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If you love crispy, tasty potatoes (that aren’t fried), you’re in luck. You’ve got to try these mini garlic and parmesan hasselback potatoes – little roasted potatoes all prettied up and smothered in garlicky, cheesy heaven!
I’ve met a few people who aren’t that keen on potatoes, but I really can’t imagine anyone not loving these mini garlic and parmesan hasselback potatoes!
What kind of potatoes do you need to make hasselback potatoes?
Here in the UK there’s a cute little potato called the Jersey Royal. They’re grown in an especially rich soil on the island of Jersey in the British Channel Islands (close to France!) and so end up sort of melt-in-your-mouth creamy and almost buttery in texture.
I know, they sound delicious, don’t they? And this is NOT even a sponsored post for Jersey Royal farmers (apparently there are only about 20 of them!) … although I think it should be!
What I’m definitely NOT saying is that you need Jersey Royals to make these garlic & parmesan hasselback potatoes. Oh no no. Any small potatoes work.
But any of the multitude of types of small ‘new’ waxy potatoes that you don’t have to remove the skins from before cooking are PERFECT for making these mini garlic and parmesan hasselback potatoes.
They end up:
- crispy
- creamy
- buttery
- garlicky
- cheesy
- good looking (!)
In other words, heaven on a plate.
Don’t you agree these hasselback potatoes are pretty good looking?
How do you make hasselback potatoes?
These certainly aren’t culinary rocket science, and I bet you can pretty much guess how they are made.
All you have to do to make them is make deep cuts all the way across each potato at about 3 or 4 mm intervals. Go quite deep, but of course take care not to cut all the way through the potato and cut it in half, although believe me you probably will do that to one or two in your excitement to get the potatoes cooked and in your mouth as fast as possible!
How long do you bake hasselback potatoes for?
You need to put aside a good 10 minutes or so to prepare all the potatoes, but then all you have to do is baste them and throw them in the oven for 40 to 45 mins. Not literally like I did the first time I made them, though. I slid them into the oven a bit too enthusiastically and they toppled all over the oven.
Oops!
Of course you can make hasselback potatoes in the traditional way with bigger potatoes, but if you do make sure you increase the cooking time to about an hour and 10 minutes.

Look how they ‘fan out’ in the oven … perfect for stuffing cheese into!
How to make hasselback potatoes crispy and delicious!
The key to getting these super tasty and crispy is to baste once at the beginning with your oil/butter and flavours and then baste them again half way through cooking. The potatoes sort of fan out as they cook, so the second ‘basting’ gets right inside and helps them crisp up even better.
I chose to baste my potatoes with garlic and parmesan and leave it at that, but these options would be great, too:
– paprika & thyme
– plain salt & pepper, but with a splodge of sour cream or Greek yoghurt, cheese & chives on the top at the end
– cumin, a pinch of cayenne pepper (just a pinch!) & fresh coriander at the end (maybe with a splodge of lime-infused Greek yoghurt to serve, too …mmmm!)
– rosemary & black pepper
I’m sure you can think of other ideas to try.
How do you serve hasselback potatoes?
I’m pretty sure these mini garlic and parmesan hasselback potatoes would be very popular if they were handed around as appetizers at a party.
We usually eat them as a side dish with a salad and quiche, but they’d be great with a steak or grilled chicken… or even just on their own with a few dollops of sour cream on top!
mini garlic & parmesan hasselback potatoes
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click button below for grams & ml)
- 20 ‘new’ or small potatoes welled washed/scrubbed & dried
- 4 or 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
- a large knob of butter about 30 grams
- salt & black pepper
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese grated
- fresh herbs to garnish - basil chives, oregano etc. (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F.
- Cut each potato into slices about 3 to 4 mm apart, without cutting all the way through it, and place on a baking tray.
- Melt the butter in a small dish in the microwave (30 seconds should do it) or in a small saucepan if you don’t have a microwave. Add the olive oil and garlic and stir together.
- Baste each potato well with the butter/olive oil/garlic mixture with a pastry/basting brush (make sure you scoop up plenty of the garlicky bits!), sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper and then bake for 20 minutes.
