Chicken Carbonara (With Spaghetti Squash)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon.

Place them face down on a baking sheet or in a large baking dish with ¼ inch of water. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork.

While the squash is cooking, butterfly the chicken by cutting it in half lengthwise.

Pound it with a meat hammer or the bottom of a cast iron pan until it’s ¼ to ½ inch thick.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, place the asparagus in about ¼ inch of water. Cook over high heat until the asparagus is bright green and starting to soften. Once the water has evaporated add 1 Tablespoon butter and sprinkle with some sea salt.

Remove the asparagus from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, cook bacon until crispy.

Remove the bacon and cook the skinless chicken breast in the bacon grease, sprinkling each side with some of the sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

Remove the cooked chicken and set it aside.

Saute the onion in the remaining bacon grease until soft.

Add the spinach and extra butter or olive oil if needed and cook until the spinach is barely wilted.

Add the cream if using and about ¼ teaspoon of the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

At this point, the spaghetti squash should be soft so remove it from the oven and drain off the water. Scrape out the insides with a fork. It should be a little al dente, not mushy.

To serve, put some spaghetti squash on a plate, top with some wilted spinach, then a piece of chicken, some crumbled bacon, and the asparagus.

Garnish with Parmesan if using.