough lime in the avocado salsa verde to keep it from oxidizing, but if you want to be sure, store it separately in a small bowl with plastic wrap pressed against the surface.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These are awesome. Essentially the perfect transition into fall food for someone living in southern California :P
I love stuffing spaghetti squash with burrito toppings! I usually just make a black bean guac but slaw sounds like a GREAT plan! Yum!
I pinned this so I can try it soon. I love the presentation and it looks just so delicious. ♡♡
Thanks, Bella! Hope you love it!
These are some of your best photos yet, Kate!! Just gorgeous! And so creative to make a burrito bowl out of spaghetti squash!! :)
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Love your creativity, Kate! Vibrant and colorful as always. So looking forward to your cookbook!
Thank you, Emily!
This is genius. I love it. I am definitely inspired to try this at home.
I love the creative idea of using the spaghetti squash. It is a recipe that says Hello to fall without saying Goodbye to summer. A very cheerful recipe on a rainy fall day.
This is such a lovely recipe! I roasted a huge squash this weekend and just love how filling all squashes are. I have heard of Park City, Utah but never been. I am sure it is so lovely! We went to the mountains in NC near by home in SC, and it is always one of my favorite ways to celebrate fall. Glad you got to do the same! Cheers!:)
Thanks, Heather! Park City is really great. Love those NC mountains, too!
I love spaghetti squash and anything with avocado, so I can’t wait to try this recipe! What temperature do you heat the oven to cook the spaghetti squash?
Hope you love it, Jackie! Thank you for pointing out my omission (head smack!). Roast at 400. The recipe has been corrected now. :)
These are so beautiful! I actually have a recipe with the same exact title but…mine aren’t quite as healthy as yours. They’re topped with broiled cheese. :)
I will definitely be giving your version a try. They look and sound delicious!
Love me some broiled cheese, though! Yum.
Hope you had a wonderful trip! Not sure how you continue to come up with such great recipes. These are gorgeous.
I did! Thank you, Karen. I try!
Whoa, I think I will have these for dinner tonight…the colors are fabulous! I always feel so smart when I eat healthy food like this. Thank yoU!
Thanks, Kathy! Hope you loved the burrito bowls, if you had a chance to cook them!
These are genius!! Everyone loves a good burrito bowl, but what a healthy take on them. Pinning for sure.
Oh yes. Okay–this is brilliant. I’ve never seen these with a southwest twist. It’s always been an Italian version. Which is fine but, you know, I really love my pasta. This is something I can experiment with, though!!
Thank you, Libby! I love my pasta, too. And rice, but strangely enough, I preferred these bowls without!
I haven’t had lunch yet and this is making me droooooool onto my keyboard. yum.
Oh, I love it! I was thinking about making burrito bowls for friends pretty soon, and this might be a more interesting option.
My idea of the perfect meal!!
Gorgeous!!! This is such a good idea! LOVED meeting and spending time with you this weekend Kathryne. Hope your flight home was uneventful! :)
Thank you, Laura! It was lovely to meet you last weekend. Btw, that radish lentil salad I just saw on Camille Styles… STUNNING.
Made these for dinner tonight…Wow.WOW.Wow…
Thanks, Sarah! :)
id rather have this instead of chipotle burrito bowls! I LOVE spaghetti sqaush!
Me, too, and I LOVE Chipotle!
This looks delish! I can’t find spaghetti squash here in Perth Aus. Any other suggestions??
Hmmmm! Spaghetti squash’s texture is pretty unique. I’ve tried the slaw/avocado sauce with cooked brown rice and it was awesome.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I like seeing new ways to use one of my very favorite types of squash.
These pictures are just beautiful! And I love the idea of using the squash as a bowl – now if only Holland would get with the times and start selling spaghetti squash!
These burrito bowls are so colourful and vibrant! These squash burrito bowls sound incredible and I wish I could bike to work with one of these without mushing them up!
Oh what a fun dish! I love that addition of purple cabbage for that added crunch, not to mention beautiful as well!
Oh my gosh this looks sooo delicious! This is definitely going on the menu for next week! I can’t wait to try it :)
Great recipe! I made it (plus sweet corn) and it came out just like your photos. Thanks for posting such beautiful photos, they are very inspiring! Since I’m the only one in my family who will eat this, I’m going to take the second half to work for my lunch. Not sure how the cold squash will taste. Thought I might layer the squash, chopped vegetables and sauce in a container and see how that goes :)
Thanks, Tanya! Hope the leftovers hit the spot, too!
Thanks for the idea to add sweet corn! Making these this week!
Hope they turn out great, Shelly!
Love the colours in this! Your sweet potato bowl is one of our food staples so looking forward to making this!
Deirdre
Thank you, Deirdre! Hope you love this one just as much.
These looks amazing!!!
Hi! I saw this recipe and had 90% of the ingredients on hand, so obviously I had to make it! The slaw is the BOMB and a perfect crunchy companion to the creamy squash. I can’t wait for my boyfriend to get home so I can knock his socks off with this, it is SOOOOO delicious!!! I can’t even express how fun and easy it was to make! I also cannot wait to eat this for lunch tomorrow. I think I died and went to burrito squash heaven.
Yay! Thank you so much, Carlin!
I didn’t rate in my last comment, shame on me! 5 stars, obvi!
