Air fryer butternut squash cubes is a healthy side dish perfect for the holidays or for your family year round. Tender and flavorful cubes of YUM made in a Ninja Foodi, Cosori or Airwave.
Cubed butternut squash are great snacks or served with your meal! Roasted and seasoned to perfection every bite comes out perfectly tender. My kids even asked for seconds of this one the other night so it was a huge win! Just one of many air fryer recipes we have on The Typical Mom blog.
You may have tried to bake these in your oven before. Let me tell you that air fryer vegetables are out of this world. Not only is it quick to make but the texture is amazing overall.
Whether you’re looking for a vegetarian dish or easy side dishes for the holidays, even my kiddos love this one. Serve as is with dinner or with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar for a healthy dessert idea in Cosori or as Ninja foodi recipes.
It is really quite simple to prepare this one. Ok, it is a bit more labor intensive than our sliced air fryer mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash mixture we call air fryer vegetables. BUT we will help you understand how it’s done.
This orange vegetable looks kinda’ similar to a pumpkin when you slice it open. Of course with those we don’t throw out the middle goodness, instead we make air fryer pumpkin seeds. I mean I guess you could do the same with these but there aren’t enough really to bother if you ask me. Just use a spoon and scoop out the yuck and throw it away, then you’re ready to slice it up.
Should you peel butternut squash before roasting?
Yes. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin on the outside so it’s nice and smooth, you don’t want to eat that. If it is tough to do this you can microwave it for 30 seconds and then try again. Then slice it in half lengthwise, like you see above. Scoop out the seeds and a bit of the strings inside the middle, discard. Put the flat end down on your cutting board and cut it into 1-1.5″ strips.
Then put a few of those strips together and dice into cubes. Keeping them squares about the same width and length are good.
Air Fryer Butternut Squash Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, skin removed, cut into equal size cubes
- parsley, optional to garnish
- olive oil spray
- salt and pepper, to taste, optional
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Slice bulb off top of squash. Peel the outside skin. Cut squash lengthwise, scoop out middle and remove skin. Cube squash into equal size pieces so they cook evenly.
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Put cubes in a bowl and drizzle on olive oil, toss to coat. Sprinkle with any seasonings you'd like now.
- Pour into air fryer basket and cook for approximately 15 minutes tossing halfway through. When tossing you can spray with olive oil spray at that time if they look a bit dry.
- Test after 15 minutes by poking with a fork to see if they are tender. Enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredient Notes
Butternut squash peeled and cubed into large bite-sized pieces is the cook time that is appropriate below. This gets you the best texture, just crisped, with tender insides.
Olive oil will keep the outsides moist, avocado oil is a good substitute
Salt and pepper are basic seasonings, garlic salt and/or powder might be a nice addition to your air fryer squash too if you love those flavors on your summer squash recipes in general.
Tips
Once your squash pieces are nice and tender taste them and add additional seasonings before serving right out of your air fryer basket. If you wanted a bit of sweetness, sprinkle with brown sugar! Before you jump to the recipe and instructions below this is what you’ll need to get started making air fryer roasted squash.
I always like to preheat my air fryer for 5 minutes at the recommended temperature. This will ensure your food is cooking at the same temp. throughout the duration of the time.
If you forget don’t freak out, it will still be fine but you might need to add a few more minutes. Cook time will vary slightly for this anyway because if you cube them larger than this it will take longer. Just remove once fork tender.
If you then want to make this into a butternut squash carrot soup, you can! Follow our recipe here, blend and enjoy. Gluten free, healthy and cheap too it is one of those foods you can enjoy year round.
Other Vegetable Recipes You’ll Love
Think of how you like your sweet potato in air fryer or what you sprinkle on sweet potato cubes oven roasted style. I kinda’ go with that along with a savory touch. You could add oregano, sage, basil, cumin, the list goes on and on. Chili powder will add just a tad of heat if you want.
Want to try another air fryer vegetable recipe? Our air fryer spaghetti squash and air fryer acorn squash is like nothing else you’ve made. Guarantee you’ll never bake it in the oven again.
Serve this with some sliced air fryer frozen chicken breast for a really good for you meal.
Help! I’m wanting to purchase an air fryer, but am overwhelmed with the choices. Do I purchase just an air fryer or do I get a Ninja foodie? I already own an Instant Pot. Please share with me the pros/cons of each!
If you already have a pressure cooker you might just want a Cosori, I have the 5 qt and it is fine for the 4 of us.