Gluten-Free Squash Spaghetti Eggplant Parmesan Casserole Recipe

Updated: Mar 21, 2022

Transforming traditional meals into healthier versions has been an interest of mine for over a decade now.

I first started transforming recipes into healthier versions back in 2008 during my undergraduate nutrition elective course I chose to take during nursing school. That year I lost over 65 pounds using a site called Spark People to monitor my intake, exercise, and calculate the nutrition content of the recipes. This week I discovered that on August 17th, 2021, Spark People will close their website making years of healthy recipes individuals have saved unavailable after that point. MyFitness Pal is another site I have used to track biometrics such as weight, exercise, intake, and recipes over the years. Both Spark People and MyFitness Pal use limited nutritional data calculation for personal recipes entered. Through my Ph.D. courses on Integrative and Functional Nutrition, I was introduced to Cronometer, which has both a mobile application and a website to monitor and track individuals’ nutrition and much more. This website provides the most detailed nutrition information including both macronutrients and micronutrients, with detailed breakdowns of the vitamin, mineral, carbohydrate, lipid, and protein content of all foods and recipes input. Due to the expanded vitamin and mineral information alone, I will use and recommend this site to monitor intake and calculate the nutrition content of recipes. Cronometer also has the option of a Keto calculator and a fasting tracker is available in the premium gold version.

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Last week I caught a few minutes of a random Food Network challenge show in which a group made a spaghetti casserole dish that was full of gluten and many other unhealthy yet hearty ingredients. Naturally, my mind started thinking of alternative ingredients I could use to make the recipe a bit healthier and of course gluten-free. Our garden is pumping out a lot of fresh tomatoes and squash, so I chose to go with fresh ingredients that were readily available. Fresh ingredients are what make this recipe both healthy and tasty. Using fresh produce is recommended, but there are many substitutions you could choose to make.

Substitutes

There are many items you can substitute to make the casserole your own. You could use a gluten-free noodle, but I am not a big fan of pasta. Any type of squash, zucchini, or even eggplant can be spiral shredded into a noodle and used as the bottom layer in the pan. Using only fresh squash, eggplant, or zucchini, is strongly recommended. Store-bought frozen spiral shredded products will not have the same texture and usually turn out slimy. You can use your own homemade or store-bought sauce to make the casserole. Separate links to recipes for my Fresh Chunky Tomato Sauce and Gluten-Free Fried Eggplant are included. The fried eggplant can be substituted for squash or zucchini. You can use a variety of breading ingredients and methods; you may even choose to bake your breaded eggplant. If you are unable or choose not to consume food items that are battered with eggs a substitute may be used. You can also opt to use a vegan version of shredded mozzarella to make the dish plant-based. The nutrition content will change if you substitute ingredients but using Cronometer will allow you to be aware of the nutrition content of your recipe substitutes. This recipe makes 12 servings.

Equipment

8 x 11.5 x 2-inch baking dish

Spiral shredder or slicer

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 Small Summer Squash spiraled into noodles

1 Fresh Chunky Tomato Sauce recipe or 1 jar of store-bought sauce

1 Gluten-Free Fried Eggplant recipe

12-ounces Organic Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1-ounce Organic Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Prepare Fresh Chunky Tomato Sauce.

2. Spiral slice squash or alternative into the bottom of the glass baking dish.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, you may choose to wait until the majority of the eggplant frying is complete depending on the time needed to warm your oven.