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Glite Dictionary
spaghetti squash

spaghetti squash

2 4.1
A yellow oval vegetable whose cooked flesh becomes long strands like spaghetti, used instead of pasta
  • noun
  • /spəˈɡɛti skwɑʃ/
  • US
translation icon : calabaza espagueti
  • If you have never cooked with spaghetti squash before, don't be afraid.
  • spaghetti squash as a low-carb pasta
  • cook spaghetti squash
  • a medium spaghetti squash

So he's about the size of a papaya or a spaghetti squash.

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Examples

  • I love baked spaghetti squash with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

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  • My sister just told me about the amazingness of spaghetti squash.

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  • Let the spaghetti squash cool for a few minutes.

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  • I have been wanting to make some spaghetti squash lately!

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  • I never know what to do with spaghetti squash, but I love the sound of it paired with this rich sauce!

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  • I make spaghetti squash topped with bolognese sauce, and my husband and I both love it.

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  • Top the spaghetti squash with the creamy roasted red pepper sauce and serve warm.

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  • My family loves spaghetti squash as a replacement for pasta, so this is an awesome change-up to high-calorie lasagna.

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  • All meals were accompanied by veggies: steamed, baked, or grilled carrots, asparagus, spaghetti squash, etc.

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  • The tender strings of cooked spaghetti squash resemble pasta.

Synonyms

squash
vsspaghetti squash
68 1.6

A large edible fruit from plants like pumpkin or zucchini used as a vegetable

is an oval variety that cooks into long pasta-like strands used instead of pasta
zucchini
vsspaghetti squash
  • US
44 1.6

A long green vegetable like a small squash that people usually cook

is an oval vegetable that separates into long pasta-like strands when cooked
Italian vegetable marrow
vsspaghetti squash
  • UK
5.6

A dark green squash with light patches used in Mediterranean cooking

is an oval variety that forms long pasta-like cooked strands rather than solid flesh

Surface Forms

spaghetti squash singular
spaghetti squashes plural

Morphology

spaghetti + squash

The compound denotes a squash whose flesh resembles spaghetti strands, so its meaning is directly compositional from 'spaghetti' (thin pasta strands) + 'squash' (an edible gourd). This appearance-based noun–noun compounding is a transparent, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Spaghetti squash gets its name from the way its cooked flesh breaks into long, thin strands that look like spaghetti, so the squash is named for that look. That's why people often use it as a low-carb alternative to 'pasta'.