Air fryer butternut squash is soft and tender on the inside, caramelized on the outside in about half the time it takes in the oven to roast. Make butternut squash cubes or fries in the air fryer with just 2 ingredients and about 16 minutes.
Why you will love this recipe
- Cooks in half the time: Making butternut squash in the air fryer takes about 16 minutes of cooking. Roasting butternut squash in the oven takes between 40-50 minutes.
- Perfect Side Dish: Perfect for an afternoon snack or a simple side dish for dinner, you are going to find lots of reasons to make air fryer butternut squash during the fall and winter months.
- Great for small batches: Want to only cook enough for a single meal? The air fryer is great for this. You can fit about ½ of a butternut squash, cubed in the air fryer at once. You can save the other half for the next day or use it to make soup.
- Customizable: Make fries or cubes depending on what you are having for dinner that day! Use to top your favorite salad, grain bowl or quinoa bowl. Air fryer butternut squash fries go great with burgers or even chicken nuggets!
- Versatile: Add your favorite spices before cooking butternut squash in the air fryer for a super fun twist on dinner! Because you will make small batches, you can even cook 2 different spice blends over 2 batches.
- Healthy side dish: This recipe is low in calories, high in fiber and a great source of Vitamin A, C, magnesium and potassium. This dish is naturally vegan, gluten free, dairy free, paleo, and Whole30 friendly.
Ingredients
- Butternut squash (peeled, cubed or cut into fries)
- Olive oil or avocado oil spray
- Salt (optional)
Instructions
Check out the step by step instructions on how to make butternut squash cubes in the air fryer in this story!
Peel and cut the butternut squash into equal sized pieces (see notes below on tip how to cut and peel with ease).
Spray the bottom of the basket of the air fryer with olive oil or avocado oil spray (do not use a non-stick spray with added propellants, it can break down the coating on the basket) and add enough butternut squash to cover the bottom of the basket (keep the squash in one single layer). This means you will likely need to cook in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
Cook at 375F for 16 minutes. After 8 minutes of cooking, pause the air fryer and shake the basket. Spray the top of the squash with more olive oil or avocado oil spray and sprinkle with salt (optional).
Continue to cook the butternut squash, shaking the basket again with about 4 minutes left and again in the last minute or two.
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Tips
- Don’t overcrowd the basket. To ensure the outside of the squash get caramelized and cooked through, you want just one single layer of squash on the bottom of your air fryer.
- Be sure to shake the basket regularly, especially at the end. Although the air fryer is circulating air, I find that if you don’t shake the basket regularly, one side of the squash will burn and the other sides will not get that nice caramelization you are looking for.
- If you want to add spices/seasoning, do it before cooking so that you are sure that the butternut squash are fully coated. You can skip the step of adding the olive oil spray and salt when shaking the basket, as your butternut squash will already have olive oil and salt from the seasoning.
- Eat the butternut squash quickly after cooking. As the squash sits, it starts to steam from the inside and the crust that has formed on the fries/cubes starts to soften as well. The texture is best right out of the air fryer.
- For the quickest and easiest clean up (and to avoid the butternut squash from sticking to the air fryer basket), put down parchment paper or silicone liner in the basket.
Tips on how to peel and cut a butternut squash
Butternut squash can be tough to handle, but I will give you my tips on how to tackle them without problems. You will need a good vegetable peeler and a sharp chef’s knife.
How to peel a butternut squash
Start by washing the skin of the squash and allowing it to dry.
I like to peel the top half of the squash first, moving from the bulb part up to the stem on top. This way I am holding on to the skin on the bulb as I work around the largest part of the blub with the peeler.
Once the top half of the squash is peeled, hold it in your hand and peel the bulb working from the top of the bulb down to the bottom of the squash.
Tip: Many butternut squash have thick skin and you may need to go over it 2 times with a peeler to get rid of any green skin left over after the first pass with the vegetable peeler.
How to cut a butternut squash
Once, peeled, you will want to make 3 cuts to the butternut squash. Cut off the about ½ inch at the top, ½ inch at the bottom and make a cut at where you think the bulb of the squash starts. If you are worried about the squash rolling around on you while you do this, place a clean kitchen towel under the squash to help keep it in place.
