This recipe for how to cook air fryer spaghetti squash gives you the prefect squash every time! It’s ready in under 25 minutes, only requires a few simple ingredients and is totally healthy! It’s a great low carb and keto replacement for noodles, or just a delicious vegetable side dish to pair with dinner or use in a casserole!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Spaghetti squash in the air fryer is so easy! It takes half the time than it does when it’s cooked in the oven, which means less time in the kitchen, and no need to heat up the house with the oven.
- There’s only a few ingredients that are needed, and all of them except for your squash are pantry items you’ll already have!
- Air fryer spaghetti squash is a low calorie vegetable, and this recipe is keto and low carb, Whole30, paleo, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free! So not only is it delicious, but everyone will enjoy it no matter what dietary preferences or needs they have.
- Spaghetti squash is a great veggie side, and it can also be used as a noodle replacement or as an ingredient in a recipe, such as chicken alfredo casserole.
- Cooking spaghetti squash in the air fryer gets the texture of the threads just right! They don’t overcook and get too mushy like they can sometimes in the oven.
Ingredients Needed to Cook Spaghetti Squash in the Air Fryer
There are only a few simple ingredients needed for this recipe. It really is so easy! Aside from your spaghetti squash, you will need olive oil or avocado oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. That’s it! If you want to change things up, you can add other spices such as paprika, onion powder or Italian seasoning. If you add more seasoning will depend on what your final use is for the spaghetti squash! You can also omit the salt for a low sodium option.
How to Pick a Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash are typically available at the grocery store all year round, but the peak season for this squash starts right before September and goes through winter. When picking a spaghetti squash you’ll want to keep these few things in mind:
- Spaghetti squash average about 3-8 pounds in size. When you’re picking one for this air fryer recipe, you want to grab one that will fit into the air fryer model you have when it’s sliced vertically.
- The spaghetti squash should be hard, without any soft spots or cracks.
- It should feel heavy for it’s size and the stem should be firm and dry (you shouldn’t be able to poke your finger into or make an indent around the stem).
- The squash should be uniformly yellow without any bruised marks. The more yellow the squash is the more ripe it is, so get one that is a bright yellow and avoid getting one that is a pale yellow.
How to Cook a Spaghetti Squash in the Air Fryer:
Step 1
The first step is to preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees F. if your air fryer requires preheating. Then, you’ll need to prep your spaghetti squash. To do this, use a sharp knife to slice the squash in half horizontally as evenly as possible. You want the halves to be as close to the same size as you can so they cook evenly.
Next, use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and discard them. Then you’ll coat the flesh on the cut sides with the oil and lightly season both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Step 2
The next step is to place the halves of the spaghetti squash into the air fryer. They can be touching and closely nestled next to each other, but they should not be stacked on top of each other. Cook the squash in the air fryer for 20 minutes.
Step 3
Once the time is up you’ll want to check to make sure it’s done. To do that, you’ll see if it’s fork tender by dragging the fork along the flesh. The squash threads should easily separate to give it the look of spaghetti. If it doesn’t do this easily, place the squash back into the air fryer for an additional 5 minutes.
Step 4
Once done, the last step is to let the spaghetti squash cool for a few minutes. Once it’s cool enough to handle, shred each half to loosen the threads from the skin. Serve on it’s own, as “noodles”, with sauce, or use as an ingredient in other recipes!
Ways to use Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash
- Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bowls
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi
- With Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- With Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
Storing Spaghetti Squash
Storing leftover spaghetti squash in the refrigerator:
You can store cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge for up to 4 days. When storing leftover spaghetti squash, you want to make sure that you’ve let it cool completely first. Then store it in an air tight container. To keep it fresher longer you can fold a paper towel and place it on top of the squash between the squash and the lid of the container. This helps to absorb excess moisture that gets released and keeps the squash fork tender instead of it sitting in the liquid.
Storing leftover spaghetti squash in the freezer:
Cooked spaghetti squash can be stored in the freezer and thawed for use later! It’s really easy to do, you’ll just want to remove as much excess moisture in the squash as possible first. To do that, let the squash cool completely and then you can either use a nut milk bag, tea towel or paper towels to wrap the squash threads up in. Then you can gently squeeze the squash over the sink until the excess liquid in the squash begins draining.
Once you’re not getting much liquid out anymore you can place the squash into a freezer safe container or bag. Remove all of the air that you can and place it in the freezer. You can freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the squash in the fridge overnight and then use the spaghetti squash as desired.
What other ways can you cook a spaghetti squash?
There are a few other methods and ways you can cook spaghetti squash if you don’t have an air fryer or don’t want to use it! This post explains in detail the methods for cooking spaghetti squash in the oven, in the microwave and in the slow cooker. There’s no right way to cook a spaghetti squash! It all is a matter of preference, or what the meal or the time available to you warrants!
Other Air Fryer Recipes You’ll Love:
- Air Fryer Mahi Mahi
- Air Fryer Butternut Squash
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops
- Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breasts
- Air Fryer Cornish Hen
Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash
This recipe for how to cook air fryer spaghetti squash gives you the prefect squash every time! It’s ready in under 25 minutes, only requires a few simple ingredients and is totally healthy! It’s a great low carb, keto and whole30 replacement for noodles, or just a delicious vegetable side dish to pair with dinner or use in a casserole!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Vegetables
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash (4–5 pounds)*
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- If your air fryer model requires preheating, preheat it to 360 degrees F.
- Prep your spaghetti squash by slicing it in half horizontally (the long way) as evenly as possible. Scoop the seeds out and discard
- Coat the cut sides of the two halves with the oil and season with the salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Place the squash halves cut sides up into your air fryer and set the timer for 20 minutes. Once the time is up, check that it’s done by dragging a fork over the flesh of the squash. If the squash “threads” easily and is fork tender, it’s done. If not, cook for an additional 5 minutes
- Once done, let it cool for a few minutes and then shred each half to loosen the threads from the skin. Serve on it’s own, as “noodles”, with sauce, or use as an ingredient in other recipes
Notes
If you use a squash that is larger than 5 pounds, you may need to add about 5 minutes of extra time to the air fryer cook time as it will take longer to cook. You can start with 20 minutes, and then add 5 minutes if the squash does not “thread” easily when scraped with a fork.
Nutrition Facts:
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 46
- Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: .6 g
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Julie says
Only way I’m making this from now on!
Sheree says
This was so quick and easy. Really great when it’s 110 degrees here in TX and want to get meal prep done without my hot oven. Will do this a lot now thank you.