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!)
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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)
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.
Dry cooking methods such as roasting and sauteeing tend to bring a squash's sugars to the fore. You might want to blanch or par-cook the squash in a little bit of water before sauteeing; that would diminish the sweetness somewhat but allow you to finish the dish in the prescribed fashion.
In a large bowl mix the cubed squash, garlic cloves and ginger with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the spice mix. Season with salt and pepper and scatter in a single layer in a roasting tray. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes until tender all the way through.
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.
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!
If it's underripe, the squash won't have developed its signature taste. If it's overripe, it may be dry, mushy or flavorless. Follow these tips the next time you're at the grocery store or farmers market to find the perfect recipe-ready butternut squash.
Raw butternut squash can cause some people to develop an allergic skin reaction called “squash hands.” Wearing gloves while handling the fruit or purchasing prepared butternut squash can help you prevent this skin reaction. A 1% hydrocortisone cream can help alleviate squash hands symptoms.
Halve butternut squash lengthwise; scoop out seeds. Place cut sides up in a roasting pan (to help it sit level, slice a thin strip from skin sides). Fill each cavity with butter and pure maple syrup; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Roast until fork-tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Method. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Wash and dry the whole squash, then place on a baking tray. Pierce once or twice with the tip of a sharp knife, then bake in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until golden and very soft.
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.
Butternut squash is a low-calorie food and is packed with nutrients. While it's higher in carbs than some other veggies, its low glycemic index (a ranking of how carbs affect blood sugar) still makes it a healthy choice for most people.
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.
Butternut squash is often thought to be a starchy vegetable but you can see that it's not quite as high in starch as a potato. This makes butternut squash a great option for those on a lower carb diet who still want to get the flavor of a starchier root vegetable.
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.
Nguyen said that people with diabetes can "confidently" eat butternut squash and sweet potato interchangeably, "as per their individual needs of carbohydrate intake." However, when in doubt, always consult with your doctor (and moderation is key).
Too Sweet. The Fix: Tone down an overly sweet dish by adding a sour, salty, or bitter ingredient to it. Sour fruit (such as blackberries or cherries), cooling herbs such as mint, and chopped nuts work well in sweets such as cakes, cookies, and pies.
If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.
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.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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