Hasselback potatoes are named for the Hasselbacken Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden, where they were first served in the 1950s. Individual potatoes are thinly sliced vertically but not all the way through, keeping them intact, and then basted with garlic butter before roasting. This gratin recipe is a twist on the original preparation and offers the best of two textures we love in potato dishes: the crispiness of the potato tops after roasting in a high-temperature oven and the creamy sauciness of a gratin at the bottom.
Ingredients For Hasselback Potato Gratin
About 4 lb (1.8 kg) unpeeled, washed Yukon Gold potatoes
¼ cup (60 g) clarified butter
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
½ cup (125 mL) 2% milk
1 shallot, minced
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
Directions For Hasselback Potato Gratin
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Before slicing your potatoes, line them in your roasting dish to make sure they can nestle in tightly—you may need to add or remove a potato.
- To slice, place two wooden spoons parallel to each other on your cutting board and place a potato between them. Make slices into the potato that are ⅛ inch (3 mm) apart. The wooden spoons will stop your knife from cutting all the way through, keeping the potato together. Place this potato back in the roasting pan and repeat with the remaining potatoes.
- Brush the potatoes with clarified butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, until the potatoes begin to brown and blister a little on top.
- While the potatoes bake, prepare the sauce. In a saucepot over low heat, heat the cream, milk, shallots, thyme and a little salt and pepper to infuse the flavours, about 10 minutes.
- At 40 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and reduce the temperature to 400°F (200°C). Pour the sauce over the potatoes, making sure they each get coated with the cream as it runs off and into the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake, uncovered, for another 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes to cool before serving.
Tip:
Hasselback potatoes are traditionally made with russet potatoes, but Yukon Golds have a creamy texture and thin skins, which don’t require peeling for this recipe. You can use russet potatoes very easily, but do peel their skins, which are quite thick.
Note:
The gratin will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat with a splash of cream or milk in a loosely covered baking dish in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 20 minutes.
Excerpted from Anna Cooks by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2025 Anna Olson. Photographs by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
