Hasselback potatoes roasted until crisp and topped with a tangy lemon garlic sauce. A flavorful and wholesome side dish bursting with fresh herbs and seasonings.
Recipe Science
- Choose red, white, or purple potatoes for Hasselback because they’re waxy and hold their shape well at high heat.
- The waxy potato’s thin skin and low starch yield a smooth, creamy texture that showcases its beautiful thin cuts.
- Making multiple slits in the potatoes creates a fan structure that maximizes surface area for even browning and sauce absorption.
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Featured Comment 11
“I made these last week and they were amazing!!! The chopstick trick is genius! I’m making them again tonight!”—Lauren
Why It Works
Side dishes are typically not the star of the dinner table—until now! This crispy roasted hasselback potatoes recipe is tossed in a tangy lemon-garlic dressing for an irresistible addition to any meal. Cutting thin slices into the potatoes has two benefits: These root vegetables gain a fancier appearance while cooking faster.
A bonus of the extra crevices allows the sauce to seep into the spud and infuse more flavor. To round out the recipe, fresh herbs, and seasonings make this potato side dish a must for your next meal. Try these potatoes with a vibrant beet and goat cheese salad or a savory honey mustard chicken for a complete meal idea.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Potatoes: I chose waxy spuds that cook crisp on the outside but with a creamy center. A mixture of red, white, and purple potatoes is selected because they hold their shape well in the oven’s high temperature, revealing the horizontal pattern design on the surface as they cook. The thin skin allows the centers to burst when bitten, creating a delightful velvety texture.
- Oil: Fruit extra-virgin olive oil is used to roast the potatoes for a crispy skin.
- Seasonings: The potatoes are seasoned with minced garlic, salt, and pepper for a flavorful crust.
- Herbs: Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs are added to the baking dish, adding herbaceous aromatics to the roasted potatoes.
- Lemon Sauce: Freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, shallots, thyme, rosemary, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This hasselback potatoes recipe is easy to customize! Try these delicious ideas:
- Potato Substitution: Any type of potato can be used for the recipe. For a buttery and creamy texture, try Yukon Gold potatoes. Use starchy russet potatoes to transform regular baked potatoes into a more gourmet side dish. Cover the surface with foil when cooking larger potatoes if browning too quickly but need more cooking time.
- Oil Swap: Toss the potatoes in melted butter, avocado oil, vegetable oil, or coconut oil.
- Seasoning: Add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder for heat, or Italian seasonings for a more robust herb flavor. Grate parmesan cheese on top right before serving for a nutty taste.
- Herbs: Garnish with fresh herbs like parsley, chives, dill, tarragon
- Sauce: Instead of the lemon garlic sauce, try basil pesto, chimichurri sauce, green goddess dressing, ranch dressing, or Italian dressing.
How to Make Hasselback Potatoes
Step 1: Heat the Oven
Position your oven rack in the center to ensure even cooking, then preheat to 425°F (220°C). This temperature is ideal for crisping up those delicate layers and softening the centers.
Step 2: Cut the Potatoes
Give the potatoes a good wash and then dry. A foolproof kitchen hack that I learned to prepare these Hasselback potatoes is to use chopsticks on the sides of the potatoes when cutting the slits. Positioning the potato between two chopsticks on a cutting board.
This creates a guard so the knife doesn’t completely cut through the potato. Using a small sharp knife, carefully slice ⅛-inch cuts across the potato, stopping about ¼ inch from the bottom to keep the potato intact. Trust me, I’ve ruined enough potatoes trying to create these beautiful cuts until I used this easy technique!
Quick Substitution: If cutting large potatoes like Russets, use wooden spoons instead of chopsticks to make thin slices shaped like fans.
Step 3: Season the Potatoes
Toss the potatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until evenly coated. The olive oil promotes browning and helps each potato slice absorb those savory flavors as it bakes.
Step 4: Roast the Potatoes
In an 8×8-inch baking dish, lay the rosemary and thyme sprigs evenly across the bottom. Arrange the seasoned potatoes on top, with the cut side facing up, for maximum crisping. Add lemon slices around the potatoes to infuse a bright, aromatic flavor as they roast. Bake until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
Step 5: Make the Lemon Sauce
Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, shallots, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously to emulsify the mixture into a thick, flavorful sauce.
