Easily Cut Spaghetti Squash | How To

How to Easily Cut Spaghetti Squash in Half

Today, we will learn a wonderful kitchen hack to more easily cut a spaghetti squash in half. I’m Allison with Simple Fantastic Kitchen. Thanks for joining me today. Let’s get started.

Cutting into a spaghetti squash can be a little challenging, I actually tried slicing into it earlier without any hacks and it was very difficult and not a pleasant experience.

So, here’s how I like to make the cutting a bit easier.

The first things we do is wash and dry our spaghetti squash. 

Make sure it’s really good and dry. Then puncture the spaghetti squash with a fork. And just be careful because it’s a little slippery even when it’s completely dry. It’s a little tough to work with, so just be careful.

You’ll want to make sure that you puncture it with a fork first in a preliminary fashion the top and side surface of the squash. Then go in a little deeper with the fork so that you’re penetrating the surface a little bit more. That is going to help to vent the spaghetti squash better for you.

Okay now, we’re just going to put it in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes. With the punctured side facing up. Make sure it doesn’t burn.

I would say four minutes is probably the sweet spot. But really it depends on the strength of your microwave. Mine is a 900 watt microwave which is in between the 700 watt smaller ones and the full power ones which was well over 1000 watts. So, that’s why we say 3 to 5 minutes. 

As a general rule:

700 watts equals 5 minutes

900 watts equals 4 minutes

Over 1,000 watts equals 3 minutes

This is subjective with other factors (like the size of your spaghetti squash) weighing in on this. So I find it’s always best to air on the side of caution by putting it in for less time, checking it, then putting it in for more time.

Then carefully remove it from the microwave with oven mitts. This will help with the heat of the spaghetti squash and also the slipperiness.

Allow it to cool on a cutting board. Once it feels cool to the touch, you can start the next step. 

Flip the spaghetti squash over. You’re going to be starting your cut from the bottom of the squash. That’s where it’s going to be easier to cut into.

You’ll want to use a sharp knife. I find a serrated knife works best. And you’ll slice it into two pieces.

You can slice it in either direction: across the middle of the squash or from the squash’s stem to the bottom. Either way is fine. I find the presentation of slicing it lengthwise (stem to bottom) to be more pleasing, especially if you are going to be using your squash shell as the serving bowl, which I love to do.

So we flipped it over. The non forked side should be the easier one to slice into. And we’re just going to try to very carefully to slice it in half.

This is so much easier. You still have to use a little muscle. Don’t fool yourself. But it’s much easier to slice into and has now become a reasonable and achievable activity. Please always be carefully when cutting!  

If you would like to watch the full spaghetti squash video recipe I’ve provided a link here:

Spaghetti Squash Recipe | Simple Fantastic Kitchen

More Kitchen Hacks and Cooking How To’s are available by clicking the link here:

Cooking Hacks and How To’s | Simple Fantastic Kitchen

Thanks so much for joining. I’ll see you on the next one!