Ditch the French fries this season and make delicious and crispy pumpkin fries in your air fryer oven! This easy side dish is perfect for Thanksgiving, using smaller varieties of pumpkin that's coated with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with black pepper, cumin, turmeric, and paprika.
Enjoy this air fryer pumpkin recipe alongside favorite fall Instant Pot recipes, roasts, or turkey sliders!
Don’t miss my other air fryer recipes! Try these next time: Sweet Potato Fries, French Fries, Chickpeas, Cauliflower Wings.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Fries
- Pumpkin - You’ll need to use a pie pumpkin of medium size, not very small. Pie pumpkins are sweet with smooth flesh and are much easier to cut than larger pumpkins. Butternut squash is an excellent substitute for sugar pumpkins. Or Jack Be Littles. You could also skip the pumpkin preparation step and purchase pre-cut pumpkin cubes or pumpkin wedges and trim them down into fries!
- Oil - I’ve used olive oil to coat the pumpkin fries with seasoning as I enjoy the taste, but you could also use avocado oil, vegetable oil, or even unscented coconut oil if you wish. Add more if needed. The oil helps the spices stick to the fries and also crisps the fries while cooking. Olive oil spray or avocado oil is a great way to coat any size of your air fryer basket so that the air-fried roast pumpkin doesn't stick to the basket during the cook time.
- Seasoning - I’ve used cumin, turmeric, paprika (smoked or sweet), salt, and pepper, for seasoning these pumpkin fries. Feel free to use other seasoning options like garlic powder and chili powder to create different flavors.
📋 You can find the full ingredient list in the Recipe Card below the article.
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How To Make Pumpkin Fries
Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit according to manufacturer instructions. (Mine was for 4 minutes) Cosori 5.8 quart
Wash and dry the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half. Cut out the tops and scoop out the seeds.
Cut each half into ½ inches -1 inch slices and carefully peel off the skins.
In a large bowl combine the slices, oil, and spices (or you can use a zip-lock bag for this).
Massage the pumpkin to ensure they are coated entirely. However, you can add more seasonings once the fries are cooked, especially salt.
Once the air fryer is preheated, in batches, arrange fries in the basket in one single layer and air fry for 15 minutes, flipping the fries halfway through.
The fries should be crispy and cooked through. If by this time fries are not crispy, fry for extra minutes. If fries are cut too thin or the ends are too narrow, they will get charred rather quickly.
The end result: the exterior of the fries is slightly browned and crispy, with a softer texture on the inside.
Sprinkle the fries with salt and pepper right after cooking. Enjoy with dipping sauces.
Tips
- It’s good to season these fries with salt before frying them, but you should also season them with salt (preferably sea salt) after frying, as this will help the fries to soak up even more flavor.
- Fried food generally doesn’t crisp up as well when reheated compared to when it was first made, and the same is true for these pumpkin fries. If you intend to reheat these pumpkin fries, do so in the air fryer, preferably on the same day of making, at 375F for 3-5 minutes.
- To ensure you get crispy pumpkin fries, you can take an extra step and soak the raw fries in cold water before patting them dry with a paper towel to season and air fry. In addition, make sure that the fries are evenly spaced in the air fryer basket and fry them in batches if needed so they aren’t overcrowded.
- You can use any type and size of air fryer to make pumpkin fries, but make sure that you don’t overcrowd the fries in the air fryer basket. Rather fry in batches to ensure proper air circulation for crispy pumpkin fries. Depending on the air fryer used, you may need to adjust the cooking time.
- When preparing and cutting the pie pumpkin with a sharp knife, place a damp cloth on the cutting board under the pumpkin to prevent it from slipping.
- You can save the clean pumpkin seeds in an airtight container, then air fry them or roast them in the oven with some sea salt flakes as a delicious air fryer pumpkin seeds recipe.
- If you need to make your air fryer pumpkin fries in batches, keep the cooked fries warm in the oven while the other batches are air fried to prevent them from going cold and losing some crispiness.
- Leftover pumpkin from preparing and cutting a whole pumpkin can be used to make these pumpkin fries.
- These need plenty of salt, we like to use seasoned salt.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
Store the air fryer pumpkin fries in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days max.
Reheat in air fryer at same temperature - 375 degrees Fahrenheit or in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t add any more oil.
Overall fried foods don’t reheat well, even if made in air fryer. Even though you're using way less oil than deep frying the flavor and texture are just not as crisp after reheating as they were once when freshly cooked.
I don’t recommend freezing these, either.
Also, for the fries, once you air fry them, for best results, consume within 10-15 minutes as they will start to lose their crisp texture rather quickly.
You can quickly reheat them once, and they will be as fresh as new. Reheating more than that is not recommended.
FAQs
First, wash and dry your pumpkin and then cut it in half. Cut out the tops and scoop out the seeds. Cut each pumpkin half into ½ -1 inch slices and peel off the skins. Your pumpkin is now ready to be seasoned and fried!
Yes, it is! Pumpkin has a lot of nutritional value, rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It’s also low in calories - perfect for anyone who wants to feel full for longer while able to lose weight.
Pumpkin skins are edible. The type of pumpkin will determine whether the pumpkin skin will be palatable. For example, smaller sweet pumpkin has softer skin, a sweeter pumpkin flash, and is easier to digest.
Pie pumpkins are smaller than large carving pumpkins, they’re sweeter and denser. The flesh is thicker in pie pumpkins, which means more pumpkin for baking and cooking purposes.
Pie pumpkins also have a better texture which is ideal for mixing into a smooth batter for recipes like pumpkin bread.
Pumpkin Recipes For Dinner
ALL DINNER recipes.
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Recipe Card
Air Fryer Pumpkin Fries
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INGREDIENTS
- 1 2-3 pounds medium pie pumpkin, not very small
- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or more if needed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
- Salt 1 teaspoon
- Black Pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit according to manufacturer instructions. (Mine was for 4minutes) Cosori 5.8 quart.
- Wash and dry the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half. Cut out the tops and scoop out the seeds.
- Cut each half into ½ inches -1 inch slices and carefully peel off the skins.
- In a large bowl combine the slices, oil, and spices (or you can use a zip-lock bag for this). Massage the pumpkin to ensure they are coated entirely. However, you can add more seasonings once the fries are cooked, especially salt.
- Once the air fryer is preheated, in batches, arrange the fries in the basket in one single layer and air fry for 15 minutes, flipping the fries halfway through.
- The fries should be crispy and cooked through. If by this time the fries are not crispy, fry for extra minutes. If fries are cut too thin or the ends are too narrow they will get charred rather quickly. The end result: the exterior of fries are slightly browned and crispy, softer texture on the inside.
- Sprinkle the fries with salt and pepper right after cooking. Enjoy with dipping sauces.
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NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Pumpkin fries have never been so crispy!