Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

At a glance

What stands out: Sweet and rich, roasted Hasselback sweet potatoes make an impressive presentation yet are straightforward enough to add to your everyday menu. No “hassle” required!

How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 1 hour and 20 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, chopsticks or 2 wooden spoons, baking dish
Servings: 8

Sweet Potatoes Any way, Any Day

We must have about 20 recipes for sweet potatoes on our site. We make them at least once a week: steamed whole in our Instant Pot, baked in the microwave, oven roasted cubes, mashed, cut into wedges, in casseroles, even made into gluten free crackers.

And we're not the only one who loves them. Even our kids love sweet potatoes! We're so glad that they do because sweet potatoes are so good for you. Whenever we roast a batch for meal prep for salads, bowls, and burritos, we have to do extra because most of those tasty sweet potato tidbits will disappear before we get them into a recipe.

These Hasselback sweet potatoes are a little more sophisticated than ordinary roasted sweet potatoes. They are a cut above other sweet potato recipes (pun intended).

What is a Hasselback potato?

We looked on Wikipedia which told us that Hasselback is a Swedish method of making roasted potatoes, developed by a chef in Stockholm, in a restaurant called Hasselback.

To prepare traditional Hasselback potatoes, each potato is carefully sliced into quarter inch slices but not all the way through the potato, so that the potato remains whole but with cuts in it. Melted butter and herbs are then drizzled over the cut potato and it’s roasted until golden brown. The butter and herbs sink down into the sliced potatoes and the cut edges get browned and crispy.

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Naturally, since we love sweet potatoes so much, we wondered if this method would work with whole sweet potatoes.

The sweet potatoes are carefully sliced, Hasselback style, and a tasty concoction of melted butter, brown sugar, and spices is poured over. Roast them in the oven, baste them a couple of times to make them glisten, and voila, you have a classy looking, ridiculously rich side dish to impress your guests. The buttery sweetness is baked right into the inside of the potato ensuring that every bite will be rich.

How to Cut Hasselback Potatoes

To make the slicing easier, set your potato lengthwise between a couple of wooden spoon handles or chopsticks. Make the slices perpendicular to the wooden spoons/chopsticks, which will act as a guard to keep the knife from cutting all the way through.

For a helpful video about how to cut the potatoes, Hasselback style, watch this short YouTube video produced by Cooking Light.

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Use a butter alternative. We use melted butter for these because well, we love butter! However, you can also use ghee, or make the recipe vegan by using olive oil or coconut oil.
• Vary the spices. Instead of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, try making it savory with minced garlic, red pepper flakes, cayenne, or onion powder. Consider the sweet potato a blank palette ready for your artistry!
• Garnish suggestions: We garnished these Hasselback sweet potatoes with julienned apples and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Alternatives could be freshly chopped parsley, fried sage leaves, or maybe lemon twists.

Tips for a standby Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

• Scrub well and trim the potatoes. We find that cutting off the funny ends of the sweet potatoes looks a little better. That’s totally up to you. Just make sure you scrub them well. We love this vegetable brush!
• Use a large sharp knife. Use the sharpest knife you have! A good chef’s knife is reliable. If it sounds difficult, don’t worry, it isn’t that hard. Our mom tried making these Hasselback potatoes with some trepidation, but found that it was surprisingly straightforward and actually kind of fun! Our mom and we are kind of weird that way.
• Take a thin slice off the bottom to stabilize the potato. If you’re finding that your sweet potato isn’t cooperating with the slicing process, slice a thin slice off the bottom side of the potato. That will make your wiggly potato lie still!

Make Ahead Idea

The potatoes can be prepared ahead of time and baked. Let them cool in the pan before covering and refrigerating them for up to 3 days. To reheat, bake them at 350ºF for about 30 minutes, or until they’re heated through. Baste them a bit with the butter to make them glisten again.

• Yield: 8
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and trimmed (see note)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste if you have it!)
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional, or to taste)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray baking dish lightly with cooking spray (see note).
2. Prepare sweet potatoes: Place wooden chopsticks or wooden spoons on either side of one sweet potato. Carefully cut thin slices (about ¼ -inch) into the sweet potato, being careful not to slice all the way through. The chopsticks/wooden spoons will keep your knife from going too far. (If you find that the potato is too wobbly, cut a thin slice off the bottom to stabilize it.) Place the sliced sweet potatoes into the prepared baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne (if using). Pour this mixture over the prepared sweet potatoes, slightly separating the slices so that the butter mixture gets inside.
4. Cover the dish with foil, place in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, or until nearly tender.
5. Take potatoes out of the oven, remove foil, spoon the butter mixture from the bottom of the pan over the potatoes, and return to oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Repeat this process once, and bake 10 minutes more. You want to have a nice glaze on the sweet potatoes.
6. Serve with julienned or grated apples sprinkled on top, if desired.

Notes

Choosing sweet potatoes: If you want, you can use smaller-sized sweet potatoes. They will bake more quickly. The important thing to remember is that the sweet potatoes should be about the same size so they bake evenly.

Choosing a pan or dish: Choose a baking dish that will accommodate all four whole sweet potatoes, side by side, with a little extra room to allow the potatoes to fan out a bit. We use a large glass baking dish. You could also use a cast iron skillet, or any pan that will accommodate your potatoes. You don’t want to crowd them too much. They need a little space to fan out and roast.

Make ahead: Prepare and bake the potatoes as directed. Let cool in the dish, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered in a 350ºF oven for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Make a casserole instead. For a less fussy option, slice the sweet potatoes all the way through. Layer the slices in a baking dish, pour the butter mixture over the top, and bake. We like to layer sliced apples with the sweet potatoes. So good!