An easy Keto Cheeseburger Casserole recipe with spaghetti squash. This simple skillet casserole is the whole meal in one pan and it’s delicious and filling. Topped with bacon for extra flavour and family appeal!
Who doesn’t love a big juicy cheeseburger? Better yet, a big juicy bacon cheeseburger!
We love them in my house but we gave up the buns ages ago. Yes, there are keto buns out there but I’ve found that I really love finding more creative ways to serve up all those cheeseburger flavours.
And this Cheeseburger Spaghetti Squash Casserole may be my most creative version yet! Not to mention delicious and healthy. It’s a whole meal in a single pan and it appeals to kids and adults alike. And it got my kids to willingly eat spaghetti squash, which can’t be said about most recipes.
Spaghetti Squash Casserole Inspiration
This keto casserole recipe was inspired by the spaghetti squash sitting on my counter. My husband and I recently joined an organic vegetable delivery subscription called Full Circle. It’s great because we can customize our box each week and take out the things we don’t think we will use, replacing them with other favourites.
But I do try to have an open mind and sometimes have them send things I wouldn’t normally purchase myself. We can all easily get into a veggie rut, where we buy the same 5 vegetables over and over.
Spaghetti squash is something we do buy sometimes but the kids don’t love it unless it’s covered with copious amounts of tomato sauce. But one came in our subscription box and I wanted to find a new way to use it. Since many conventional cheeseburger casserole recipes include pasta, I thought it might make a great low carb sub.
One of the easiest ways to cook spaghetti squash is roasting it in your oven. I simply cut mine in half crosswise, which is easier than lengthwise. Then I scooped out the seeds and roasted at 400F until I could easily squeeze it. This takes about 40 to 50 minutes for a medium squash.
How To Make Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Once the spaghetti squash is roasted, the rest of this cheeseburger casserole recipe comes together in a snap!
Since this is a keto recipe, I cooked my bacon first and then proceeded to use the bacon fat to cook the remaining ingredients. I did not drain any of the grease from the pan, even after I cooked my burger meat. This makes the casserole more filling and luscious. You can drain some if you like but I love all that healthy fat.
To make the ground beef taste more like a real burger, I added a bit of unsweetened ketchup from Primal Kitchen. That’s good stuff, y’all! I suggest checking it out. It has all the flavor of regular ketchup with NO added sweeteners.
I also added a touch or Worcestershire sauce. The Lea & Perrins brand is gluten-free and a few teaspoons helps amp up the meaty flavor in keto casseroles like this.
My original intention was to spread everything in a casserole dish and bake it. But then I realized I had already done all of the cooking in a skillet and it would be simpler and less messy to finish it off that way. Why dirty more dishes, right? So once the meat was cooked, I scooped out the flesh of the squash and stirred it right into the pan.
Then I simply topped it all with the cheese and put a lid on it, letting it cook through for a few more minutes. Once the cheese was melted, I sprinkled the chopped bacon over top and dinner was done.
How easy is that?
Winner winner cheeseburger dinner. I thought this was phenomenal and my kids liked it too. It was easy to make and very satisfying. A delicious keto comfort food recipe.
More Delicious Keto Casseroles
Cheeseburger Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon sugar free ketchup
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 6 ounces shredded Cheddar (about 1 ½ cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the squash in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds. Set the squash cut-side down and bake until the squash is soft enough to be squeezed, about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. In the same skillet, cook the ground beef, breaking up any clumps with the back of a wooden spoon.
- When the beef is almost cooked through, about 7 minutes, add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until no longer pink, another 2 or 3 minutes.
- Stir in the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Scoop the flesh out of the squash and stir in until well mixed into the ground beef. Spread out evenly over the bottom of the skillet
- Sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese and cover the skillet. Reduce the heat to low and let the cheese melt, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the bacon overtop and serve.
Susan says
I tried this today. Amazing. I really love it and it will definitely go into the rotation. Thank you for your delicious recipes.