Step 6: To Serve
Drizzle the lemon sauce over the warm roasted potatoes or serve it on the side. This zesty finish seeps into each slit, filling the potatoes with flavor inside and out—perfectly complementing their earthy taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hasselback potatoes are roasted, each thinly sliced crosswise, almost down to the base, but not all through. This unique cutting technique creates fan-like layers that crisp up beautifully in the oven, enhancing the texture and allowing maximum surface area to absorb seasonings and fats. Originally from Sweden, Hasselback potatoes are visually stunning and bring out the natural starches in the potato, delivering a crispy, caramelized exterior with a soft, creamy interior.
Choose small to medium-sized potatoes for the best Hasselback results. Larger potatoes, like russets, also work but may need a longer cook time. Use waxy red, white, yellow, or purple potatoes for a colorful presentation. These varieties hold their shape well in high heat due to their thin skin and low-starch, high-moisture flesh, resulting in a smooth and creamy texture when baked.
Place chopsticks on each side of the potato to prevent cutting through. With a small knife, make ⅛-inch slices, stopping about ¼ inch from the bottom. For larger potatoes like russets, use wooden spoons instead of chopsticks for fan-shaped slices.
More Potato Recipes
If you tried these Hasselback Potatoes, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Hasselback Potatoes
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 2 pounds baby potatoes, red, Yukon gold, or purple (2" long)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 slices lemon, halved
Lemon Sauce
- 2 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the Oven – Set the rack to the center position. Heat the oven to 425°F (246°C).
- Cut the Potatoes – Wash, scrub, and dry the potatoes. Place each potato between two chopsticks to prevent cutting through completely. Using a small knife, make ⅛ inch slices across the potato, stopping about ¼ inch from the bottom.
- Season the Potatoes – In a medium bowl, combine the potatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Roast the Potatoes – In an 8×8-inch baking dish, evenly place the rosemary and thyme sprigs on the bottom. Place the seasoned potatoes with the cut side facing up. Add slices of lemon. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes.
- Make the Lemon Sauce – In a medium bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, shallots, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Gradually drizzle olive oil into the bowl while vigorously whisking to create a thickened sauce.
- To Serve – Drizzle the lemon sauce onto the warm roasted potatoes or serve on the side.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Make it Whole30: Use sea salt for kosher salt.
- Storing: Store the potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the oven at 350ºF (177ºF) until warmed and crisp, or microwave in 30-second increments until hot.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Lauren Kerschen says
I made these last week and they were amazing!!! The chopstick trick is genius! I’m making them again tonight! Check out my pic on insta!
Jessica Gavin says
Thrilled to hear that you found the tip handy for cutting the potatoes! Your dish looks delicious!
Cindy Hall says
My goodness tried it and loved it, so did my family. Thank you very much Jessica.
Jessica Gavin says
Yay! You’re welcome Cindy!
James says
Not to sound out of place; I would like to bring to your attention that this delicious recipe is not American, but Swedish. Hasselback potatoes are named after the Hasselbacken Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden which is credited with being where they were created and first served to the public.
The slicing has been explained as having 2 purposes. First is it allows the potatoes to cook quicker. Second, it allows the toppings to get deeper into the potato thus adding more flavor. 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks James, I updated the cuisine callout to Swedish
Lisa Huff says
Ohhh nice! Looks delicious!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you so much Lisa! I hope you can give it a try!
Judy says
Good Morning Jessica,
I printed the recipe and I am going to make it very soon. Added a few things to my shopping list…shallots and baby reds. I wanted to ask if the Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar will work ok too. I do have the Nature’s Intent Apple Cider Vinegar coupon printed and sent them an e-mail to see if they sell it anywhere in my city.
Our neighbor gave us a lot of Meyer Lemons off her tree so I have just begun to utilize them. We made a Lemon Meringue Pie last night. We are going to make lemon poppy seed muffins too. I will check on your cooking app to see if you have a recipe for the muffins. By the way I love your app.
James says
Hi Judy. Not trying to step on Jessica’s toes, but I don’t see any reason why Bragg’s would not work. I use Bragg’s and Eden Organic ACV interchangeably and see Nature’s Intent ACV as just another quality organic ACV. 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
Great to hear from you Judy! I can’t wait to hear what you think about the recipe. I developed the recipe using Nature’s Intent Apple Cider Vinegar so if you can find it that would be great. But I understand if it’s not available in your area, than another brand would work as well. I love meyer lemons! I don’t have a muffin recipe, but I do have a yummy lemon yogurt loaf.
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