This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
Butternut squash fritters are a delicious blend of sweet and savory flavors with a satisfying crispy exterior and tender inside. Perfect as a snack, appetizer or side dish, they’re versatile and easy to customize with herbs and spices. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce for a flavorful dish everyone will love!
I'll admit, I have a love affair with butternut squash - from butternut squash bread to butternut squash gnocchi to butternut squash sweet potato soup. It is just so versatile.
But weirdly enough, I don't really have it as a side very often. That is until today. I had some left over butternut squash for another recipe and was trying to figure out what to do with it.
That's when it hit me - fritters! I already had all of the ingredients needed and they would complement my chicken dish I made perfectly. With the fresh sage, they just taste like fall.
And while these are fried, you can easily adapt to baking them, which I'll include the how-to below. Hope you enjoy these butternut squash fritters!
Jump to:
Why You Will Love These Fritters
- Perfect for any meal - Whether served as a snack, appetizer, side dish or even breakfast, these fritters are versatile enough for any meal.
- Customizable - You can easily switch up the herbs, spices or add-ins like cheese to suit your taste.
- Utilizes leftovers - As butternut squash can be quite large, if you have some extra, you can just shred them up and make these!
Ingredient Notes
- Butternut squash - Grate the squash finely. It releases natural sweetness and moisture, which helps bind the fritters without excessive flour. Avoid pre-cooking it, as raw grated squash will soften when cooked.
- All-purpose flour - Mixed with the eggs to bind the butternut squash.
- Eggs - Acts as a binder, giving the fritters structure.
- Garlic and sage - Adds aromatics and earthiness to complement the squash's sweetness.
- Sea salt, black pepper and nutmeg - Enhances the flavor and brings out the butternut squash's natural warmth.
- Vegetable oil - Is a neutral oil with a high smoke point so you can fry the fritters until golden and crispy.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe, you can mix up some of the ingredients for the fritters. Some variations include:
- Swap the butternut squash with grated sweet potato, carrot, or zucchini (squeeze excess moisture from zucchini to avoid sogginess). Pumpkin or acorn squash, finely grated, also works and has a similar flavor profile.
- Replace all-purpose flour with almond flour for a nutty flavor and lower-carb option, or use oat flour for a mild sweetness and slightly heartier texture. Chickpea flour adds protein and a savory taste.
- For a vegan option, use flax eggs (2 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoon water) instead of eggs.
- Try thyme or rosemary instead of sage for a different herbal note.
How to Make Butternut Squash Fritters
Please note full ingredient list and instructions can be found in recipe card below.
Step 1: Grate the butternut squash using a food processor with a grating disc, or a cheese grater if preferred.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the grated squash with all other ingredients, mixing well.
Step 3: Pour about ¼ inch of oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Scoop ¼ cup of the squash mixture for each fritter, dropping it into the skillet. Flatten each fritter with a spatula to form discs.
Step 4: Cook until the edges are brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until both sides are browned. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Recipe FAQs
Fritter means "to fry" but it can be used to describe quite a few things - from apple donut fritters to zucchini fritters. You could even make chicken fritters or mashed potato fritters!
Yes. Any winter squash can be used in replacement, from pumpkin to acorn squash.
Squeeze out excess moisture from the grated squash before mixing with other ingredients, and avoid overcrowding the skillet, as this can reduce heat and make the fritters absorb more oil.
Greek yogurt or sour cream with herbs, spicy aioli, or a lemon-tahini sauce pairs well. You could also try marinara or honey-mustard for a sweet-savory contrast. I'm also a fan of some whipped goat cheese!
If you want your fritters to remain crispy, place the latkes on a baking sheet at and bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. If frozen, bake for 15-20 minutes to reheat.
Baking Option
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place fritters on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Flip and bake for another 10 minutes or until crispy.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- If the mixture hasn't come together, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time to get desired consistency.
- If you don't have fresh sage, use 1 teaspoon of dried sage. It is much stronger so you need to use less.
- Once you add the mixture to the oil, don't move them for 4 minutes before flipping so they create a crispy exterior.
- Add a dollop of goat cheese, yogurt or sour cream for additional flavor.
Other Recommended Butternut Squash Recipes
If you’ve tried these butternut squash fritters or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Butternut Squash Fritters
Ingredients
- 5 cups butternut squash, shredded
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- Using a food processor with a grating disc, grate the butternut squash. You can also use a cheese grater.
- Combine the shredded butternut squash, flour, eggs, garlic, sage, pepper and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 250°F and place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Pour in about ¼ inch of oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Scoop up ¼ cup of the butternut squash mixture per fritter and drop into skillet. Use a spatula to flatten into discs. When the edges of the fritters are brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes, flip. Cook for another 5 minutes or until browned.
- Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel-lined rack to drain and then put on wire rack in oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining fritters. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If the mixture hasn't come together, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time to get desired consistency.
- If you don't have fresh sage, use 1 teaspoon of dried sage. It is much stronger so you need to use less.
- Once you add the mixture to the oil, don't move them for 4 minutes before flipping so they create a crispy exterior.
- Add a dollop of goat cheese, yogurt or sour cream for additional flavor.
Alice says
These were amazing, thank you. I sprinkled salt on top after the were done. The texture was perfect! I think the addition of apple sauce and or sour cream would have made them even more amazing.
Thanks!
Ryan says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Johna Cray says
I made these back in October for dinner with foodie son. He raved like crazy about them and then told me the other day he dreamt about them. I'm making them again today. This recipe is very versatile, garlic or shallot, Butternut or sweet potato.......
Ryan says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Christina Abbott says
Fabulous way to use some of my glut of BN. If I made up the fritters, can I freeze them before cooking?
Ryan says
Yes you can freeze.
Christina says
If you used a box grater, would you use the larger or finer holes? Thanks!
Ryan says
The larger holes works great.
Lindsay says
These sound delish but we have an egg allergy in our house. What would be a good egg substitute for this particular recipe?
Ryan says
3 tbsp per egg of yogurt should work!