Neicy says
I’m very confused by this dish. It sounded interesting and easy enough. But am I the only person who ended up with a soupy mess? Between the fat from the turkey (I don’t eat red meat) and the fat from the bacon, there is way too much liquid. Instinct told me to drain the meat, but the recipe is written as if you shouldn’t.
Carolyn says
I don’t drain it but it sounds like your spaghetti squash may have had too much moisture too. Maybe that’s what needed to be drained. I don’t use turkey so I really can’t say.
Shelley says
I so often make keto for me and regular for my family…..tonight we went keto for everyone with this recipe. THEY LOVED IT! My boyfriend even went for extras. Thanks for the big win, and I now look forward to incorporating more keto into everyone’s meals (it certainly makes my life easier!)
Katie says
Hi Carolyn do you know about how many cups of cooked squash you ended up using? Thanks!
Carolyn says
It’s about 4 cups.
Karissa says
I tried this today as written and it’s absolutely delicious!!! This will definitely be going into our rotation.
KELLY says
COULD I LEAVE OUT THE KETCHUP AND/OR PUT SOME THING ELSE IN LIKE RANCH, SOME FAMILY MEMBERS DON’T LIKE KETCHUP
Carolyn says
I guess it’s worth a try.
Jennifer Malin says
Really good recipe. Only thing I did different is add half a chopped onion in with the garlic. We will definitely make this again. Any chance you know the total fat per serving? Thanks!
Carolyn says
Total fat is 28.8g per serving and I am not sure why that is missing from my nutritional info. Sorry!
Jeanette says
This looked so odd but I tried it anyway and it was delicious! I used some plain tomato sauce instead of sugar free ketchup.
We loved it, thanks!!
Carolyn says
So glad you gave it a try! 🙂
Lisa says
Very rare that my husband will say this is delicious. Both my grown boys loved it. Not a drop left. Thanks for this recipe
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
hotnspicy says
I love spaghetti squash but needed new ways to incorporate it. This is a fabulous recipe just for that! I’m the only low carber in my house so I made this for my weekly lunches. It’s delicious. Thanks for another great recipe!
Brenda Moore says
Wow! I’ve been wondering what to do with the spaghetti squash that’s a little different. This is it! I’m making it tonight. Thanks so much.
Suny says
Making this tonight but will use zucchini noodles since I
Have a bag in my freezer. Hope it works out!
Jocelyn says
I agree…winner winner cheeseburger dinner for sure! This is absolutely delicious!
Jamie says
This was a hit with my family! Even my non-keto family members loved it!
Steph says
Looks amazing! Just pinned it so I can make it this weekend. Thanks!
Anna says
Love the squash in this casserole! So delicious!
Theresa says
Do you use a program to calculate your nutritional value chart? If so, would you mind sharing the name of the program or website? I’ve been looking for one to use for my day to day recipes. Thank You!
Carolyn says
Hi Theresa. I do, but it’s paid software since I need to be as accurate as possible. It’s called MacGourmet and it relies on the USDA database for nutritional counts.
Karen Murphy says
I pinned this today, had all of the ingredients on hand. Easy to make! Husband LOVED it. Will make this again many times. Oh, we topped it with a little Parmesan. Thank you for all the great recipes!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Amy W says
This is wonderful, Carolyn! I made it exactly as written except I used Swiss cheese instead of Cheddar, because I prefer Swiss on my cheeseburgers.
The Ketchup and Worcestershire was a great combination of flavors. Thanks!
Jaime says
AWESOME! Made for supper tonight. I doubled the recipe, added 2 TBSP. of mustard, used rice cauliflower because that’s what I had, and real bacon bits on top of the cheese because I forgot to thaw my bacon out. Everyone LOVED it! I put avacado on mine…and the rest of the fam put extra ketchup (ugh). Thanks Carolyn, it’s going in our stash of regular recipes!
Carolyn says
Glad it worked out!