Air Fryer Butternut Squash Fries + Trader Joe’s Zig Zags

Air fryer butternut squash fries come out crisp at the edges and creamy in the middle, and they take about 15 minutes start to finish. No deep fryer, no puddle of oil, no heating the oven for half an hour.

This post covers both ways people make them: cutting a whole butternut squash into fries yourself, and air frying Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags straight from the freezer. Both are below, with separate times and temperatures, because they do not cook the same way.

Quick Answer: How To Cook Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags In The Air Fryer

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Spread the frozen Zig Zags in a single layer in the basket. Air fry for 12–15 minutes, shaking the basket at the 7-minute mark. They’re done when the edges are deep golden and the ridges look dry and crisp.

Do not thaw them. Frozen squash releases a lot of water as it defrosts, and thawed Zig Zags steam instead of crisping. Straight from the freezer into a preheated basket is the entire trick.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Ready in about 15 minutes. Faster than the oven, and no preheating a 425°F oven for four servings of fries.
• Genuinely crispy. The circulating air pulls moisture off the surface of the squash, which is the one thing butternut squash fries usually fail at.
• Lower carb than potatoes. Butternut squash runs roughly half the carbs of a russet potato by weight, so these work in a lot of eating plans where copycat Wingstop fries don’t.
• Sweet and savory at once. The natural sugars in the squash caramelize at 400°F, which is why they taste better than roasted squash even with the same seasoning.
• Works from scratch or from frozen. Whole squash, Trader Joe’s Zig Zags, or any bagged frozen butternut fries — the method below covers all three.

Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients, you will need:

• 1 pound butternut squash — a whole squash, or pre-cut cubes you slice down, or one bag of Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags
• 2 tablespoons olive oil — or avocado oil. Both handle 400°F without smoking. Skip the oil entirely if you’re using frozen Zig Zags; they’re already coated.
• 2 teaspoons garlic and parsley seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

A note on oil: use a high smoke point oil. Extra virgin olive oil, butter, and most cooking sprays with propellant will smoke at 400°F and can gum up your basket coating over time.

How To Make Air Fryer Butternut Squash Fries

Step One — Peel and cut the squash

Cut off the stem and base. Peel with a sharp Y-peeler, going deep enough to remove the pale green layer under the skin — that layer stays fibrous no matter how long you cook it. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds from the bulb end. The long neck is the part you want for fries; it’s solid flesh with no seed cavity.

Step Two — Cut to an even thickness

Cut the neck into ¼-inch planks, then cut each plank into ¼-inch sticks. Thickness matters more than length. Anything thicker than ½ inch will soften in the center before the outside crisps.

Step Three — Season

Toss the sticks in a bowl with the olive oil first, then add the salt, pepper, and seasoning. Oil first, seasoning second — the oil gives the seasoning something to stick to, and salt added to dry squash just falls to the bottom of the bowl.

Paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne all work here. For a sweeter version, use cinnamon and a little brown sugar instead of the garlic and parsley.

Step Four — Air fry

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) for 2–3 minutes. Arrange the fries in a single layer with space between them. Air fry for 12–15 minutes, shaking the basket at the halfway mark.

Cook in batches if you have to. Two crowded batches take less total time than one crowded batch you have to put back in twice.

Step Five — Serve immediately

Butternut squash fries lose their crisp faster than potato fries because the flesh holds more water. Get them out of the basket and onto plates within a minute or two.

Air Frying Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags

Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags are a seasonal freezer item — crinkle-cut butternut squash, already peeled and cut, sold in the frozen vegetable section. The bag gives oven directions. The air fryer does it better and in half the time.

