Easy and quick, this recipe makes the perfect roasted butternut squash. Tossed in spices and herbs and then air fried for a crispy sweet taste. The perfect side dish for any meal drizzled with some honey on top and a sprinkle of toasted pecans for the best flavor!
Butternut squash is available all year, but it's around fall that it really gets to take center stage. It seems like one of those ingredients that might need a lot of work to get it from shelf to plate, but it really doesn't. Time is probably the most important thing to remember when making roasted butternut squash, but you can even cut that in half if you use this air fryer method!
Tips for making my roasted butternut squash
- You have to peel the squash and I prefer to do this with a knife rather than a peeler which doesn't dig deep enough to take off the hard outer peel. If you do choose to peel it, you may have to do it several times to get to the deep orange flesh. If you are doing it with a knife, trim the top and bottom of the squash and then slice carefully from the top down just skimming the outside of the squash. This is the same method you'd use to skin an orange or a grapefruit.
- Slice the peeled squash in half length ways and scoop out the seeds.
- Dice the butternut squash pieces fairly large as they'll shrink a little after cooking.
- Use a toothpick or sharp pointed knife to test a few pieces of squash after cooking. The tip should be able to enter the squash without any resistance, but not be too soft that it feels mushy.
- Some of the squash cubes will be on top of one another in the air fryer basket, this is okay as you'll be shaking them around halfway through cooking.
Cooking your butternut squash in the air fryer
Once you've seasoned the butternut squash and tossed in olive oil, add them to your air fryer basket. I use a Cosori 5.8qt and I love it! Total cook time is about 20 minutes using the "shake" method to move them around halfway through the cooking cycle. A minimal amount of oil is needed because we're using an air fryer and not a regular oven.
Using butternut squash in other recipes
This recipe is perfect as a side dish for any main course especially with the holiday season coming up. But there are many ways to use roasted butternut squash.
- Cook it in the Instant Pot and make this super quick and easy recipe combining butternut squash, cranberries, brown sugar and pumpkin seeds.
- Puree the roasted squash in a blender with stock or broth turning it into an easy sauce for your favorite butternut squash pasta!
- Another use for blended butternut squash is adding it to a creamy Italian risotto!
- Add roasted squash to your favorite salad.
- Mash, add butter and treat it like your favorite mashed potatoes.
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