Cooking spaghetti squash in water

Many recipes instruct you to cook spaghetti squash in the oven by soaking it in an inch of water. When roasting spaghetti squash, adding water is not essential, even when an Instant Pot recipe calls for a tiny quantity of liquid to work correctly. Due to the high water content of winter squash, the spaghetti squash will manufacture its own moisture while it cooks. When roasting squash in the oven, adding water will dilute its flavor, especially if you drop the sliced squash right into the water.

The additional water may also make the finished noodles mushy. Rather, omit the water step and roast the squash straight on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil. There is a technique to reduce moisture if your squash accidentally becomes too mushy and you read this step after the squash has already been baked. Try this trick from Clean Plates: Using a fork, remove the squash strands, put them in a colander, then use a paper towel to gently press down on them.