Temperature and Time

What you’re cooking	Temp	Time	Shake at
Trader Joe’s Zig Zags, frozen	400°F / 200°C	12–15 min	7 min
Any bagged frozen butternut fries	400°F / 200°C	12–16 min	7 min
Fresh-cut squash, ¼-inch	400°F / 200°C	12–15 min	7 min
Fresh-cut squash, ½-inch	400°F / 200°C	16–20 min	9 min

Four Things That Make The Difference

1. Preheat. Frozen squash dropped into a cold basket sits and sweats while the machine comes up to temperature. That’s the number one cause of soggy Zig Zags.
2. No extra oil needed. They come pre-coated. Adding more oil makes them greasy without making them crisper.
3. Single layer, always. A heaped basket steams. If your basket is small, do two rounds.
4. Salt at the end. Salting frozen Zig Zags before cooking draws moisture to the surface. Season them the second they come out of the basket instead.

If you like Trader Joe’s freezer shortcuts, there are more of them in the Trader Joe’s recipes collection.

Recipe Tips

Line with parchment only after preheating. Loose parchment in an empty preheating basket can lift into the heating element.

Pick a heavy squash with a long neck. More neck means more usable fry-shaped flesh and less seed cavity waste. Skin should be matte and hard — glossy skin means it was picked early.

Peel deeper than you think. The green ring just under the skin never goes tender.

Uniform thickness beats uniform length. Short fat fries and long thin fries in the same batch will not finish together.

Don’t skip the shake. The bottom of the basket runs hotter than the top on most models.

Undercook slightly if you’re reheating. Pull them at 11 minutes if you know they’re going back in later.

What To Serve With Butternut Squash Fries

These lean sweet, so acidic and sharp dips balance them best. Blue cheese dressing is the pairing I go back to most. A spicy jelly aioli works the same way — heat and salt against the sweetness of the squash.

As a side dish, they hold up next to a turkey burger or Sweet Baby Ray’s chicken. For a full fall plate, serve them alongside air fryer sausages with roasted apples and butternut squash, then finish with pumpkin pie pop tarts.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerator: Store cooled fries in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They will soften — that’s normal and it’s fixable.

Reheating: Air fry at 380°F for 3–4 minutes. Do not microwave them. Microwaved butternut squash fries turn to mush every single time.

Freezing raw: Cut the fries, spread them on a sheet pan, freeze until solid, then bag them. Cook from frozen at 400°F for 15–18 minutes. Do not blanch first — butternut squash doesn’t need it and blanching adds water.

Make ahead: Cut fries hold in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 24 hours before cooking. Season right before they go in the basket, not the night before.

Recipe FAQs

How do you keep butternut squash fries from getting soggy? Cut them no thicker than ¼ inch, preheat the air fryer, cook in a single layer, and serve within a couple of minutes. Sogginess is almost always a crowding problem, not a timing problem.

Do you need to thaw Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Zig Zags first? No. Cook them straight from frozen. Thawing lets them release water and they’ll steam instead of crisp.

Do you have to peel butternut squash for fries? Yes. The skin is thick and stays leathery in the air fryer. Peel deep enough to take off the pale green layer underneath too.

How long do butternut squash fries take in the air fryer? 12–15 minutes at 400°F for ¼-inch fries, shaking once at the halfway point. Add 4–5 minutes for ½-inch cuts.

Can you cook butternut squash fries without oil? Yes, though they’ll be drier and less browned. Frozen Zig Zags need no added oil at all since they’re already coated.

What seasoning goes on butternut squash fries? Garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper for savory. Cinnamon and a pinch of brown sugar for sweet. Chili powder and lime zest if you want them sharp.

Why are my butternut squash fries burning on the outside but raw inside? The cuts are too thick. Anything over ½ inch browns before the center cooks through. Cut thinner or drop to 375°F and add time.

Can I use pre-cut butternut squash cubes? Yes — slice the cubes into sticks. They won’t be uniform, so pull the thinner pieces out early.

More Air Fryer Vegetable Recipes

• Air Fryer Butternut Squash Halves
• Air Fryer Kabocha Squash
• Air Fryer Southern Fried Squash
• Air Fryer Parmesan Crusted Zucchini Crisps
• Air Fryer Roasted Broccoli With Garlic
• Air Fryer Parmesan Tomatoes
• Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans

More in the air fryer method archive and the vegetable sides category.