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Hasselback Baked Potatoes
Have you ever seen a hasselback potato? My kids had not, and when Charlie saw it, and tried it, he said, “Please do not make potatoes any other way ever again.” And that my friends, is what people like me live for.
What is a Hasselback Potato?
As you’ve probably figured out from the photos, a hasselback potato is a potato that is thinly sliced—but not all the way through—before baking. The result is almost like a whole bunch of thick chewy potato chips lined up for the eating. Sometimes they are called accordion potatoes.
They are often brushed with butter or oil before baking, and I’m all over that with some garlicky butter. But with the loaded hasselbacks, things get even better.
How Did Hasselback Potatoes Get Their Name?
This potato dish originated in a restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden that has been around since the 1700s called Hasselbacken. Supposedly a student chef there named Lief Ellison invented them in the 1950, though as with many culinary origin stories there is dispute about both the inventor and the time frame. The location seems to be agreed upon, however – I mean, Hasselbacken….hard to argue with.
Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes
Just before the potatoes finish baking, you will slip a slice of nutty cheese in between every other slice of these peacock-like potatoes. The cheese will melt gently into the creamy-crisp potatoes, and the result is every bit as gorgeous and delicious as you might imagine.
Loaded Hasselback Potatoes: An irresistible hasselback potatoes recipe with all the good stuff—garlic butter, cheese, bacon, sour cream, chives!
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How to Slice Hasselback Potatoes
This hasselback potato slicing technique is similar to the one I use when cutting bread for garlic bread. You create guardrails of sorts by using chopsticks, or the handles of wooden spoons, placed alongside the potatoes lengthwise. Then when you make your slices, the rods stop the knife from cutting all of the way down, without you having to be super focused about it. The slices will be all held together at the bottom of the potato.
This makes it easier to stuff or brush whatever you want between the slices and insert the slivers of cheese, and keep the potatoes together. The slices don’t have to be perfect; your hasselback potatoes will still look smashing.
How to Reheat Hasselback Potatoes
If you know you are making the hasselbacks ahead of time to be reheated later, baked them for an hour, but then take them out of the oven before you add the cheese slices. Reheat them in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, then slip in the cheese, and bake for the final 5 minutes as directed.
If the cheese has already been added you can still reheat them in the oven for 125 to 20 minutes at 425 degrees, but the cheese will probably get very melty and drip out of the slices. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at one of these however, and I would use a spatula to scrape any melted cheese from the bottom of the baking dish and slather it over the top of the hot potatoes.
You know what this is? A vertical potato gratin! I think Charlie may be right – this might be the best thing that can happen to a potato.
Other Potato Recipes:
Ok, there are other good things that can happen to potatoes!
- Perfect Baked Potato
- Thyme and Yukon Gold Potato Gratin
- Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Potatoes With Harissa Dipping Sauce
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Loaded Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 medium Idaho russet potatoes scrubbed (about 10 ounces each)
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon paprika sweet, hot, or smoked, your choice
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 12 ounces cheddar, gruyere or other hard melting cheese thinly sliced into pieces about 1 inch square (about 48 slices)
To Serve (all optional, pick and choose)
- 4 strips crumbled or chopped cooked bacon
- Sour cream
- Minced chives
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a small saucepan or skillet melt the butter with the garlic over medium heat, stirring until the garlic is golden but not browned, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and stir in the paprika, parsley, and salt and pepper.
- Place two chopsticks, or the handles of wooden mixing spoons alongside the long sides of each potato, one by one, and use a large sharp knife to slice the potatoes crosswise into 1/4-inch slices, stopping once the knife reaches the wooden rods.
- Place the sliced potatoes on the prepared baking sheet or pan and use a brush to spread the butter mixture in between all of the slices (careful not to split the potatoes through the bottom). There should be only about 1 tablespoon of the butter mixture left.
- Bake for about 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender and nicely browned along the edges of the slices. Remove the potatoes from the oven, but keep the oven on. Slide one slice of the cheese into the space between every two slices of potato. Repeat for all of the potatoes. Brush the top of the potatoes with the remaining garlic butter. Bake for about 5 more minutes until the cheese is just starting to become melty.
- Remove the hasselback potatoes from the oven and serve hot with the bacon, sour cream and chives.
Notes
Nutrition Information
The nutrition values are provided as an estimate. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
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Added Parmesan and chives. If I had bacon I would have added that. These are so delicious. Bought a hassle back slicer at home goods- lazy, I know but works great. I also microwaved potatoes briefly to speed up the cooking time-yup impatient too!
what other cheese can be used instead of Grand Cru?
Gruyere or Emmental or sharp cheddar or really any melty cheese you like!!
Using chopsticks so it cuts to exactly the right place is brilliant! Never done that before. Did your recipe exactly the first time and LOVED it! Second time, I decided to use gorgonzola which I crumbled over the top (and pushed in between the slices)- was wonderful too!
oh I think I need to do a blue cheese garlic bread next time!
My name’s Bob I’m 73 and I’m not a chef but I am a pretty good cook I will be making this Hasselback recipe this weekend for my wife and I it looks amazing and can’t be that hard to do except for slicing the potato but I’ll get it done as for the cheese any cheese you buy at almost any store will slice it for you at the deli to whatever thickness you want♂️
you don’t need to be a chef to make these, so go for it! and tell me what you think!
Sounds great, except for making 48 slices of cheese. Do you think this would work if I just grated the cheese?
I think it would be ok – give it a go!