Vegan Hasselback Potatoes

Vegan Hasselback Potatoes take very little time to prepare, and they make an excellent –and pretty! – side dish. Serve them for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime you want potatoes with your dinner! This easy Hasselback baked potato recipe is made with garlic and rosemary, and it's vegan and gluten-free. 

Vegan Hasselback Potatoes

I’ve been making Hasselback Potatoes since before I knew they were called Hasselback Potatoes. Sometime in the early 90s I received a big envelope in the mail trying to get me to sign up for one of those recipe card subscription service that were popular at the time. For the low, low price of $9.99 a month, I could get a bunch of recipe cards for foods I would never make along with a dull pairing knife and a printed cardboard box to keep everything in. Kind of like a mail-order version of modern-day Pinterest.

I was vegetarian, not yet vegan, and although I did like the idea of recipe cards, I knew most of them would be meaty, so I didn’t sign up. The accidentally vegetarian cards got tucked into my own recipe box though, and I made the potato recipe often. I no longer have the recipe card, and I can’t remember what they were calling them, but I know wasn’t Hasselback Potatoes. (Maybe it was Accordion Potatoes?) I used to jam as much cheese and butter into every space possible, and single, large, greasy potato would be my dinner. When I went vegan several years later, I stopped using cheese and butter, and switched to olive oil and nooch.

I was kind of surprised to find my favorite potatoes popping up on Pinterest, Instagram, and the Blogosphere several years ago. Since these potatoes make a great holiday side dish, I finally got to sharing them a few years ago. At that time people were hasselbacking everything, and I think some of us began to stuffer from hasselback fatigue. What's old is new again, so it's time to revisit this recipe.

What are Hasselback Potatoes?

Hasselback potatoes or potato à la hasselbacken are a type of Swedish baked potato. The potatoes are cut into thin slices that are still attached to the potato. Hasselbacken is the Stockholm restaurant where the potatoes were first served. 

Hasselback potatoes are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. They're what would happen if french fries met a baked potato. Plus they look super fancy on your plate.

How to Make Vegan Hasselback Potatoes

Don't let their appearance fool you, these potateos are easy to make! 

• First you cut vertical slits in the potatoes, stopping about ½” from the bottom so that everything stays intact. The slits should be about ¼” apart of each other. You can place the potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and stop cutting once you get to the spoon handles, to make cutting easier.
• Next you, place the potatoes in the baking dish, brush them with half the oil, and sprinkle on about half of salt. Try to get some a little of the oil and salt in between the slices.
• Cook your potatoes for half an hour and then remove from the oven. Brush on the rest of the olive oil, and sprinkle each potato with the minced garlic, nutritional yeast, rosemary, black pepper, red pepper flakes, if using, and the rest of the salt. Try to get into the spaces with the oil and seasonings. You may have to pry the potato slices apart gently to do so.
• Bake your potatoes for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes have browned nicely, and the edges are crispy.

I have given measurements for the oil, salt and pepper in my recipe, but you can use a little less or a little more, according to your tastes.

How to Customize Your Vegan Hasselback Potatoes

You can easily make this recipe your own!

• If you'd like to make your potatoes more authentically Swedish, you can use caraway seeds, paprika, or breadcrumbs as your topping.
• You can use non-dairy butter in the place of olive oil.
• I like to use russet potatoes with this recipe, but you can use other types, such as Yukon gold or red bliss potatoes. If you use sweet potatoes, keep in mind they won't get as crispy as white potatoes do.
• Feel free to  use any type of fresh herbs you'd like to flavor your potatoes. Try thyme, oregano, or chives.
• Non-dairy cheese shreds can be melted on top of your potato.
• If you'd like to make a meal out of your potatoes rather than serve them as a side dish, you can top them with whatever you'd add to a baked potato. I like to use steamed broccoli and crumbled tempeh bacon.

Originally published December 9, 2015. Updated October 31, 2021.

More potato dishes you might enjoy include:

• Scalloped Potatoes 
• Buffalo Potato Nuggets
• Spinach Dip Potato Skins
• Smashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Cream

More Thanksgiving recipes you might like include:

• Super Easy Cranberry Sauce
• Creamed Kale
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Mashed Butternut Squash