Perfect Butternut Squash Fries

Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven, lower if you don’t have “low broil” as an option.

Preheat the oven to (low) broil.

Using a strong vegetable peeler or knife, peel the outside of the squash. Cut off the bulb-shaped part of the squash for another use. Cut the long part of the squash into even, fry-like strips, thin or thick.

Lay the fries out on a paper or flour sack towel. Sprinkle evenly with salt and let sit for 30 minutes. This helps the squash to “sweat” and pull some of the water out.

When they are finished sweating, pat dry any remaining moisture. Coat the fries VERY lightly with olive oil. I usually wet my hands with oil and rub it on the fries. You can even skip the oil if you put the fries on a nonstick sheet (that can handle high temperatures).

Broil the fries for a few minutes on one side or until the outside looks a little dry and slightly crispy. Take the pan out of the oven and using a spatula, flip the fries over. Do the same for all sides. If your fries are thin, you can keep broiling and flipping till they reach the desired outcome. If your fries are thick, you can turn the oven down to 425ºF after broiling and continue to roast the fries till they are finished.

Broiling the fries first helps to make the fries crispy and not soggy. However, butternut squash can burn easily, so toward the end of cooking, keep a close eye on them or you will end up with a heap of charred squash.

Cool the fries slightly on a paper/flour sack towel, spreading them out so they are not laying on top of each other. This will make them get soggy.

Hopefully you have a great oven. If so, this will be a breeze. If you have an oven like mine however, you may need to remove some fries earlier than others and turn the pan a few times during cooking.

Enjoy!