- Take the potatoes out of the oven and baste again, then sprinkle most of the parmesan over them, poking plenty down into the ‘cracks’. Then return to the oven for about another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are dark golden and a bit crispy.
- Garnish with a bit more parmesan and the fresh herbs (if you like).
Nutrition
Mark says
Can these be made ahead and then finished off for the last 20 mins on the day?
Helen says
Hi Mark! I’ve never tried this, but I really don’t see why that wouldn’t work. You might need to add 5 to 10 minutes to the cooking time though, as you’ll be cooking on the day from cold. Just eye-ball them in the oven, and I suspect you’ll be fine. Good luck!
Mark says
Thanks – Ill let you know how it goes – dinner party Thursday and want to get ahead by doing what I can a day in advance.
Helen says
Good luck, Mark! I think you’ll be fine 😉
Beth says
I love making hasslebacks and a really quick easy way to make sure that you don’t cur all the way through is to put the potato in a wooden spoon, cut down and the slight curve of the spoon will act as a barrier. It takes me 2 minutes to do a whole bag of jersey royals!!! 🙂
Helen says
Wow, what a brilliant tip Beth. I’m definitely going to do that next time I make these. I might even add a note to the recipe. You’re a genius!
Eline says
Heey! I’m going to try to make these this afternoon, but i have one question. Maybe I read over it, but do you need to cook them first or do you put it raw in the oven with the herbs?
x
Helen says
Hi Eline! Sorry I haven’t replied before now (I suspect this is too late if you were going to make them 2 days ago!) But yes, you do put them into the oven raw. Don’t add the parmesan until 20 minutes through the cooking time though. And then you sprinkle the fresh herbs over at the end (if you like – the herbs aren’t essential). Hope you did/do give them a go and that they turned/turn out well! 🙂
Eline says
thanks for the reply! i did make them and they turned out okey. I did have to bake them longer before they were good, but I think that that has something to do with my oven.
thanks!
Helen says
Glad they turned out OK, Eline! I suppose cooking time could depend on the size of the potatoes, too. 🙂
SAMMY says
I am making this yummy looking potato for my family tonight. I will let you know how they like it but I am already drooling….lol
Helen says
Hi Sammy! I’m so thrilled that you’re giving these a go. How did they turn out? 🙂
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai says
YUM’d! This looks delicious. A definite must try! Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door OPENS tonight at 9pm Pacific Time. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Helen says
Thank you for the invitation, Lorelai! I will do that! (it will be 5am over here in the UK, but I’ll pop over a few hours after that!) Thanks for passing by and Yumming! 🙂
cheri says
Hi Helen, oh I am such a potato fiend and these are just so adorable and delicious looking, glad you now live where you have a bigger selection.
Helen says
Hi Cheri! Thank you so much for the lovely compliment. These are definitely the tastiest potatoes I’ve had in a while! 🙂
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
Hasselback potatoes always impresses me. These are tasty and adorable! And they go so well with so many things.
Helen says
Thank you, Thao! Really happy you like these pretty little potatoes!
Olivia @ Olivia's Cuisine says
Mouth-watering pics + amazing recipe = the kind of post I love reading on a Monday morning. Also, I can relate to your potato story. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t use to cook that much when I lived in Brazil (since I lived with my mom), but I don’t remember seeing the varieties of potatoes I see here in the US. They seriously have more varieties than I could possibly experiment with… (Just kidding, I’m determined to try them all!)
Helen says
Hello, Olivia! Really happy you have cheered up your Monday morning! Isn’t that weird how the US and UK (and Australia) all have this amazing variety, but a lot of other places just don’t? I must say though that Greece really does make good use of the ingredients it does have and generally I like the food there much more than I do here!
Eva says
On a pensé à nouveau dans la même recette !! C’est drôle, mais elle n’est pas encore dans le blog ! J’ai réalisé la mienne il n’y pas longtemps ! Tes photos sont magnifiques !! Elles sont déjà dans mon pinterest 😉
Heureusement, ici c’est comme en Angleterre, on trouve touts sorte de pommes de terre !
Helen says
Nous sommes souvent des jumelles dans la cusine, Eva! J’adore ca!! J’ai trop hate de voir ta recette bientot! 🙂