Healthy Chicken Noodle Casserole

Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a large baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper.

Rub oil on the insides of the squashes and sprinkle with salt. Roast, cut-side down, until fork tender, about 40 minutes to 1 hour. Set aside to cool.

Once cool, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, about 12–16 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large frying pan with high sides, heat olive oil on medium/high heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften, about 3–4 minutes.

Add 1 cup of each milk (reserving the rest for later) along with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and pepper. Stir until well mixed and bring to a boil. While you wait for it to boil, whisk tapioca starch and remaining 1 tablespoon of each milk together in a small bowl until smooth and lump-free.

Once boiling, pour tapioca starch mixture in (while constantly whisking so it doesn’t clump up) and boil for 3–4 minutes, whisking constantly, until it really begins to thicken.

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking frequently, until very thick, just a little thinner than condensed soup, about 10–12 minutes.

To assemble, heat oven to 350ºF. Scrape spaghetti squash into a large kitchen towel. You should end up with about 8 packed cups (or 1100g) of spaghetti squash and I do recommend measuring to make sure!

Wrap squash in the kitchen towel and wring out as much moisture as you can. Place into a large bowl.

Shred chicken (you should have about 2 very packed cups or 290g) and add to the bowl along with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add homemade soup and stir everything together until well mixed. I find it a lot easier to use your hands here, even though it is messy!

Once mixed, press down firmly into a large baking dish and cover with the crackers, lightly pressing them into the top of the casserole. Bake until the casserole is bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Let stand for 10–15 minutes to cool and then garnish with parsley and devour.

Note: I use my small food processor so dicing all that onion is quick and easy.