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These vegan, paleo-friendly Baked Butternut Squash Fries are the real deal! It’s an easy recipe you’ll instantly want to make and instantly love. They are perfectly baked and you need just a handful of ingredients to make this yummy vegetable side dish.
It’s time to upgrade your fries! These make a great healthy side dish for black bean burgers or grilled chicken and they’re super easy to make. You can eat these alone, dip them in ketchup, garlic aioli, or whatever you’d like! I had some rosemary garlic vegan mayo that I paired with it.
Ingredients to make these paleo friendly fries
- Butternut Squash: Packed with fiber, this low calorie vegetables is a great source of vitamins A an C as well as magnesium. They taste like cross between zucchini and sweet potatoes.
- Corn Starch: A little cornstarch helps to get the fries nice and crispy.
- Oil: I like to use olive oil, but canola or vegetable will work well too. You just need a little to help them crisp.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper.
How to make baked butternut squash fries
First, cut the butternut squash into sticks. The thinner you make them, the crisper they’ll be.
Place the butternut squash sticks into a large bowl, add the cornstarch and coat well. Then dust off the corn starch – it helps to do it with a colander so you don’t have excess amounts.
Evenly coat the butternut squash with olive oil and seasoning after coating with the corn starch. It’s easiest to use your hands to well coat them.
Place the fries evenly in a single layer on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Tips to make baked butternut squash fries
- Remove any excess moisture from the butternut squash fries before coating them with cornstarch. This will help them to get more crisp in the oven.
- Don’t over-crowd your pan with the cut fries. That’s the biggest reason fries come out soggy when you bake them, as they steam rather than roast. So, spread out the fries and allow them to get nice and crispy.
- Give the fries several good tosses in the oil and seasonings so that they are evenly coated. This will help them to get crisp all over. I find it easiest to use my hands to make sure they’re well coated.
- Cut the fries as evenly and thinly as you can. This will help them get more crisp in the oven and ensure that they cook through evenly.
- Mix up your seasonings. The herbs and spices I used work together so well, but feel free to add your favorite combination. Red chili flakes are a great option to give your fries a kick of spice.
Frequently asked questions
These fries are best served straight out of the oven so that they don’t lose their crispiness. You can prep the butternut squash a few hours before you need to bake them though, just keep them covered in the fridge.
Butternut contains less calories, carbs and sugar compared to sweet potatoes and it is also rich in calcium, magnesium and vitamins E and B6. Swapping sweet potato for butternut squash is a great move!
Butternut squash tastes a little like it’s fall cousin the pumpkin, but a little sweeter. It has a slight nutty flavor and is comparable to sweet potatoes.
I like to serve these with some mayo, with some fresh herbs mixed into it, thyme works really well with these fries. You can use ketchup, ranch or any other dip you fancy. These are great to serve as an appetizer, but you can also serve them as a side with fish, chicken or meats.
More low-carb fries recipes
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feelgood Butternut Squash Fries recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Baked Butternut Squash Fries
Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled and cut into sticks (use only long neck part)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper
- Mayo & herbs for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper
- Place the butternut squash sticks into a large bowl and pat them dry with a paper towel. Add the corn starch on top and use your hands to coat the butternut squash completely. Transfer the butternut squash to a colander and shake to remove excess cornstarch.
- Return the butternut squash fries to the bowl, add olive oil, garlic powder, paprika and thyme. Toss to combine evenly.
- Transfer the fries in a single layer to the prepared baking sheets, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway through, until tender and crisp. Allow 5-10 minutes to cool. Then serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Was pretty easy to make, tasted pretty good. Great recipe for vegans.
Only issue was that the fries weren’t crispy at all. I put extra oil and baked it at 450 F for ten minutes longer than listed on the recipe, but it didn’t seem to do much.
I’m not sure if it’s because the pieces I cut weren’t thin enough, or they just aren’t supposed to be crispy?
Cutting them too thick is possibly the reason they didn’t crisp up but there are a few other things that could’ve gone wrong. Did you over-crowd your pan? That’s usually the biggest reason fries come out soggy; they end up steaming instead of roasting. Did you make sure to remove excess moisture from the butternut squash fries before coating them with cornstarch? And were they evenly coated with oil? I would make sure to do all of those things and try again to see how they turn out. Hope that helps!!
I love these fries, delicious and crispy.
Thanks! So happy you love them, Dylan!!
Absolutely loved these! I followed the recipe exactly but did add some parmesan cheese. Perfect. Will definitely make again.
Yay! So happy you liked them.
Yay! So happy you liked them!
I loved this recipe!! Chef’s Kiss 🤌🏾 I was confident that I had cornstarch at home… I did not! I used plantain flour as a substitute. The author stresses not crowding the squash. Definitely advice to follow. These are the new French fries in my home!
