These garlic butter hasselback potatoes are an enhanced version of traditional baked potatoes, offering a crispy outside and a soft, tender inside. They are basted in a delicious garlic confit butter, making them truly irresistible! This is roast potato perfection and will be your new favorite way to make potatoes.

Garlic butter hasselback potatoes

I am absolutely in love with these potatoes! They are just as impressive to eat as they are to look at. The potatoes are thinly sliced but left joined at the bottom and then brushed with a delicious garlic confit butter, which makes them taste like garlic bread potatoes! This encourages the potatoes to fan out give them that accordion like effect. The more slices you make into the potato, the more crispy edges you will be left with (which is my favourite part). With more slices, you are also creating more slits for that delicious garlic butter to seep into, leaving you with a mouthwatering, fluffy and buttery potato.

While these hasselback potatoes look fancy, they are actually quite easy to make. You don’t need any special equipment or skills to make them. All you need is a sharp knife and a pair of chopsticks or wooden spoons. Before baking, rub the potatoes with oil and sprinkle kosher salt to enhance the flavor, ensuring the seasoning permeates the sliced sections, and encourage a crispy skin. They are the perfect side dish for your everyday dinner but also for entertaining and the holiday season.

If you’re looking for some more potato side dishes, check out my garlic butter smashed potatoes, duck fat roast potatoes or olive oil mashed potatoes.

Ingredients needed for hasselback potatoes

You really only need potatoes, garlic butter, olive oil and salt to make hasselback potatoes. The fresh parsley and parmesan cheese is optional but it does add a lovely flavour to this recipe.

Potatoes: Floury and starchy potatoes are best for this recipe. If you are in Australia, look for Désirée or Sebago potatoes (just give the dirt a very good brush so the potatoes are clean). If you are based in the US, Yukon Gold potatoes or Russet potatoes. And if you are in the UK, Marie Piper or King Edwards are your potatoes. I like to buy potatoes that are flat on the bottom so the potato does not wiggle around when we slice it. But this is not essential as we can always slice the bottom of the potato to create a flat surface. Prepare the remaining potatoes in the same way to ensure they are ready for slicing.

Garlic: We love garlic over here and it is quite rare that a recipe of mine will not include it! I am using garlic confit in this recipe but I always give the option to use raw garlic cloves to save on time. Replace the garlic confit with 6 raw garlic cloves that are finely minced.

Butter: I have used unsalted butter to create the garlic butter sauce.

Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is always my recommendation. It bring a beautiful flavour to the potatoes and will create an extra cripsy and golden exterior.

Fresh herbs: This is an optional ingredient but I do find it lightens the dish by bringing a lovely freshness and brightness to quite a heavy and dense meal. I have used parsley but you could also use chives, oregano, basil or thyme.

Parmesan cheese: This is another optional ingredient but potatoes and cheese are a match made in heaven so why not! You could also use some mozzarella cheese, feta or sour cream.

Salt and pepper: This is to flavour the garlic butter and hasselback potatoes with.

How to slice hasselback potatoes into thin slices

The potato slices may seem like the hardest part but it’s actually not too difficult at all! All you need is a pair of chopsticks or wooden spoons and a sharp knife to slice the potato crosswise. Just make sure your spoons or chopsticks are no thicker than 1cm as we need our knife to cut quite deep (but not too deep where we slice the potato in half).

1. Test out the bottom of your potato. If it’s uneven and is wiggling around on your chopping board then slice the bottom to create a flat surface.
2. Place the potato between a pair of wooden spoons or chopsticks.
3. Cut thin potato slices that are 2mm wide. The more slices we can cut the better as this will create more crispy edges and more slits for the garlic butter to seep into, resulting in a visually appealing and crispy sliced potato.

Don’t worry if you cut all the way through! Your hasselback potato is still going to be absolutely delicious and will just look a little more rustic. The more rustic the better!

How to make hasselback potatoes

Now that we know how to slice our potatoes, it’s now time to make our hasselback potatoes recipe!

Place the potatoes into a baking dish that is large enough to fit them. You don’t want the potatoes to be snug as we want them to fan out as wide as possible when they bake. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over the salt. The olive oil helps create a golden and crispy skin while the salt penetrates into the potato, giving it some lovely flavour. Massage the salt and oil into the potatoes and open up the slits to encourage the oil to seep down. Bake for 30 minutes. This is the first bake.

While the potatoes bake, make the garlic butter sauce. Place the butter and garlic into a small pot or microwave safe dish and cook on a low heat until we have melted butter. If using the microwave, cook for 2 minutes ensuring you stir at 30 second intervals.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and spoon over the melted butter sauce. Open up the slits as best as you can to encourage the garlic butter to drip down. Place back into the oven for 40 minutes, basting with the garlic herb butter that has pooled at the bottom of the baking tray every 10 minutes. Apply quite a bit of pressure with your brush as this will encourage the sauce to drip down and the potatoes to fan out, enhancing their flavor. This is the second bake.

If you have found that your potatoes aren’t as crispy on the edges as you would like you can do an optional third bake. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C / 425°F and bake the potatoes for a further 10 minutes. Just keep an eye on them as they can burn quite quickly! This is the third bake.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and sprinkle over the parsley and parmesan if using. Serve immediately while the edges are still crispy.

Tips for Crispier Hasselback Potatoes

Achieving those coveted crispy edges on your Hasselback potatoes is easier than you might think. Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you get there:

• Use thin slices: Aim for potato slices that are about 1/8 inch / 2mm thick. Thinner slices will crisp up faster and more evenly.
• Make as many slices as you can: The more slices you can make into your potato the better! More slices = more crispy edges.
• Use the right oil: Brush the potatoes with oil oil as this helps create a golden, crispy exterior.
• Bake at the right temperature: Baking the potatoes at a high temperature ensures the edges crisp up beautifully. This is where that third bake comes in handy.
• Don’t overcrowd the baking dish: Make sure there’s enough space between each potato in the baking dish. This allows for even cooking and crisping.

By following these tips, you’ll be rewarded with Hasselback potatoes that are perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Hasselback Potatoes Topping Ideas & Variations

One of the best things about the Hasselback potatoes recipe is its versatility. Here are some delicious variations to try:

• Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes: During the last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese over the potatoes. The cheese will melt and create a delightful, crispy topping.
• Herby Hasselback Potatoes: Mix chopped fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or parsley into the garlic butter mixture for an added layer of flavor.
• Spicy Hasselback Potatoes: For a spicy kick, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or some sliced jalapeños to the garlic butter mixture.
• Sweet Potato Hasselback Potatoes: Swap out regular potatoes for sweet potatoes. This variation offers a sweeter, softer texture that’s equally delicious.
• Bacon and Chive Hasselback Potatoes: Mix crumbled bacon and chopped chives into the garlic butter mixture for a smoky, savory twist.

These variations provide a fantastic starting point for experimenting with different flavors and ingredients. Whether you prefer cheesy, herby, spicy, or sweet, there’s a Hasselback potato recipe to suit every palate.

What to serve hasselback potatoes

These hasselback potatoes are a match made in heaven when it comes to your next roast dinner. I also like to serve them with a lighter main meal such as fish or pasta. Find some of my favourite main dishes to serve with hasselback potatoes below:

• Slow cooked lamb shoulder
• Maple butter roast chicken
• One pot tomato pasta
• Slow cooked salmon

Watch how to make hasselback potatoes

Watch a long form and detailed video on how to make them here:

Watch a quick video here:

If you make this recipe, please tag me on so I can see your wonderful creations from Daen’s Kitchen!

Images by Alanna Penna Photography.