Now you will have 2 separate pieces of squash to work with, with flat tops and bottoms. Having flat surfaces makes it much easier to cut going forward.
Cut the bulb in half, scoop out the seeds with a large spoon. Place the flesh flat side down and carefully cut into cubes or fries. I find that the bulb area is the easiest to cut into equal size fries by just cutting it into ½ inch slices from top of the bulb to the bottom.
Cut the large top in half from top to bottom creating two half moon shaped pieces. Now you have the flat side of the moon to put on the cutting board, making it easier to cut into fries or equal size cubes.
Note: Some people have a contact dermatitis where their hands get itchy, dry or have another kind of reaction to the flesh of the butternut squash. You can wear gloves when handling if you notice this.
Time saving tips
Use store bought butternut squash cubes, just take the time to cut down the cubes so they are mostly uniform in size to allow for even cooking.
You can use frozen butternut squash cubes. I will note that when cooked, the texture is not quite the same but if you are looking for a way to quickly cook up frozen butternut squash cubes, this will work!
Cube the butternut squash yourself up to 3 days before cooking. Simply store it in an airtight container in the fridge. This way you have them ready to go when you are making dinner.
Spice blends to add
Butternut squash is great with just a pinch of salt, but sometimes it can be fun to change it up and add sweet or savory spices. To do this, you will want to add your butternut squash to a large bowl, and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil before sprinkling on the spices. Don’t forget to add salt to the savory spice options.
Here are some great spices that pair well with air fryer butternut squash:
- Cinnamon (for a sweeter kick)
- Nutmeg
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Garam masala
- Curry seasoning
- Red pepper flakes
- Garlic powder
- Chinese 5 Spice Powder
How to serve
If you make air fryer butternut squash fries, you can serve them with:
- As a side dish for any meal. Burgers, Chicken Nuggets, Sandwiches
- Dip in ketchup, pesto, lemon herb tahini dip or chimichurri sauce for a fun snack or appetizer.
If you make air fryer butternut squash cubes, you can serve them:
- As a side dish on their own
- On top of salads or make your own salad with your favorite fall vegetables and maple tahini dressing.
- In tacos or taco bowls (with spicy tahini sauce)
- As part of grain bowls (with quinoa or yellow rice and roasted veggies).
- On rice with chickpeas and curry seasoning
- With cinnamon or nutmeg on top of yogurt bowls or even with granola
Storage
Fridge: Air fryer butternut squash is best eaten immediately, but you can also store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat in the toaster oven or in the air fryer, at 350F for 4-5 minutes to warm up and crisp up the skin.
Freezer: Cooked butternut squash can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. The texture will change after freezing. If you are going to freeze, you may want to use the defrosted butternut squash in soups as the texture will be watery.
If you love this recipe, you should try
- Air Fryer Carrot Fries
- Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts
- Air Fryer Delicata Squash
- The Best Butternut Squash Soup
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash Noodles with Creamy Garlic Sauce
- Air Fryer Cauliflower Gnocchi
Air Fryer Butternut Squash
$2.26 recipe/$0.57 servingIngredients
- 1 large butternut squash - $1.99
- Olive oil spray (or avocado oil spray) - $0.24
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional) - $0.03
Instructions
- Peel the butternut squash and cut it into cubes or fries (depending on what you prefer).
- Spray the basket of your air fryer with olive oil spray and add the butternut squash cubes or fries. Be careful not to overcrowd the basket, you only want one single layer.
- Cook at 375F for 16 minutes.
- After 8 minutes of cooking, shake the air fryer basket to move around the squash. Spray the squash with olive oil spray and add optional salt. Shake again. Continue to cook the butternut squash.
- With just 4 minutes left, shake the basket again (so nothing burns).
- Enjoy the butternut squash immediately for best texture.
Notes
- Fridge: These are best right out of the air fryer, but you can also store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in the toaster oven or in the air fryer, at 350F for 4-5 minutes to warm up and crisp up the skin.
- I do not recommend freezing, as the texture will be completely different after freezing.
- Cinnamon (for a sweeter kick)
- Nutmeg
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Garam masala
- Curry seasoning
- Red pepper flakes
- Garlic powder
- Chinese 5 Spice Powder
