This recipe for Seasoned Butternut Squash Fries uses the Air Fryer to make them Crispy, that and a little corn starch! Served with dipping sauce, these Air Fried Butternut Squash Fries will be your next favorite side dish, snack or game day appetizer.
These step by step instructions will teach you how to make Butternut Squash Fries. I will walk you through the peeling and cutting of the Butternut Squash into Fries, how to make them Crispy, how to Season them and what flexibility is offered with this recipe and these instructions.
Butternut Squash Fries have risen in popularity recently, not just because they are delicious, turns out they are nutritious also, with a lot of people asking how many carbs are in Butternut Squash Fries. So how do they compare with sweet potato and regular potato fries? Check out the table below for carb content and more:
| Per 5 oz serving | Butternut Squash Fries | Sweet Potato Fries | Regular Potato Fries |
| Calories | 105 kcal | 163 kcal | 150g |
| Sugar content | 3g | 6g | 1g |
| Carb content | 17g | 29g | 25g |
| Dietary fiber | 3g | 4g | 3g |
| Net Carbs | 14g | 25g | 22g |
| Vitamin A | 15068 IU | 20110 IU | 3 IU |
| Vitamin C | 30 mg | 3 mg | 28 mg |
| Potassium | 499 mg | 498 mg | 597 mg |
| Calcium | 68 mg | 43 mg | 17 mg |
These results, generated by WordPress nutrition facts, use 5oz of each vegetable and 0.33 tbsp of avocado oil needed to air fry the Fries.
Clearly, when compared with sweet potato and regular potato fries, Butternut Squash Fries are lower in calories, and net carbs, and they are higher in Vitamin C and Calcium.
With less than 20g of net carbs, a 5 oz portion of Butternut Squash Fries is permissible even on the strictest Keto diet. Butternut Squash Fries also get a big thumbs up from the Paleo community too, as they are a vegetable cooked in a healthy oil and not processed by a food manufacturer. These Fries are also vegan and vegetarian friendly.
Ingredients for Crispy Seasoned Butternut Squash Fries Air Fryer
For the Fries:
- Butternut Squash: medium to large in size, preferably organic.
- Oil: suitable of air frying. I used avocado oil. Any high temp oil will work.
- Cornstarch (cornflour).
- Paprika: sweet and hot are a good combination.
- Granulated garlic.
- Salt and pepper.
For the dip:
- Yogurt: Greek, plain.
- Mayonnaise.
- Chorizo seasoning: I used this recipe.
How to Make Crispy Seasoned Butternut Squash Fries Air Fryer
1) Wash the outside of the Squash. Slice off the stalk end. Cut in half across the diameter of the Squash. Then cut each half in half. This provides a flat surface for chopping. Remove the seeds.
2) With a firm grip on each Squash quarter, remove the rind with a vegetable peeler. Butternut Squash rind is edible but not desirable with these fries.
3) Place a flat side of a one quarter piece of Butternut Squash on a chopping board. With a sharp knife, make ¼ – ½ inch slices. Place these slices on the board and cut ¼ – ½ inch pieces to give thick sticks of Squash.
4) Place the Squash sticks in a bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch over them.
5) Use your hands to toss the Squash sticks in the cornstarch. If needed, put the sticks into a colander to remove extra cornstarch. I did not have any extra, my Squash sticks absorbed all the cornstarch.
6) Put the avocado oil, hot paprika, sweet paprika, granulated garlic, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix together.
7) Swirl the seasoned oil half way up the bowl to coat the bowl, this will help evenly distribute the oil onto the Squash sticks.
8) Add the Squash to the bowl of seasoned oil.
9) Use your hands again to mix thoroughly ensuring every stick is covered with oil.
10) Place the seasoned oil covered squash sticks into the Air Fryer basket in a single layer. Air Fry for 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees F / 205 degrees C.
Flexibility with the Recipe for Crispy Seasoned Butternut Squash Fries
Do not delete the addition of corn starch to the raw fries. The cornstarch is the key ingredient to their crispiness.
Seasoning
Play around with the seasoning part. Consider using Lemon Pepper Seasoning for some heat and zestiness or even Blackening Seasoning, that will give the fries a robust full bodied flavor. Don’t just save it for fish or chicken!
Additional ingredients to consider adding include:
- parmesan cheese, add a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan to the finished Fries as a topping.
- sriracha will give these Fries a moderate spiciness! Add a tsp to the avocado oil before air frying.
- If you want to take the heat and spiciness level up a notch, then add your favorite hot sauce to the avocado oil before air frying. Add a few drops or a tsp, it’s all up to you!
- rosemary salt , ThatDudeCanCook has an excellent recipe for this. His version of rosemary salt is so versatile, it can be sprinkled on just about everything, but it is particularly delightful on these Butternut Squash Fries!
- bacon – fully cooked and cut up into crumbles, added as a topping to the finished Fries.
- sweet and salty effect using a tsp of honey or even maple syrup, combined with a tsp of melted butter, drizzled over the Fries with a generous sprinkling of sea salt flakes to finish the dish.
- hot honey (1 tbsp of honey mixed with a few red chili flakes and a dash of hot sauce) is a delicious add on, drizzled over Crispy Butternut Squash Fries.
Squash
Butternut Squash is the chosen squash for this recipe but use other winter squashes such as Hubbard Squash, Acorn Squash, Japanese Pumpkins and Delicata Squash if desired.
