Butternut Squash Air Fryer Recipe

In less than 30-minutes, you can be enjoying this super flavorful butternut squash air fryer recipe at your dinner table! We are roasting cubes of butternut squash with maple syrup right in the air fryer to create a side dish that is super easy and a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!

Air Fryer Butternut Squash

There is nothing better than fresh butternut squash, am I right? We love this fall vegetable in our home for is simplicity and versatility! In fact, we can easily eat butternut squash 3 or 4 times in the same week, but with simple recipe changes, feel like we are eating something different each and every time.

Our butternut squash air fryer recipe is naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and perfect for vegetarian eaters, low-carb followers, and paleo dieters alike.

Generally served as a side dish, air fryer butternut squash pairs perfectly with grilled, baked, broiled, and air fried main dishes. And because we are using the air fryer, you are free to work on the main course while the fryer does the work!

Why You’ll Love This!

Starting with fresh squash, this truly is the best way to use your garden’s bounty!
Air fryer butternut squash packs a punch of flavor that is both sweet and savory thanks to the squash and the addition of maple syrup.
Maple syrup pairs perfectly with the squash to create a dish that is sweet, but not too sweet.
Topping your butternut squash air fryer dish with a sprinkle of cinnamon makes a perfectly seasoned fall dish.

The air fryer is amazing at creating soft, crispy, and perfectly roasted vegetables every time! Be sure to try our other air fryer vegetable recipes such as baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen broccoli, and frozen Brussel sprouts.

Ingredient Notes

Starting with fresh squash, your butternut squash air fryer recipe only needs a few additional ingredients: avocado oil, maple syrup, and sea salt, and cinnamon.

the ingredients to make butternut squash in an air fryer

Butternut squash – Washed, peeled, and cubed into 1″ pieces
Avocado oil – Or your favorite oil for roasting vegetables
Sea salt
Maple syrup – Be sure to use real maple syrup if you are following a Paleo eating plan
Cinnamon

Variations

Vegetables – While we are focusing on butternut squash for this recipe, you could also do a roasted medley and include other options such as Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes.

Oil – We do prefer avocado oil, but you can also use olive oil or coconut oil.

Cinnamon – If cinnamon is not a flavor you enjoy, feel free to opt for black pepper, parmesan, dried herbs, or honey.

Equipment

An Air Fryer– We have an Omni Plus oven style air fryer and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer.

Step by Step Instructions

air fried squash after roasting in the basket

This butternut squash air fryer recipe is super simple! After prepping your squash, you are simply going to evenly coat your vegetable with the seasoning and roast.

Air Fryer Temperature

Preheat to 380F. If your air fryer doesn’t automatically do this for you just manually turn your model on for 3-5 minutes before cooking.

Prep Ingredients

Peel, wash, and cube your butternut squash into 1″ pieces.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine your squash, oil, and salt. Stir to coat evenly.

Air fryer Butternut Squash Cook Time

In a single layer, spread the squash cubes out in the basket, leaving room between each piece. This space is important for even cooking.

Set the air fryer cook time to 18+ minutes. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip the butter squash after 10 minutes.

Continue cooking for another 6-10 minutes, until the squash is golden brown on the outside and can easily be pierced with a fork. Our basket style air fryer took exactly 18 minutes total to cook squash cut into 1″ cubes.

Remove from the air fryer and add the contents to a small bowl. Mix in the maple syrup. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon before serving, add more salt and pepper, if preferred.

Air fryer models can differ in cooking time, so yours could even take up to 22 minutes to cook. A longer cook-time may also be needed if you are over-crowding your air fryer.

Recipe Tips

Be sure to pre-heat your air fryer to get consistent cooking throughout the entire process.
Over-crowding your air fryer will result in a longer cook-time. Spread the squash out in a single layer with room on all sides works best.
For consistent cooking be sure to cube your squash as evenly as possible.
Either a toaster oven style or basket style unit will work to cook air-fryer butternut squash

air fryer butternut squash with maple syrup and cinnamon ready to serve

Common Questions

What to Serve with Air Fryer Squash?

Serve your air fryer butternut squash with air fryer steak tips, air fryer chicken drumsticks, or air fryer frozen chicken breast.

Cooking frozen air fried squash?

Did you buy a bag of precooked frozen squash at the store and you’re wondering how to cook it? Follow the recipe as instructed but do not defrost the squash before cooking. It might not take as long to cook compared to fresh cubes, so keep a close eye on it after it gets flipped.

How Long Does Cooked Squash Keep?

Your butternut squash will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days when stored in an air tight container.

Please leave a review if you make our recipe! We love feedback from readers, plus it helps others too.

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More Air Fried Vegetables

Looking for more air fryer recipes?

Butternut Squash Air Fryer Recipe

Yield: 3

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

An easy butternut squash air fryer recipe with maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon that cooks in less than 30 minutes. Get perfect air fried squash faster than an oven can do.

Ingredients

1/2 of a 1.5 lb butternut squash, cubed
1/2 Tbsp avocado oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp maple syrup
Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 380F for 5 minutes.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the butternut squash cubes, oil, and salt.

In a single layer, spread the squash cubes out in the basket, leaving room between each piece.

Set the air fryer cook time to 18+ minutes and flip the butter squash after 10 minutes. Cook for a longer time if needed, or until the squash can easily be pierced with a fork and is turning golden brown on the outside. Our basket style air fryer took exactly 18 minutes total to cook squash cut into 1" cubes.

Remove from the air fryer and add the contents to a small bowl. Mix in the maple syrup. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon before serving, add more salt and pepper, if preferred.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to use another type of oil instead of avocado like coconut oil, olive oil, or canola, a neutral mild-tasting oil works best since you're combining the flavor with maple syrup.

Be sure to preheat the air fryer to get a consistent cooking time per the instructions.

The air fried butternut squash recipe will work for either a basket style air fryer or an oven style model and should be a similar cook time.

Spreading the squash out in a single layer with room on all sides works best.

If you have a large air fryer there'll probably be enough room to cook an entire cubed squash, which means double the salt, oil, cinnamon, and maple syrup if you want to cook an entire squash at one time.

Instead of maple syrup and cinnamon, you can also add black pepper, dried herbs, parmesan, or honey.

Other vegetables to mix with the squash would be Brussel Sprouts, sweet potatoes, or potato cubes.

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Nutrition Information

Yield 2 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 98Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 589mgCarbohydrates 23gNet Carbohydrates 12gFiber 6gSugar 7gProtein 2g