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Home » Air Fryer Butternut Squash

Air Fryer Butternut Squash

November 18, 2020 by Debi 5 Comments

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

Air Fryer Butternut Squash is a lovely side dish or main dish with the flesh of the squash nicely browned, the squash meat soft and tender, all in a fraction of the time that it would take to roast it in the oven.

Air Fryer Butternut Squash is an easy, healthy way to make delicious meals in a fraction of the time. Get the deliciousness of oven-baked squash with the convenience of the air fryer! I also have oven directions for you if you need them!

Table of Contents

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  • We appreciate your support
  • Air Fryer Cooking
    • Serving suggestions
  • How to cook squash in the air fryer
    • Oven roasted butternut squash
  • Kitchen items you may need
  • More great squash recipes
  • Let’s keep in touch
  • Recipe
  • Air Fryer Butternut Squash
    • Ingredients  1x2x3x
    • Instructions 
    • Nutrition

Cooked Air Fryer Butternut Squash on a dark plate with thyme sprigs and title on image
This is my favorite way to cook winter squash!

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

square crop of cooked butternut squash

Air Fryer Cooking

Cooking this big squash in the air fryer makes it so easy and so much quicker than roasting it in the oven.

And, you don’t have to cut it into cubes before you cook it!

This is my favorite method for cooking hard winter squash. I’ve been cooking them this way for about a year now. Ever since I made my Garlic Parmesan Cream Shrimp recipe.

Serving suggestions

Roasted Butternut Squash is part of a delicious healthy meal or side dish.

Scrape the flesh out of the shell, and use it in a recipe, or mash it as a side dish. Or serve the butternut squash in the shell, I like to sprinkle it with a little salt and brown sugar when I serve it this way.

You can stuff the cavity with veggies, proteins, and sauce.

Cut up the flesh into cubes and serve it as a side. They’re great with breakfast like this too!

How to cook squash in the air fryer

The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important tips and tricks in the post.

how to roast a butternut squash.
Cut the squash open, and remove the seeds & strings. Don’t forget to save the seeds for roasting and snacking!

Cut the stem off of the butternut squash, and cut the squash cut in half.

Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff from the inside of the squash.

Don’t forget to save those seeds. They’re great for roasting! Check out my post on how to roast squash seeds; I have oven and air fryer instructions.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the cut flesh of the squash, and rub it all over with your hands.

Preheat the air fryer to 325° F.

Place the two squash pieces cut side down into the basket of the air fryer, and cook at 325° F for 20 minutes.

Carefully, using tongs, turn the squash over and place about ½ tablespoon of butter, in the center of the squash cups. This is also a good time to add salt if you want to.

Air fry at 400° F for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the cut surface is browned and the inside of the squash is fork tender.

cooked butternut squash in the basket of an air fryer.
They come out nice and golden brown

Oven roasted butternut squash

Want to try roasting the butternut squash in the oven? Don’t worry, I gotcha covered there too.

Place the squash wedges cut-side up, like bowls, in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet.

Drizzle with a little olive oil, and use your hands to rub it all over the cut surface and inside the squash. Place a small pat of butter (if desired), about ½ tablespoon, in the center of the squash cups.

Roast in a 375° F oven until the squash is caramelized and browned around the edges, about 45 to 60 minutes. You should be able to easily poke a fork through the flesh.

a fork full of roasted butternut squash taken out of the whole cooked squash.

Kitchen items you may need

Serrated knife
Ice cream scoop or sturdy spoon
Air Fryer
Tongs
Air fryer accessories

More great squash recipes

Squash is such a great sweet and healthy vegetable. Be sure to check out these recipes! You’ll love them!

Butternut Squash Gratin Casserole

Vertical crop Butternut Squash Gratin Casserole with title

Butternut Mac & Cheese

Butternut Squash "Mac" & Cheese | Life Currents https://lifecurrentsblog.com healthy vegetarian lower calorie vegetables

Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds Recipe

Mexican Butternut Casserole

Mexican casserole in a pan with a serving beging taken out

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Recipe

a fork full of roasted butternut squash taken out of the whole cooked squash

Air Fryer Butternut Squash

Debi
Air Fryer Butternut Squash is a lovely side dish or main dish with the flesh of the squash nicely browned, the squash meat soft and tender, all in a fraction of the time that it would take to roast it in the oven.
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 97 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • oil
  • ½ tablespoon butter
  • Salt if desired

Instructions
 

  • Cut the stem off of the butternut squash, and cut the squash cut in half, lengthwise.
  • Scoop out the seeds and stringy goop from the inside of the squash.
  • Drizzle a little olive oil over the cut flesh of the squash, and rub it all over with your hands.
  • Preheat the air fryer to 325° F.
  • Place the two squash pieces cut side down into the basket of the air fryer, and cook at 325° F for 20 minutes.
  • Carefully, using tongs, turn the squash over and place about ½ tablespoon of butter, in the center of the squash cups. This is also a good time to add salt if you want to.
  • Air fry at 400° F for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the cut surface is browned and the inside of the squash is fork tender.

Nutrition

Calories: 97kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 20mgPotassium: 660mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 19975IUVitamin C: 39mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword air fryer, butternut squash
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!
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Filed Under: Air Fryer, Gluten-free, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: air fryer, butternut squash, Cooking, Food, recipe, squash, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, winter squash

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. 2pots2cook

    November 18, 2020 at 10:39 am

    5 stars
    Lovely and tasty autumn treat ! Thank you for your version !

  2. MICHAELA KENKEL

    July 19, 2021 at 10:54 am

    5 stars
    I can’t believe I have never made squash in my airfryer! It turned out beyond perfect! Thank you!

  3. Karen

    February 5, 2022 at 7:03 am

    5 stars
    Love it! ❤️ Best way to do squash.Was soft and moist.

  4. Teressa Carpenter

    September 5, 2022 at 7:16 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious, and easy! Will definitely use this recipe again.

  5. Thosetwo

    July 17, 2023 at 1:51 pm

    5 stars
    Like baking potatoes doing butternut squash in the air fryer is a great way to get good results. Thank you for the easy to follow directions for a healthy side dish.

5 from 6 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

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