Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes! Better than a baked potato, these elegant, accordion-style potatoes make a beautiful side dish to go with any main. Serve them simply seasoned or stuffed with cheese and fillings. 

Sometimes all it takes to jazz up a common ingredient or recipe is a unique cooking technique. Hasselback potatoes are proof!

Just a few knife cuts on an ordinary potato takes them to the next level in no time. The beautiful accordion-style look of these potatoes makes them a perfect side dish for holidays or special occasions!

This recipe is naturally gluten-free and vegetarian and can be made vegan.

Looking for other fabulous potato recipes? Try out my Bahn Mi-Inspired Loaded Sweet Potatoes, Bacon & Blue Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes, Duchess Potatoes or Provençal Potato Gratin!

Jump to:

• What are Hasselback Potatoes?
• Ingredients
• How to Cut Hasselback Potatoes
• Cooking Methods
• Variations
• Hasselback Potatoes

What are Hasselback Potatoes?

Hasselback Potatoes -- also known as accordion potatoes, "pillbug" potatoes, or Potato à la Hasselbacken (from Swedish origins) -- are simply baked potatoes that are thinly sliced about ¾ of the way through to create a fan-like look when cooked. They can be served plain or stuffed with various cheeses, herbs and fillings.

Ingredients

This recipe only requires 3 ingredients:

• Potatoes. I use Yukon gold and love how they turn out.
• Olive oil or butter. Oil is a great option if you want to make these vegan, otherwise, store-bought garlic herb butter really takes these over the top!
• Sea salt. Simple seasoning is all you need to really bring out the flavor.

How to Cut Hasselback Potatoes

Cutting Hasselback potatoes isn't difficult, but can take a little practice and finesse. Here are a few tips and hacks that can help master the technique:

• Choose a potato that has a nice, even oval shape. 
• Use a sharp paring knife to make slicing easy.

• Starting at one end, make vertical slices that only go about ¾ of the way through the potato. This technique is what will create the fan or accordion look as the potato slices relax and spread during the baking process. 
• Make your slices anywhere from ⅛ of an inch to ¼ of an inch thick. The design of the potato will vary depending on the thickness of the slices you create. 

• In order to ensure that you don't slice all the way through to the bottom of the potato, use the chopstick hack: Place 2 chopsticks on either side of the potato as a guide. The chopsticks will stop the knife from cutting through all the way through the potato; just be careful on the ends where the potato doesn't touch the chopsticks.

That's it! Now, you're ready to season and cook the potatoes.

Cooking Methods

One of the biggest complaints I hear about baking hasselback potatoes is that they don't cook evenly; the "fan" pieces are super crisp or burnt while the middle of the potato is undercooked. 

After extensive testing {we ate a lot of potatoes}, I determined that the best way to avoid this problem is to par-cook the potato before continuing with your desired cooking method. {More on that in a second.} 

To par-cook your potatoes: 

• Make your cuts as directed above, then rinse your potatoes under cold running water and pat dry. This will remove the starchy liquid that is released from the potatoes and help your slices fan out without sticking together. 

• Place the potatoes on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave them on high about 3 minutes for medium-small potatoes. {You may have to play with cook times if your potatoes are larger or if you are cooking more than 4 at a time.} This will give them a head start on softening!
• Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking pan. Using a pastry brush, brush with oil or butter {about 1 tablespoon per potato) making sure to get between the slices as much as possible.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. The oil or butter will help them crisp up and give them rich flavor as they bake.

Now the potatoes are ready to continue cooking. Here are my two favorite ways to make them: 

Baked In the Oven

Place the baking pan with the potatoes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and crisp on top and tender in the center, brushing them with more butter or oil about half way through cooking. (Cooking times will once again vary depending on the size of your potatoes. Start checking them at 30 minutes and use the tip of a knife or a skewer to poke them and test tenderness.)

Air-Fryer Method

If you have an air fryer, this method is really ideal because it is quick and easy! Place the potatoes in the air fryer basket. Using the "air fry" setting, cook at 390 degrees for 20-25 minutes, checking for doneness around 20 minutes. (All air fryers are a bit different, so you'll have to keep an eye on things to make sure they don't burn.) 

Variations

As delicious as these potatoes are plain, they're also perfect for jazzing up with different flavors! Check out some of these ideas:

• "Loaded" Hasselback Potatoes - Place a thin piece of cheddar cheese between each slit and bake until tender. Top with sour cream, crisped chopped bacon and green onions if desired.
• Rosemary Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes - Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and chopped rosemary between the slices (it doesn't have to be every slice), then bake until tender.
• Pepperjack Hasselbacks - Use thinly sliced pepperjack cheese between each slice before baking. 
• Truffle Hasselback Potatoes - Mix about a teaspoon of truffle oil with the oil or butter mixture for basting; bake as directed. 
• Mushroom Gruyere Hasselbacks - Sprinkle shredded (or thinly sliced) Gruyere cheese between the slices before baking; bake as directed. Sauté mushrooms for topping potatoes after they're baked.
• Buffalo Hasselbacks - Sprinkle blue cheese between the slices before baking. Brush with a combination of butter and Buffalo wing sauce and bake as directed.