Amazing, so happy you loved the recipe!! I’ve never heard of plantain flour, sounds like a great alternative to cornstarch. Thanks for sharing!!
These were great! I divided them between two baking sheets and used the airfry setting in my oven. I flipped the fries and rotated the trays halfway through and they were done a few minutes sooner (because of airfry, I’m sure). Excellent recipe and we will be making again for sure! Thank you 🙂
So glad to hear!
Delish
I only used half the cornstarch due to reading reviews
I have these for a party with grilled hamburgers, and the bottom of the gourd. I hollowed out the seeds and put a candle in it.
Wish I could figure out how to attach a photo. The fries were beautiful.
Hi Rachel!! Thank you so much, you can also tag me in a photo on IG @feelgoodfoodie I would love to see!
I was surprised how good these were! I only made a single portion (80g). When I turned them over after about 10 mins they were softening up but didn’t look like they’d ever go crisp but after the full 30 mins they were at least as crisp as sweet potato fries are. What I will do next time is roll them in coarse cornmeal or semolina, which I always do with roast potatoes and have started to do with sweet potato fries, and see if that crisps them any better. Also, I used a tiny pinch of chilli but wouldn’t do that again. I had them as a side with fish and peas and I don’t think it needed chilli. Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for making it, Ned! You’ll have to let me know if you try it with cornmeal or semolina. That sounds interesting!
This was not a hit for me and I won’t be repeating it. I followed the recipe exactly, but the “fries” had no crispiness and the cornstarch seemed a bit sticky. I will go back to my previous way of cooking butternut squash, which is to cube the squash, put some extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper on it and roast at about 450 for 10 to 15 minutes. Exact time depends on size of cubes and water content of the squash. It comes out perfectly roasted…a bit caramelized and tender and delicious.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that they didn’t turn out as expected. Do you leave enough room on the sheet pan between fries? Due to the high water content in butternut squash, they will steam instead of roast/crisp up if the pan is overcrowded. That could also cause the cornstarch to become sticky.
Super good! Great rotation for sweet potatoes. A keeper
Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear that!
Very easy to make and tastes great! A keeper!
Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear it!
So good!!! Love it. Easy recipe but takes a minute and worth it.
Thank you! I love that!
These fries were fabulous. My 13 yr. Old said they are better than regular ones.
Thank you! That’s amazing to hear!
I tried to fry mine but that didn’t turn out, I put them in the oven and they turned out ok, not much crunch. Next time I think I will follow the recipe to a t.. thanks.. still tasted very delicious!!!
I’ve tried this recipe 4 times now, and it’s GREAT. The corn starch helps a lot, and I’m so glad that the importance of spacing out the fries was so emphasized. It made a HUGE difference.
Very tasty, and surprisingly easy!! And pretty healthy too??? Win all around.
Good thing to note: I tend to err too much on the thin side. Yes, it’s important for the fries to be thin, but I always felt like I could have gone thicker, and then the thinnest ones wouldn’t burn.
Wow, that’s amazing! It really is a key ingredient in this. That’s great to note!
I did these in my air oven and didn’t put anything on them but salt when I took them out. We liked them. Also,
Did some on top of the stove in Pam and added one packet of Splenda and cinnamon. They were really going too.
Yay! So many great ways to enjoy it!!
I followed the recipe EXACTLY. After 15 minutes they were so mushy I couldn’t turn them. No crisp. Just mush. So I mashed them. The squash was a good firm one too. I didn’t deviate at all. I was confused wondering how this happened.
I’m so sorry Alexis. I’m not sure why that happened either. They are definitely not super crunchy fries but they do get a crisp to them using the technique I shared. I wonder why that happened. I will make it again soon and try to troubleshoot to see if there’s something missing. Thanks for your feedback.
I made these this week and it was so delicious! Very simple recipe. The trickiest part for me was just cutting the squash because it was slippery after peeling it. My husband really enjoyed them too. Thank you!
I know what you mean! I try to use a paper towel to dab them dry in between slicing them. Glad you enjoyed them!
Thanks. They were tasty mashed potatoes 😋
LOL! I love your attitude about it 🙂
Hi!
These look great and I love butternut squash! Do you have any tips for cutting – I’ve found B. squash hard to work with in the past.
Thanks!!
I recommend using a large knife and making a cut where the squash changes from a long neck to the wide part. Then it’s easier to handle. Then stand up the long neck part and a remove the skin from the top to the bottom and work around. Then it’s easiest I feel to cut from the top to the bottom and then slice them. I hope that helps. I’m also working on a cutting tutorial to help out with this!
butternut squash in fry form? This is such an amazing idea! NOMS!
Yes! They’re so awesome! Hope you try it 🙂