Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash with Black Bean Meatballs in 8 Minutes.

Spaghetti squash is a delicious way to replace traditional pasta to change up pasta night. High in vitamin A and potassium and only 10 grams of carbs per cup, it is nutritious and delicious. However, at only 42 calories per cup, a sizable serving will probably leave you calorie deficient, event with a bunch of veggies and sauces added. Adding something like a black bean meatball can help you meet your daily caloric intake without adding any processed carbs. And, cooking everything in the pressure cooker will only take 8 minutes and leave you with one pot to clean!

This recipe is simple. Just chop/dice some fresh veggies and use a good vegan jar tomato sauce. Use whatever you have on hand. Here, I have baby bella mushrooms, red onion, zucchini and red bell peppers. And don't forget the spaghetti squash!

For the black bean meatballs, follow my recipe for smoky black bean burgers and just shape them into meatballs instead of burgers. I always have some left-over burgers so I just cooked them up ahead of time and chopped them up for a rustic meatball.

Chop the spaghetti squash in half short ways so you have two round halves instead of two oval halves. This will help them fit into the pressure cooker better. Scrap out and discard the seeds with a spoon.

Dump all of your chopped veggies and sauce into the pressure cooker and add 1 cup of water. The water will help to create pressure and steam the spaghetti squash. Mix well.

Place the squash on top of the vegetable and sauce mixture, cut side up. Shut the pressure cooker and cook on high for 8 minutes with a quick release afterwards.

The contents will be hot. Open carefully and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. I use tongs to remove the spaghetti squash since I'm impatient. Depending on the size of your squash, this recipe will make at least 2 servings. Scrape each half of the squash directly onto a plate. It should be perfectly cooked and just leave the skin of the squash to be discarded.

Stir the sauce thoroughly. Top the spaghetti squash with sauce and black bean meatball and serve immediately. The black bean meatballs are initially crunchy after cooking in the air fryer. But after mixing in the sauce, it will soften up and taste like a true smoky meatball. This recipe will make lots of sauce, there will be enough for leftovers.

PRESSURE COOKER SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH BLACK BEAN MEATBALLS:

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 8 min

Total time: 18 min

Servings: 2

Calories: 433 (topped with 1 cup of sauce and 1 chopped black bean burger)

Ingredients:

• 2 black bean burgers cooked and cut into chunks or black bean burger recipe shaped into several meatballs and cooked 
• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 vegan jarred pasta sauce
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 2 cups chopped zucchini
• 1 cup sliced red bell peppers
• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms sliced
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients except for spaghetti squash and meatballs/chopped burgers into pressure cooker.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Cut the spaghetti squash in half two round halves rather than two long halves as shown in the picture. This just ensures that it fits into the pressure cooker better. Cutting it the other way will work as well.
4. Place the squash cut side up on top of the sauce/veggie mixture. 
5. Salt and pepper the squash to taste. 
6. Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high for 8 minutes.
7. Follow immediately with quick release.
8. Open pressure cooker and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
9. Remove the spaghetti squash with tongs and scrape each half of the squash onto a separate plate for serving.
10. Top each plate of spaghetti squash with 1 cup or more of sauce and 1 cup or more of black bean meatballs. Serve immediately. 
11. There will be left-over sauce. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 7 days or the freezer for several weeks.

What do you think of this recipe? Please leave a comment!

Peace, love and abundance!