Garlic-Herb Butter Hasselback Potatoes

These Garlic-Herb Butter Hasselback Potatoes are fancy, delicious…and easy to throw together. They are basically gussied-up baked potatoes, sliced thin so that you get crisp, golden edges and soft, creamy centers.

Hasselback potatoes are fancy, delicious…and easy to throw together. They are basically gussied-up baked potatoes, sliced thin so that you get crisp, golden edges and soft, creamy centers.

My new favorite Instagram account comes from Richmond, Virginia-based Xandy Sutherland Nickel at @a_sutherland_belle. Her recipe photos are gorgeous, as are she and her wardrobe, and just about everything on her feed looks like something I’d like to cook – lots of soups, skillets, and casseroles. Pretty and homey all at once. 

Xandy’s recipe for hasselback potatoes is the first I’ve tried from her website, and I’m so glad I did. Alongside a grilled steak and some sauteed spinach with garlic and bacon, these pre-portioned individual potatoes – like a potato version of a personal pizza – made a Tuesday night family dinner feel special. I’ve tweaked her recipe just a bit, not for any reason but my family’s preference. A bit more salt, a bit less cheese.

Beyond Tuesday, you might even consider these for the Thanksgiving menu. They’re that good. And that pretty. Also easy… You get it.

Garlic -Herb Butter Hasselback Potatoes
Adapted very slightly from Xandy Sutherland Nickel at @a_sutherland_belle

6 large Yukon gold potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
2 ½ tablespoons grated or finely minced garlic
½ cup grated parmesan
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a potato on a cutting board and place a chopstick on either side of the potato (lengthwise). With a sharp, thin knife, make deep vertical cuts 1/8-inch apart, without cutting all the way through the potato. The chopsticks keep you from accidentally cutting too deeply. Place the potatoes with the cut sides up in a baking dish, spaced a little apart so each one has some room. Fan the potatoes open slightly. Rub with the olive oil and bake for 50 minutes.

In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the butter with parsley, garlic, parmesan, salt, pepper, and oregano. 

Remove the potatoes from the oven, and use table knife to spread the butter over them. As best you can without breaking the potatoes, push a little garlic-herb butter in between the potato slices. Sprinkle the tops with a bit more kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper, and a little more grated parmesan. 

Turn the oven to broil. Place the baking dish back into the oven, and broil for 5 to 7  minutes, until the tops and edges of the potatoes are golden. Watch very closely as they will burn quickly under the broiler. When the tops are golden brown and the butter and cheese are bubbly, remove the potatoes from the oven and serve immediately.