Sprouted Spaghetti Squash: Is It OK To Eat?

We got quite a surprise when we split open this spaghetti squash – inside were sprouted seeds! Has this ever happened to you? Did you eat it?

First of all, we knew our squash was a little old when we cut it open. In addition to the sprouts, it appeared dried out. But was it edible? After reading several conflicting opinions online, we decided to just try it for ourselves. Not a fun experience – the flesh and sprouts were alarmingly bitter. Sadly, we wound up chucking it in the compost.

This particular squash had been sitting on the counter for a couple of weeks. Although we had never had a problem with keeping winter squashes there before, perhaps our local temperature fluctuations were not ideal. Or maybe the squash was already old when we bought it. In the future, we'll take care to store our squashes somewhere consistently cool, dry, and dark. Spaghetti squashes may last up to six months stored at 50-60 degrees with good air circulation.

(Image: Emily Ho)

Comments (19)

I don't know the answer to your question but i am intrigued - would you be able to tell me more about your compost pile?

I started thinking recently that I would love to help the environment, thanks!!

I've cut open a tomato and had seeds like that sprouted inside of it. It was crazy! I ended up eating the tomato (because it was the only one I had and a blt minus the tomato ain't a great blt) and didn't suffer as a result.

i would guess edible but not optimal. i ate potatoes that had sprouted a little the other day. scrape away the sprouty bits and voila!

Yeah, I've eaten a spaghetti squash with some sprouting before. It tasted like a normal spaghetti squash, but they were little baby sprouts compared to what's pictured.

This happened to me once and I tried cooking it after removing the sprouts, but it tasted really horrible... I don't know if anyone else has had a different experience, but I wouldnt reccomend it.

laetitiae - i have also found sprouting seeds inside my tomato before! i thought it was really weird, so i threw it out. the next day i did some research and found out it's quite rare for tomatoes to sprout, but are ok to eat.

my bell peppers sprout all the time, but always taste just as delicious!

Anyone else notice that this appeared on the same day as a guest post from the blogger behind "Sprouted Kitchen"?

I've had this happen with peppers, and you'll sometimes get a baby pepper growing inside a larger one. Never been a problem.

I've had a tomato sprout, too! It tasted ok, so I ate it, but it still freaked me out a little.

I've had this happen before. We ate it, and it didn't taste any different from a regular spaghetti squash.

Is it safe to eat any sprouted potatoes, garlic heads or any vegetables?

ithink-it is safe to eat sprouted potatoes and garlic heads, I do all the time.

I just cut into my first tomato with sprouted seeds the other day. I resisted tossing it, not because I had any desire to eat it (too skeeved!), but because I wondered about planting it.

Tomatoes are difficult to grow from seed. Does anyone know if it is it easier/harder if you plant a sprouted tomato?

Yes, I had one that sprouted. I ate it and it was still delish!

I'm always resentful when I open up a bell pepper and find that it has sprouted...I'm paying for extra weight that I can't eat! And some of those sprouts are big!

We have spaghetti squash from our summer garden that has been stored in the basement since October. It's still good. We did have issues in the garden with some squashes crossing with gourds or something. It created a very bitter squash that was inedible. When researching this we learned that sometimes squash plants will revert back to - well something else - and the fruits are actually toxic. So never eat a bitter squash.

I had a butternut squash with sprouts inside of it once, and we ate it, and it was fine. Not the best one ever, but not bitter or terrible at all. I was disappointed because I love to roast the seeds, though, and these were definitely not roast-able.

I'll attempt to cook anything that isn't moldy.