Perfectly crispy, tender air fryer butternut squash is great for tossing into salads, topping grain dishes, folding into soups, stews, or risotto, filling tacos or enchiladas, or simply pairing with a dinner dish. This squash is seasoned with savory and sweet spices, like garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, thyme, and rosemary. And the best part is that by air frying, you’ll cut back on oil and you won’t even have to fire up your oven!
Ingredients
- Butternut squash – choose a medium butternut squash darker in color with matte skin. This recipe calls for 1-inch cubes, but you can make them bigger, smaller, or even air fry squash rings.
- Olive oil – to get the delicious crispy exterior.
- Seasonings – garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried rosemary, sea salt, and black pepper round out the spices for this side dish.
Tips and Modifications
- Shake regularly – in order to get the best crispy results, shake the air fryer basket every 5 to 7 minutes.
- Cut similar sized cubes – try your best to cut equally sized 1-inch cubes to ensure uniform cooking.
- Cook in batches – if you’re using a smaller air fryer, you may need to cook your squash in batches in order to get the desired crispy exterior.
- Shortcut – cut down on preparation time by buying fresh pre-cut butternut squash in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.
- Seasonings – make a sweeter variation by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, sage and maple syrup or brown sugar. Go spicy with chipotle powder, cayenne pepper, and/or red pepper flakes.
- Dressings/sauces – we love drizzling cooked squash with maple vinaigrette. This squash also go well with horseradish aioli, honey mustard, chimichurri sauce, pumpkin seed pesto, kale pesto, or lemon vinaigrette.
How to Make Air Fryer Butternut Squash
Preheat your air fryer to 400℉, if needed. Not all air fryers require preheating.
Prepare the butternut squash. Using a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the squash. Slice the squash in half horizontally. Then cut each half in half again, vertically. Scoop the seeds out of the sections. Slice each quarter into 1-inch pieces. Cube the quarters.
Gimme Some Oven has a super helpful video and photo step-by-step guide for how to cut butternut squash if you need more help.
Put 4 cups of squash into a large bowl. Toss with oil. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat.
Transfer the seasoned squash to the air fryer basket. Cook for 16 to 20 minutes at 400℉. Be sure to shake the air fryer basket every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking and to get crispier squash. Transfer the squash to a serving dish and enjoy. Drizzle with maple vinaigrette for some extra pizazz!
How to Store
- Refrigerate – store cooked or uncooked butternut squash in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freeze – we don’t recommend freezing cooked butternut squash, as it will be very mushy when thawed and reheated. To freeze uncooked butternut squash, spread the squash out on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Flash freeze for 2-3 hours. Then transfer the squash to a large Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw squash overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Reheat – you can reheat cooked butternut squash in the air fryer at 400F for 4 to 6 minutes, or until warmed. This helps retain the crispiness. You can also reheat over the stove on medium heat in a frying pan with a splash of vegetable or chicken broth. Heat until warmed.
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What to Serve with Air Fryer Butternut Squash
- Protein – pair with Italian herb chicken, chicken piccata, creamy pesto chicken scallopini, honey mustard chicken, lemon turkey meatballs, favorite turkey meatballs, shrimp, beef, pan seared pesto salmon, or scallops.
- Grains/pasta – layer on top of garlic orzo, pumpkin alfredo, avocado pesto pasta, sundried tomato pasta, apple chicken sausage pasta, stovetop white cheddar mac and cheese, miso brown butter gnocchi, miso brown rice, or cilantro lime brown rice.
- Soups/stews – fold into fall minestrone soup, chicken gnocchi soup, spicy sausage and chickpea soup, or roasted carrot and butternut squash soup.
- More veggies – add asparagus, peas, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, broccoli, or a side salad.
- Bread – fresh baked bread, dinner rolls, breadsticks, or garlic bread.
What to do with Leftover Butternut Squash
You’ll likely have leftover butternut squash when making this recipe and you’re probably wondering what to do with it. The beauty is that butternut squash is such a versatile vegetable that you have tons of options.
Here are some of our favorite ways to use butternut squash.
- Creamy butternut squash risotto
- Butternut squash lasagna rolls
- Butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter
- Roasted carrot and butternut squash soup
- Fall minestrone soup
- Butternut squash and black bean burgers
- Apple pecan butternut squash boats
- Refried butternut squash tacos
- Maple balsamic butternut squash pasta
- Butternut squash, arugula, and bacon quiche
- Chai butternut squash soup
Not ready to use your freshly cut squash? No problem. Freeze the cubes according to our directions in the How to Store section and save them for a future recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, yes. You’ll need to peel the squash before cutting it into 1-inch cubes.
If your squash is tougher, you can try slicing the top and bottom off of the squash, poking holes in it with a fork, and then heating it in the microwave on high for a 1 to 2 minutes. The flesh should soften, making it easier to peel and cut. Just be sure to wait a few minutes for the squash to cool before handling.
A Y potato peeler is great for peeling the tough skin of butternut squash.
Yes! Thaw the squash before air frying. Note that frozen squash will not get as crisp on the outside as fresh butternut squash. We generally save frozen squash for soups, sauces, and purees and try to use fresh for roasting and air frying.
Check out our other easy side dishes
- Chipotle roasted cauliflower steaks
- Oven roasted broccoli
- Parmesan zucchini tots
- Baked zucchini fries
- Air fryer sweet potato fries
Air Fryer Butternut Squash
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 4 c butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 400℉, if needed. Not all air fryers require preheating.
- Prepare the butternut squash. Using a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the squash. Slice the squash in half horizontally. Then cut each half in half again, vertically. Scoop the seeds out of the sections. Slice each quarter into 1-inch pieces. Cube the quarters.
- Put 4 cups of squash into a large bowl. Toss with oil. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat.
- Transfer the seasoned squash to the air fryer basket. Cook for 16 to 20 minutes at 400℉. Be sure to shake the air fryer basket every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking and to get crispier squash. Transfer the squash to a serving dish and enjoy. Drizzle with maple vinaigrette for some extra pizazz!
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