Hubbard Squash is a larger squash than a Butternut Squash, with similar orange flesh under green bumpy skin. It is also sweet but has a more grainy texture, so it may not be the best Squash substitute for this recipe. I recommend drizzling Hubbard Squash Fries with hot honey.
Acorn Squash, again similar to a Butternut Squash by having an orange interior, offers a sweet and nutty flavor and is a perfect substitute for Butternut Squash.
Japanese Pumpkins also known as Kabocha Squash also have the same sweet orange flesh as Butternut Nut. They are also a good substitute, however their flesh is a little softer so less air frying time is needed.
Yet another sweet orange fleshed squash is Delicata Squash, commonly found in supermarkets and farmer’s market in Fall.
Prepare all of these squash substitutes the same way as the Butternut Squash, except with Acorn and Delicata Squashes, there is no need to remove the exterior rind as they are edible. If eating the rind is unappealing, cook with the rind, then peel it off after the squash has been cooked. Using substitute squashes for this recipe will affect the cooking time and nutritional value.
Flexibility with the Instructions how to make Crispy Seasoned Butternut Squash Fries
This recipe is for Air Fried Butternut Squash Fries. There are alternate methods to cook these Fries.
- Deep frying Butternut Squash Fries. This is a traditional method for making fries. House hold deep fryers are a common small appliance in many homes. Or, use a ‘chip pan’ that many homes in Ireland and the UK use for their deep fat frying needs. A chip pan is a sturdy deep sided pot that can withstand high cooking temperatures. It contains a wire basket and is filled with a high temp oil, or lard or a combination of the two. After food is deep fried, the chip pan is left to cool. The lid is placed on top and it is placed in a cupboard where it is stored until its next use.
- Baking Butternut Squash Fries in an oven or toaster oven. Technically, these Fries are roasted, rather than baked in the oven because they are coated in oil and cooked at a high temperature (425 deg F / 220 deg C.) for a longer period of time (30 – 35 minutes.)
- The size of the fries. For skinny fries, cut the Butternut Squash into thinner slices. If a steak fries look is what you’re after, then cut thinker slices of Squash. When air frying skinny Fries add another tbsp of oil to the bowl of seasoning.
- The cut of the Fries. Butternut Squash crinkle cut Fries are a thing! Use a crinkle cutter, also called a wavy chopper or serrated slicer to create this effect.
Storage and Reheating of Butternut Squash Fries
If you make the entire Butternut Squash and realize it is more than you need – fret not! These Fries store excellently in the refrigerator. Prepare the Fries as instructed above (steps 1-9), but do not Air Fry. Store in an airtight container for up to one week, then Air Fry (step 10). No one would ever guess they had been refrigerated for that long!
Store already cooked Butternut Squash Fries in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the Air Fryer for 5-7 minutes at 280 degrees F/ 135 degrees C. If they look a little limp after several days of refrigeration, don’t worry, they crisp up nicely once Air Fried.
A Tip From Me
Cutting the Butternut Squash into uniform fries, will produce some mis shaped pieces. Do not throw these pieces of Squash away. Instead place them in a freezer bag for future use. Add them to a vegetable soup, any type of curry or even meat sauce for pasta. Freeze them for up to 6 months.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers – hopefully!
I recommend any kind of burger made from game meat. Elk, venison, even moose burgers have robust flavors that need a satisfactory side to pair with them. As Fall is the hunting season and Butternut Squash is abundant in the Autumn, it seems only fitting to pair these flavors together!
It all depends from where you are asking this question! Assuming you are in Ireland / U.K. then yes, chips and fries made from Butternut Squash are the same thing. If asking from the U.S. / Canada, then no, because a chip in this case is a thin circular slice of Butternut Squash. If you want to make American style chips, then toss the Squash discs in 3 times the amount of seasoned oil and air fry the chips until crispy.
Good question. We have already compared their nutrition with Butternut Squash Fries coming out ahead with lower calories, less sugar, less net carbs and more calcium.
In appearance, they are almost identical. I had to remind myself that there were not sweet potato fries.
With taste, the lower sugar content was evident and welcome. With texture, the flesh of the Butternut Squash Fries were a little less fluffy, and a little more grainy but not in a bad way.
Crispy Butternut Squash Fries Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash medium / large in size
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise for the dip
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp Chipotle Seasoning Recipe found here
Instructions
- Wash the outside of the Squash. Slice off the stalk end. Cut in half across the diameter of the Squash. Then cut each half in half. This provides a flat surface for chopping. Remove the seeds.
- With a firm grip on each Squash quarter, remove the rind with a vegetable peeler. Butternut Squash rind is edible but not desirable with these fries.
- Place a flat surface of Squash on a chopping board and with a sharp knife, make ¼ – ½ inch slices. Place these slices on the board and cut ¼ – ½ inch pieces to give thick sticks of Squash.
- Place the Squash sticks in a bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch over them.
- Use your hands to toss the Squash sticks in the cornstarch. If needed, put the sticks into a colander to remove extra cornstarch. I did not have any extra, my Squash sticks absorbed all the cornstarch.
- Put the avocado oil, hot paprika, sweet paprika, granulated garlic, salt and pepper into a separate bowl and mix together.
- Swirl the seasoned oil half way up the bowl to coat the bowl, this will help evenly distribute the oil onto the Squash sticks.
- Add the Squash to the bowl of seasoned oil.
- Use your hands again to mix thoroughly ensuring every stick is covered with oil.
- Place the seasoned oil covered squash sticks into the Air Fryer basket in a single layer. Air Fry for 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees F / 205 degrees C.
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