At the store they had big bins of pumpkins out front looked for organic and found one huge bin of mixed ORGANIC squash on SALE and snagged the last two spaghetti squash. It was meant to be!! We’ve enjoyed your Spicy Sweet Potato & Green Rice Burrito Bowls many times but never have eaten spaghetti squash. This was like a science project goes artwork. Husband was fascinated checking the oven and nibbling on the slaw ingredients, then shredding the squash in awe. This is yummy, beautiful, surprisingly filling and so much fun to make. Everything you come up with is boldly flavored and interesting. You are such an inspiration and have changed the way we eat! Thank you
Thank you so much for your comment, Nancy! Delighted to hear that you both enjoyed these burrito bowls so much. Hooray!
Oh! this is perfect timing. I’ve done something similar with beans and veggies with Delicata squash (My fave winter squash!) but I love the idea of the cabbage slaw…I have a purple cabbage in my fridge right now! Thanks for always inspiring me!
Thank you, Chelsa! Hope you love it!
I love these colorful bowls, what a perfect low carb way to get my burrito fix!
Delicious! I love eating burritos bowls!
We love most of these recipes, but this one was by far our favorite! Thank you for the wonderful, healthy, beautiful recipes!
Thank you, Allie! Happy to hear it!
I have an abundance of speghetti squash & many of those ingrediants growing in my garden, I am looking forward trying this recipe today. Since it is a rainy day in Bellingham, WA, means a good day to stay in & cook! AAHH, life is good☔️.
I hope the burrito bowls turned out fabulously for you, Frances!
I bought all the ingredients for this recipe this weekend and seriously can not wait to make it!
Kate,
Thank you, another fabulous recipe. I made them yesterday and we are enjoying the squash “bowls” again today.
I found your blog six months ago, EVERYTHING I’ve made is a treat to make and eat.
Thanks for helping us make the transition to cleaner eating easy and delicious for my husband and I.
P.S. He loves your hair ; )
Jane
Hi Jane! I’m delighted to hear that you are both enjoying my recipes so much. Thanks for the compliment!
This looks so good and is wonderfully perfect for Fall! I may swap radicchio for the red cabbage, for the superfood benefits, but everything sounds so good as it is as well. Thank you for sharing a new recipe to try!
Thanks, J! For what it’s worth, cabbage offers some really powerful antioxidants and nutrients, too! Hope you love it.
You have given me a reason to now like spaghetti squash, which I previously tried other ways and was not impressed. I made this recipe with some tweaks, but followed your basic idea of using them for burrito bowls and it was a hit. Now I’m a fan and will be following you for more great ideas. Thanks, Kate!
Hi John, so glad you enjoyed this spaghetti squash concept! I’m with you—I haven’t been crazy about most of the spaghetti squash recipes I’ve tried. This one, though…
This was absolutely my favorite dish I’ve made this year. My husband walked in from work and said “what’s for dinner?” so when I told him, his reply was “oh” (trying to sound excited). Needless to say, he had seconds, and even ask where I got the recipe from. I am going to share it on my blog next week. Thank you SO much!
Hip hip hooray! Glad you both loved it!
Holy yum! I just picked up a spagetti squash and now I know what to do with it!!! Thanks! ;)
Hope you love it, Justine!
I made this last night. I really, really liked this as did my son, however, my husband LOVED it! He said it was the best dish I’ve ever made lol. So there you go, my non-vegan, non-vegetarian husband gives this dish a major thumbs up ;) I kept the recipe exactly as is with no changes.
Woohoo! That’s so awesome, Trish. Thanks for letting me know.
Wow…. These are sooooooo delicious. I made these burrito bowls tonight for a guest and they were a huge hit. I added some chicken as well. I was just going to make a simple guacamole but I’m super glad I made the avocado salsa verde….. So tasty. This is going to be a regular meal in my house now. Thank you for this yummy recipe!
Thank you, Lyndel! So glad you all loved it! I’m a big fan of that avocado salsa… so creamy and full of flavor.
I just made these last night. Soooo delicious. I added a bit of cumin to the slaw for a little more pop and it’s making a delicious lunch! Thanks so much for this tasty, health meal.
Thanks, Pragya! Cumin sounds like a tasty addition!
This was delicious!! I mistakenly used regular salsa instead of salsa verde, so the avocado topping was not pretty…I will fix that next time. And there will be a next time. Thank you!
Thanks, Michelle! I bet you had some brown avocado sauce. Hehe!
I’ve never tried spaghetti squash, but my roommate and I made these last night, and were totally won over! This recipe is such a wonderful alternative to traditional burrito bowls, which tend to leave me more full than I’d like. And, wow, the colors are gorgeous and bright. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you, Rana! Really glad to hear it!
This was fantastic! I just made it today. A whole lime was a bit too much for the amount of avocado so I added and extra one. Topped it all with sunflower seeds. Wish I could post a photo of it!
YUM!
Thank you, Carol!
Made this last night Kate and it was delicious! Well you already knew that but I just couldn’t imagine the flavors together. Hubby loved it which always makes me happy. I was looking for a cabbage recipe and when I came across this I thought well I do have a spaghetti squash sitting on the counter so I might as well try it and so glad I did. We even have enough for leftovers so we stored them separately so we can reheat squash by itself. As for the avocado I didn’t make it like yours I just whipped up plain avocado with a little lime juice and it was great.
Thank you for letting me know, Loraine! I’m so glad you two loved the burrito bowls.