Happy October! I know fall technically starts September 21 but I feel like once we get to October, that’s when it really sets in. So in honour of that, I made a recipe using a fall-ey ingredient – squash! To be more specific, I used spaghetti squash, which is one of my faves.

Not only is this a squash recipe, this is another recipe from the Thug Kitchen cookbook. You can see all the recipes I’ve made from this book thus far, by clicking here 🙂 . Even though this is only my 4th recipe from this book, I’m loving everything about it.

This recipe was, as the title suggests, spaghetti squash with pesto. And it was delicious. The spaghetti squash was simply roasted until tender and “shredded” into strands. But then it gets tossed with homemade pesto which is the key.

I love pesto but it can be quite pricey because it is traditionally made with basil and pine nuts. But the good news is, you can make pesto on a budget! By using other herbs like parsley or cilantro and nuts like almonds or walnuts, you can get an equally delicious result with a lower cost.

The pesto in this recipe uses cilantro and almonds. Other ingredients are lemon, garlic, olive oil and a little water. It’s super simple and turned out amazing. The flavours were so fresh, bright and nothing was overpowering. You could use this pesto on/in anything and it would be delicious.

This recipe is the perfect side dish or light lunch. It’s super healthy yet satisfying. For a non vegan option, I think sprinkling a little parmesan cheese would be the perfect garnish. You could also eat it with your protein of choice to make it more of a main meal. There’s nothing I didn’t like about this recipe. This pesto is a keeper for sure.

**

P.S. Be on the lookout for my posts for the next 2 weeks, they will be using theme ingredients (1 ingredient each week). Any guesses as to what they are? Hint: they’re commonly associated with fall time. I hope you have a good weekend!