Summer spaghetti

A family favorite, lightened up and loaded with fresh veggies for summer!

Spaghetti has to be one of the all-time family favorites for most people. It’s easy and unbelievably satisfying. We love our go-to ground turkey spaghetti with homemade sauce. It’s just so warm and comforting.

And yet in the summertime, sometimes I want that feeling of comfort without feeling too weighed down by my dinner.

 
And so, summer spaghetti!

This spaghetti is bursting with summer veggies, on-hand chicken instead of turkey or beef, and fresh tomatoes instead of a canned or homemade sauce (but you can use those, too).

This spaghetti dinner is super easy and comes out tasting so light, so fresh, so summery! And it delivers all the comforts of spaghetti.

You can serve this over regular whole wheat spaghetti noodles, or if you’re really looking to go bikini-friendly, sub in some spaghetti squash for the noodles. That’s my favorite way to go. Bring on some extra veggies, please!

Any which way you serve it, you’re in for a plate full of spaghetti goodness, summer-style.

I hope you give it a try and enjoy!

Summer chicken and veggie spaghetti

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Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Total Time 30 minutes

Serves 4 servings     adjust servings

A family favorite, lightened up and loaded with fresh veggies for summer!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced small (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 medium yellow squash, chopped
• 4-6 mushrooms, quartered (I used white button mushrooms)
• 3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped (or you can sub with a can of diced tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup marinara (homemade or store bought)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1-2 cups cooked shredded chicken (see notes)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Parmesan cheese, to serve
• Spaghetti squash or whole-wheat spaghetti noodles, to serve (see notes)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Add zucchini, squash and mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes, until tender. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper
2. Add tomatoes and seasonings and saute until the tomatoes start to break down a bit and the mixture gets more juicy. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
3. Add the marinara - using as much as you need/want to get it to the right sauciness level. That’s a technical term. And you know, sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper.
4. Add the cooked chicken and stir until warmed through.
5. Turn off heat and serve over spaghetti squash or whole-wheat spaghetti noodles.

Recipe Notes

You can certainly use the more traditional ground beef or ground turkey instead of chicken in this recipe. Just saute it first and once it’s about halfway cooked, add the onion and continue with the recipe.
You can serve this with real noodles or with spaghetti squash noodles. For spaghetti squash, just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and inner goop. Place flesh side down on a roasting pan and roast at 400 for about 45 minutes. Remove, let cool a bit and use a fork to scrape the inside of the spaghetti squash, which will get you the lovely strands.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
Amount Per Serving	As Served
Calories 210kcal Calories from fat 96
% Daily Value
Total Fat 11g	17%
Saturated Fat 3g	15%
Transfat 0g
Cholesterol 39mg	13%
Sodium 526mg	22%
Carbohydrate 18g	6%
Dietary Fiber 4g	16%
Sugars 4g
Protein 13g

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories	2000
Total Fat	Less than	65g
Sat Fat	Less than	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g
Dietary Fiber		25g

** Do you have any family favorites that you adapt as the seasons change?