Looking for healthy French fries? Try these easy oil-free baked butternut squash fries with only 2 simple ingredients — butternut squash and sea salt!
As you may or may not know, I am a huge fry fan and I’m always trying to turn vegetables into fries. Over the years I’ve made everything from turnip fries to jicama fries and even zucchini fries.
That said, these butternut squash fries are still a favorite of mine!
When you think of healthy, homemade fries you might first thing of sweet potato fries. I love sweet potato fries too, but in terms of nutrition butternut squash fries have a leg up!
Which is Better For You? Butternut Squash or Sweet Potato?
While these veggies have a similar nutrition profile (they both low in fat and sodium and high in vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, C and potassium), sweet potatoes do have double the calories, carbs and sugar per serving. But sweet potatoes have a little more fiber and protein than butternut squash. See a full nutrition comparison here.
Either way, both are excellent choices, but what I love about this particular recipe for butternut squash fries is that you don’t have to use any oil! All you need is a butternut squash and some sea salt!
Do You Have to Peel Butternut Squash?
Many butternut squash recipes suggest that you peel the squash. You can certainly do this, but it’s not 100% necessary. Once the squash has been roasted the peel becomes pretty soft an is edible. That said, it doesn’t soften up as much as some other winter squash varieties like delicata or kabocha squash. It still has a little toughness to it. Because of this, I usually take the time to peel it (using a potato peeler).
Making Butternut Squash Fries With 2 Ingredients
For these fries, you’ll want to preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Peel the butternut squash, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the squash into french fry shapes – trying to make the pieces similar in size so they finish cooking at the same time. Place the squash fries on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 40 minutes, flipping halfway. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges.
If you try these butternut squash fries, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turn out! Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.
Awesome recipe! I cut the fries pretty thin because I had no idea how much they would shrink up in the oven but they are great. I would even say better than sweet potato fries! I will definitely cut them thicker next time but they were delicious regardless!
Yay! I’m so glad you tried and enjoyed these fries, Ainsly! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, it means the world to me. <3
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Awesome recipe! I cut the fries pretty thin because I had no idea how much they would shrink up in the oven but they are great. I would even say better than sweet potato fries! I will definitely cut them thicker next time but they were delicious regardless!
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you tried and loved these fries, Marcie. I really appreciate you coming back to leave a comment and star rating. <3
Made the tonight! They were crispy outside/soft inside. =)
★★★★
Yay! I’m so glad you tried and enjoyed these fries, Ainsly! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, it means the world to me. <3