Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with Pancetta and Peas with a deliciously rich low carb alfredo sauce recipe. 
Over the 15 years I worked in the restaurant industry, nearly all of the restaurants I worked in were Italian restaurants or at least had an Italian flair. Italian dishes are known for their heartiness and are often very carb heavy. Working in these restaurants was my own personal form of torture. It was during these years that I really packed on the weight. To lose the weight, I had to make some serious diet and lifestyle changes. Sometimes the key to weight loss on a low carb, keto diet is all about finding creative solutions. Getting creative in the kitchen and coming up with low carb pasta substitutions, low carb potato substitution and low carb rice substitutions. Once you have a good stable of healthy swaps, living a low carb lifestyle, free of deprivation becomes a lot easier. Now what do you put on top of all those delicious recipes? SAUCE! and more SAUCE! I am a big low carb sauce fan. Often times, I feel like the food is just a vessel to deliver the low carb dips, sauces and dressings to my face! I love making low carb sauces from scratch and finding fun ways to replace classic pasta dishes. Low carb pasta recipes is one of the number one requests I get on this site. In fact, I did an entire round up of Low Carb Pasta Substitution Recipes.
The roasted spaghetti squash in this recipe is an amazing low carb and gluten free substitution for pasta noodles. Enjoy an old classic in a waistline friendly version. The low carb alfredo sauce in this recipe is rich, creamy and garlicky. Everything a good low carb alfredo sauce recipe should be. Restaurant alfredo sauces typically use flour to help thicken the sauces. A true alfredo sauce should already be low carb – butter, cream, cheese and seasonings. Low Carb alfredo sauce is one of my favorite sauces to eat on just about anything – chicken, fish, casseroles. You name it, I love it!
Check out some of my other favorite low carb Italian inspired recipes:
- “Just Like the Real Thing” Lasagna
- Eggplant Lasagna with Meat Sauce
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Lasagna
- Stuffed Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
- Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with Pancetta and Peas – Low Carb, Gluten Free
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Yield: Makes 4 Servings
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- medium spaghetti squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
- 6 oz pancetta, diced
- 1 small shallot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
- a few sprigs of Italian flat leaf parsley, rough chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Drizzle olive oil over both halves and sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper. Place the spaghetti squash, cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Once the spaghetti squash has finished roasting and has cooled, use a fork to shred the spaghetti squash and remove it from the shells. Place in a large serving bowl and set aside.
- While the spaghetti squash is roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta to the skillet. Sauté the pancetta until it is crisped. Remove the pancetta from pan and set aside, but retain the drippings in the pan.
- To the pan, add the shallot, garlic and thyme. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with chicken stock. Scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan and mix in.
- Add heavy cream and Parmesan to the pan. Add the pancetta back to the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir peas into sauce. Pour sauce over spaghetti squash and mix everything together.
- Top with shaved Parmesan and parsley before serving.
Notes
Per Serving – Calories: 567 | Fat: 49 g | Protein: 22 g | Total Carbs: 12.5 g | Fiber: 3 g | Net Carbs: 9.5 g
Made this today and it is absolutely delicious!
This is amazing! Thanks so much for creating and sharing these awesome recipes.
Thanks for the kind words. So happy you enjoyed it.
I could eat this every day! I’ve made this 4 tines and it’s one of my go to recipes now. I switched it up by cooking sliced chicken breast seasoned with lemon pepper, added mushrooms and green onions instead of shallots. I followed the sauce exactly as you wrote it and just can not get enough of this recipe! Comfort food for sure yum!
Looks so good but not a fan of Alfredo sauce, what can I use in place of it?
Omg! Just finished this amazing dinner! We are literally lickings our bowls as I write this!!! You are my hero:)
I had to hold my husband back as he tried to finish the whole thing…. just added mushrooms and double the recipe, cuz one spaghetti squash doesn’t work for our family of 4!! 😜 Ur the bomb!!
So delish! I’ve been waiting to make this for days, but couldn’t get to it. I did tonight and I’m thrilled! It’s going to be a fave for sure. Many thanks!
So glad you liked it!
Looks like another amazing recipe that I’ll be trying very soon!! One question for you….the few other times I’ve roasted a spaghetti squash, the directions say to roast it cut side down, is this just preference to the writer? I’m curious because only once was it cooked to perfection, the other two times it was crunchy no matter how long I cooked it for so I wasn’t sure if it was my method or the squash!!
Honestly, I think you can cook it either way, but I have always loved the way it turns out with the cut side up. It kind of roasts some of the top edges and gives it a nice, nutty flavor.
Thank you so much for your reply….. I’m making this tonight for dinner and I’m trying this way of roasting!