Green Spaghetti Squash (Cooked as a Summer Squash)

Green Spaghetti Squash (Cooked as a Summer Squash) is for vegetable gardeners with young unripe spaghetti squash. This post tells you what to do with spaghetti squash that doesn’t have time to get ripe. And this recipe for young spaghetti squash is something I’ve loved since the first time I tried it!

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Back in the days when I had a big vegetable garden I used to LOVE cooking young Green Spaghetti Squash as a side dish. And for years I thought everyone who grew spaghetti squash did that.

Then I realized many people had never heard of this way of cooking spaghetti squash, so now I’m urging gardeners who have spaghetti squash that isn’t going to mature to try this recipe for cooking them. And I love this buttery spaghetti squash that’s cooked as a Summer Squash! I’ve been cooking this for years, whenever I could get my hands on unripe spaghetti squash.

The hardest part of the recipe if you don’t have a garden might be finding the green spaghetti squash. Some immature spaghetti squash is light green, but sometimes they are darker green. You can tell whether the squash is good for this recipe by testing to see if you can easily pierce the skin of the spaghetti squash with your fingernail.

I hope you can find green spaghetti squash to try this interesting recipe! And if you try it, I hope you love it as much as I do!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe:

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• young unripe spaghetti squash (be sure the skin is soft enough to pierce with your fingernail)
• butter 
• salt 
• fresh-ground black pepper

What’s the difference between winter squash and summer squash?

Squashes are divided into two categories:

• Winter Squash (which ripen late in the season, can be stored through the winter, and have hard outer rinds). Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash, Spaghetti Squash, and many others are examples of winter squash.
• Summer Squash (which have a soft outer skin and can be eaten rind, seeds, and all.) Zucchini is the most well-known summer squash but this category also includes patty pan squash and yellow squash.

What does it mean to cook spaghetti squash as a summer squash?

When this recipe refers to cooking Spaghetti Squash as a summer squash it means cooking it when it’s young, the outside is green, and it still has a soft skin.

How did I learn about cooking green spaghetti squash?

Years ago I was introduced to this way of eating spaghetti squash by a former boyfriend. He taught me to pick the squash when it was young and green and the skin could be pierced with your fingernail. He would boil the cut-up squash, mash it, and serve it as a vegetable with butter, salt, and pepper.

It wasn’t until years later that I learned that most people don’t pick spaghetti squash until the skins turn yellow. Then they bake or microwave the squash so the strands pull apart into a kind of vegetable spaghetti. I like spaghetti squash as a winter squash, but I’m crazy about spaghetti squash when it’s cooked as a summer squash.

How can you get unripe spaghetti squash?

You’ll never find young spaghetti squash like this in a store. You’ll have to grow some in your garden or find a friend who has a garden if you want to try this recipe. And I haven’t met another gardener who has tried this, so I hope some of you will try it. Trust me, you will love it! In fact, I just ate some of my leftovers while I was typing this up!

How to Cook Green Spaghetti Squash (Cooked as a Summer Squash): 

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Most young spaghetti squash is light green, but in the photo you can see I got one that was darker green.
2. Choose young, small spaghetti squash with skin that can be easily pierced with your fingernail.
3. Wash the outside of the squash well.
4. Cut off both ends, then cut the rest of the squash up into pieces about 2 inches square. (If your squash has noticeable seeds, be sure they are tender.)
5. Bring water to a boil, add salt, and add the spaghetti squash and turn heat to medium.
6. Simmer the spaghetti squash until it’s tender (but not mushy), about 10-15 minutes. Check to see the squash is easily pierced with a fork.
7. Put cooked squash into large colander and let it drain for 5 minutes or more. It’s important not to rush the draining time.
8. After squash has drained 5 minutes, use a potato masher (affiliate link) to coarsely mash the squash. Then let drain 2-3 minutes more.
9. Put spaghetti squash into a serving bowl and serve hot, with plenty of butter, salt, and freshly ground pepper.
10. And trust me, this is not a time to skimp on the butter. I hope you try it if you get a chance!

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4.6 Stars (14 Reviews)

Yield: 6 servings

Green Spaghetti Squash (Cooked as a Summer Squash)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

This post about Green Spaghetti Squash (Cooked as a Summer Squash) is for vegetable gardeners who have squash on the vine that aren't going to have time to ripen! And this interesting recipe is something I've been making for about 40 years, and every summer I wonder why more vegetable gardeners don't try it.

Ingredients

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• 2 young spaghetti squash (be sure the skin is soft enough to pierce with your fingernail)
• 4 T butter to flavor the cooked squash (see notes)
• salt for the water and for seasoning the cooked squash (to taste)
• fresh-ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions

1. Choose young, small spaghetti squash with skin that can be easily pierced with your fingernail. (The color of the squash doesn't always tell if it's young, so use the fingernail test.
2. Wash the outside of the squash well since you will be eating the skin.
3. Cut off the stem and blossom end and cut the rest of the squash up into pieces about 2 inches square.
4. If your squash has noticeable seeds, be sure they are tender.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a little salt, and add the spaghetti squash, and turn heat to medium-low.
6. Simmer the spaghetti squash until it's tender, about 10-15 minutes or until the squash is easily pierced with a fork. Be careful not to overcook or it will be mushy.
7. Put cooked squash into large colander and let it drain well, for 5 minutes or more. Don't rush the draining time, because there's a lot of moisture in the young squash.
8. After squash has drained about 5 minutes, use an old-fashioned potato masher (affiliate link) to coarsely mash the squash and the skin and let it drain 2-3 minutes more.
9. Put spaghetti squash into a serving bowl and serve hot, with plenty of butter and salt and freshly ground pepper.
10. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days and reheat beautifully in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.

Notes

I use a generous amount of butter; use more or less to taste.

Unripe spaghetti squash is not going to be in nutritional databases, but personally I suspect the carb count is lower than the amount of carbs in ripe spaghetti squash.

This recipe given to Kalyn by a man named Art who taught her to cook spaghetti squash this way many, many years ago!

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 169Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 20mgSodium 281mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 5gSugar 10gProtein 3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Spaghetti Squash does have some carbs, and nutritional databases won’t have unripe spaghetti squash. I’m pretty sure spaghetti squash cooked as a summer squash will lower in carbs than squash that’s ripened. I’d consider this is a good side dish for low-carb diet plans; use the amount of butter that works for your personal eating plan. This should be suitable for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, although South Beach would not recommend using butter.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
See Cooking for Gardeners for more ideas for cooking garden veggies! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Cooking green spaghetti squash as a summer squash was first posted in 2006. I’ve been making this for years, although now I have to beg family members with gardens for unripe spaghetti squash. (Thanks Sandee and Clayton!) The recipe was last updated with more information in 2026.