Every thin little slice on these baby hasselback potatoes gets crispy at the edges while the middle stays soft and creamy, and the smoked jack that slides off onto the pan bakes into little cheese crisps. Don't be surprised when you catch somebody picking those off the sheet pan before the potatoes even make it to the table. And if the spatchcock turkey has your oven booked solid, you can roast these the day before and reheat them with the cheese on top.
Jump to:
- Slicing Mini Hasselback Potatoes: Square Chopsticks Only
- Mini Hasselback Potato Ingredients (Yes, Butter AND Oil)
- Roasting Mini Hasselback Potatoes: Baste Twice, Cheese Last
- Do you need to Parboil Mini Hasselback Potatoes? No!
- Make Ahead Tips for the Holidays
- Ways to Switch it Up
- What We Serve these Potatoes With
- Equipment I Used
- Crispy, Cheesy Mini Hasselback Potatoes
Slicing Mini Hasselback Potatoes: Square Chopsticks Only
Grab the bags labeled baby potatoes, about golf ball size or smaller. Lay a chopstick along each side of the potato and slice straight down until your knife hits the sticks. They have to be square. Round chopsticks roll out from under the potato mid-slice, and that's exactly how you cut one clean in half or injure yourself.
Keep the slices about ⅛ inch apart. Thinner than that and they fall apart. Thicker and you lose the fan. Using fingerlings? Watch those skinny ends. And if one goes all the way through anyway, call it rustic and keep going.
Don't rinse them after slicing, I've tested it. They'll steam instead of roast because it'll be impossible to get them completely dry, and you never get the crispy edges. Keep them dry and go straight to the garlic butter.
Pro Tip: Bigger potatoes? Use two wooden spoon handles instead of chopsticks and add 10 to 15 minutes to the roast.
Mini Hasselback Potato Ingredients (Yes, Butter AND Oil)
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Olive oil and butter - You need both. Butter alone browns too fast at 425°F for 40 minutes. Olive oil handles the heat and does the crisping, and butter brings the flavor, especially with the garlic we're adding.
- Baby Yukon golds or reds - The thin skins crisp up instead of getting leathery, so no peeling required.
- Garlic - Run it through a garlic press instead of chopping it. Pressed garlic turns almost into a paste, so it mixes right into the butter and gets brushed down into the slits where it can actually flavor the potatoes.
- Smoked jack - It's a young cheese, so it melts down into every slit and gets ooey-gooey instead of just sitting on top. Parmesan is common but it's aged and hard. It doesn't really melt, it just sets on the potato. That's why this recipe gives the cheese a full 10 minutes when a lot of mini hasselback recipes give Parm 2 or 3.
Roasting Mini Hasselback Potatoes: Baste Twice, Cheese Last
Step 1
Brush with garlic thyme butter and roast.
Whisk the melted butter, olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper together. Brush it over every potato and work it down into the slits, saving some for basting. A silicone brush gets into those slits way better than a bristle one, and you never have to pick a stray bristle out of your potatoes.
My favorite is the OXO silicone basting brush, since the holes in the middle bristles hold more garlic butter.
Step 2
Add the smoked jack.
Roast 5 to 10 minutes more, until the slices are fanned open with golden edges like the photo below, then pile on the smoked jack and let some fall onto the pan around the potatoes. Younger cheese needs that full 10 minutes to melt down into the slices. And the crispy cheese bits that end up on the pan so just so good.
Step 3
Finish and serve hot.
Pull from the oven, shower with fresh chives, and serve nice and hot!
Do you need to Parboil Mini Hasselback Potatoes? No!
Baby potatoes are small enough to roast all the way through without it, and skipping the parboil keeps the edges crispy. Parboiled potatoes go into the oven wet and soft, which is the opposite of what we want.
Make Ahead Tips for the Holidays
Don't slice them ahead and keep them in cold water, I tried it and the potatoes just soak up the water. They end up steamed instead of crispy.
Roast them all the way through the day before, without the cheese. Cool them and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days. On the day of, pile the smoked jack right on the cold potatoes on a sheet pan and reheat at 325°F for about 15 minutes, until they're warmed through and the cheese is melted. One less thing to bake next to the cornbread dressing.
Ways to Switch it Up
- Pimento cheese - Swap the smoked jack for a scoop of pimento cheese in the last 8 minutes. If these are going on a Southern table, this is the one.
- Loaded - Bacon and sharp cheddar for the last 10 minutes, with sour cream and chives to serve.
- Hot honey - Drizzle right before serving, or brush with the hot honey butter from my fried chicken and waffles. Sweet heat against smoky cheese? Yes, ma'am.
make it a meal!
What We Serve these Potatoes With
These belong on the holiday table. Build the rest of the menu from my Thanksgiving recipes.
Equipment I Used
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Crispy, Cheesy Mini Hasselback Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs baby Yukon gold or red potatoes, scrubbed clean and dried, (about 18 potatoes)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup smoked jack cheese, shredded
- 2 teaspoon chives, sliced thinly, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Place each potato between two chopsticks or wooden spoons to prevent slicing all the way through. Make thin slices, about ⅛ inch apart, across the top of each potato.1 ½ lbs baby Yukon gold or red potatoes
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, melted butter, minced garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Brush the mixture generously over the potatoes, making sure to get it into every slice.3 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes total, basting with more garlic butter halfway through (around 20 minutes in), until they’re golden and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
- During the last 10 minutes of roasting, sprinkle the shredded smoked jack cheese over the potatoes. Continue roasting until the cheese is melted and bubbly.1 cup smoked jack cheese
- Remove from the oven, garnish with the chives, and serve.2 teaspoon chives
Recipe Notes
- Potato size: Look for baby potatoes about golf ball sized or smaller. For bigger potatoes, slice between two wooden spoon handles and add 10 to 15 minutes to the roasting time.
- Herb swap: Add in fresh rosemary and sage for more of a Thanksgiving vibe. Or use just rosemary for a more Christmas feeling.
- Make ahead: Roast fully without the cheese up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate in an airtight container. Top the cold potatoes with the smoked jack and reheat at 325°F for about 15 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is melted. Don't hold sliced raw potatoes in water; they soak it up and won't crisp.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat at 325°F until warmed through.
Variations
- Pimento cheese: Swap the smoked jack for a little scoop of pimento cheese on each potato in the last 8 minutes.
- Loaded: Add crumbled bacon and sharp cheddar for the last 10 minutes, then serve with sour cream and chives.
- Hot honey: Drizzle with hot honey, or brush with hot honey butter, right before serving.
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