Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (2024)

Crisp and tender butternut squash fries are super healthy for kids and simple to make! Turn this fall favorite veggie into the ultimate baked fry (and don’t forget the ketchup!)

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (1)Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (2)

Move over sweet potatoes, there’s a new orange fry in town! Kids who flip for french fries will love these crispy and tender sticks hot from the oven with a ketchup dipper on the side.

These healthy baked fries are simply seasoned with a little garlic powder and sea salt, (the sweetness comes from the gorgeous fall squash itself,) and they’re super-charged with nutrition your kids need.

Scroll to learn more, including our tip for cutting whole squash, which takes the fuss out of handling this sometimes-intimidating veggie.

Does Butternut Squash Taste Like Sweet Potato?

Are you new to squash fries? Then you might be wondering what exactly is going to come out of your oven.

Butternut squash does taste something like sweet potato. It has a sweet and earthy/floral flavor, and fairly high starch content, much like sweet potatoes and yams.

A good butternut squash is a bit less dense and more moist than a sweet potato. If sweet potato fries sometimes seem “heavy” to you, you might prefer squash fries.

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (3)

Why Your Kids Should Eat More Squash

For a lot of families, carrots are the go-to orange veggie for lunchboxes, salads, and sides. (This is great! Keep eating those carrots.) But there’s also a wide world of orange veggies out there that are fantastically good for your kids.

Orange vegetables like butternut squash. are packed with special nutrients like Vitamin A, potassium, and flavenoids. (These are colorful chemical compounds in plants that carry special health benefits.)

Orange veggies also taste sweet and can be prepared in a lot of different ways. This makes them a great candidate for picky eaters who are still learning to branch out.

Choose squash to add more flavor variety and more of those unique nutrients to your kids’ diet… especially during the months of August-November, when squashes are in peak season.

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (4)

The Trick to Cutting Butternut Squash Easily

Butternut squash is HARD. If you’ve ever tried to tackle a whole raw squash with a big knife, you know what a pain it can be.

Here’s how to make cutting one a breeze: par bake that bad boy. Just pop that whole squash in a 375 F oven for about thirty minutes, and it’ll soften up just enough for you to slice it easily… and you’ll keep all your fingers too!

This is a great trick you can use any time you need smaller-sized pieces of squash like cubes or fry shapes.

Once your squash is softened and cooled, peel it with a vegetable peeler. Then get a big, sharp knife and slice the squash longways. Scoop out the seeds to compost (or roast them like you would pumpkin seeds.)

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (5)

From here you can just slice into fry shapes. We like them fairly thin (keep in mind they’ll shrink a little in the oven.) Thinner fries get nice and tender on the inside at the same time the outside gets golden and crisp.

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (6)

Serving Suggestions for Squash Fries

Whenever there’s a french fry shape involved, you can’t go wrong with ketchup. You can also dip these fries in a simple garlic mayo sauce, or any creamy salad dressing for a more savory (dare I saw more sophisticated?) dish.

The fries are somewhat delicate (like a thin potato fry) so you’ll probably want to avoid a dipper that’s too dense.

Finally, butternut squash fries make an awesomely kid-friendly side dish with dinner. Pair them with chicken or beef and eat them with a fork, like you’d eat a side of green beans.

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (7)

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (8)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

4.1 from 9 votes

Butternut Squash French Fries

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Calories: 181kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • First, place butternut squash in it’s whole form in the oven at about 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. This will just soften it up enough to cut it up, while not cooking it.

  • Once soft, cut in half. Scoop out the seeds, and cut away the skin.

  • Slice flesh into french fry size sticks.

  • Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, garlic salt and any other seasonings you choose.

  • Increase temperature to 425 and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the fries get browned, yet not burned. (time will vary depending on the size of your sticks)

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 321mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g

Keyword : Butternut Squash French Fries

www.superhealthykids.com

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (9)

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash French Fries Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How does Gordon Ramsay cook butternut squash? ›

How does Gordon Ramsay cook butternut squash? He first tosses the butternut squash in oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper and then cooks it in the oven at 400°F for about 25 minutes.

Which is healthier, sweet potatoes or butternut squash? ›

To begin with, the butternut squash beats the sweet potato with fewer calories, carbs and sugar per serving. Moreover, it is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins B6 and E. On the other hand, the sweet potato, however, provides more fiber and protein.

Can butternut squash be substituted for sweet potatoes? ›

You Say Potato, We Say Butternut

We've lightened up the holiday staple, swapping out sweet potatoes for less-carby butternut squash. The taste is right on the money, and our new-and-improved recipe is low in calories and healthier than ever.

How do you neutralize sweetness? ›

How to Make Food Less Sweet. Add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herbs; a dash of cayenne pepper; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.

Why is my butternut squash not sweet? ›

If it's underripe, the squash won't have developed its signature taste. If it's overripe, it may be dry, mushy or flavorless.

Is it necessary to peel butternut squash before cooking? ›

Can You Eat Butternut Squash Skin? It's important to note that while many people choose to remove butternut squash skin (and this is best practice for soup making, where you want smooth results), you can 100% eat roasted butternut squash skin. Slice butternut squash into crescents and roast it with the skin on.

Is butternut squash a carb or vegetable? ›

Winter squash: Winter squash, including butternut squash and acorn squash, is a starchy vegetable that is high in carbs. One cup of cooked butternut squash contains around 21 grams of carbs, while one cup of cooked acorn squash contains around 15 grams.

Is butternut squash high in sugar? ›

As for nutrition, a cup of cooked cubed butternut squash has just 80 calories, 22 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of sugars, and supplies an impressive array of nutrients.

Is acorn squash better for you than butternut squash? ›

Acorn squash is nutrient dense and definitely worth eating more of! Acorn contains less beta-carotene than butternut, but similar amounts of folate + vitamin C.

Can dogs eat butternut squash? ›

Generally, butternut squash is safe to feed to most pooches, unless your vet has advised otherwise. As a guide, we would recommend feeding small dogs no more than 1 or 2 teaspoons of butternut squash, whilst bigger dogs can eat up to 3 or 4 tablespoons of butternut squash.

What squash tastes like a sweet potato? ›

But delicata squash is my favorite by far. Nicknamed the “sweet potato squash,” it has a sweet, velvety flesh that caramelizes beautifully in the oven. But that's not all. Thanks to its small size and thin, edible skin, it's super easy to work with.

Is acorn squash as sweet as butternut squash? ›

Acorn squashes are dark green, sometimes with yellow or orange patches. They are relatively small and round with sectioning similar to a pumpkin. They are sweeter than butternut squashes, and you can easily make them into dessert with some brown sugar, nuts and spices (like I do in this recipe).

How to fix too sweet squash soup? ›

salt or an acid will balance it. Red wine vinegar works wonders.

How do you remove sweetness from vegetables? ›

Add other seasonings, mostly salt or vinegar. Seasonings are about balance. The saltier or more sour something tastes, the less sweet it is. Both onions and cabbage can take an awful lot of vinegar, because they're both inherently pretty sweet.

How to counteract sugar in food? ›

Adding some lime juice can also come in handy when you have added too much sugar to a dish. The tanginess of the limes helps to balance out the sweetness. And your dish might even come back to life. Apart from that, using white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar may also neutralise the sugars easily.

Does butternut squash get sweeter as it ages? ›

Like peaches in a paper bag, squash continue to ripen as enzymes convert its starch into sugar. And, Mazourek says, squash taste best when they achieve a good balance of starch and sugar. Not only do the flavor and texture of butternut squash improve with time, they actually become more nutritious.

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