Air fryer hasselback potatoes

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Working from home, especially when the weather is cold, leaves me looking forward to lunch time to have a hot meal. These air fryer hasselback potatoes are the perfect side dish for a tasty lunch or dinner, and are surprisingly easy to prepare too.

While you’re here be sure to check out my air fryer tips and tricks. Whether you’re a total beginner to air frying, or just looking to get more from your air fryer, this is sure to help!

I love being able to make a batch of these, half cook them and then place in the freezer. I will freeze them flat on a baking sheet and then transfer them to a ziplock bag. Over the next month or so I’ll be able to enjoy one of these when I fancy, although I have to say that they’re just a fraction nicer when cooked from fresh, as per the instructions of this recipe.

These hasselback potatoes work so well as part of a main meal, or even just with baked beans and cheese on the top, or tuna and cheese with mayonnaise. There are lots of tasty potato ideas on this site, including Ninja Foodi baked potatoes and rosemary and garlic roast potatoes.

How to hasselback a potato:

The trick to slicing the potatoes well is to place them between two wooden spoons on a chopping board.

Use a very sharp knife to slice a good 3/4 of the way into the potato, stopping when your knife hits the wooden spoons.

This is a very easy way to hasselback your potatoes, and these cut ridges leave lots of room for tasty melted garlic butter which helps the potatoes to cook evenly throughout.

I like to slice no more than 1/2 a cm apart, but sometimes end up with slightly narrower slices than this. Click the below image to see a closer look.

Ingredients for air fryer hasselback potatoes:

4 medium potatoes

Salt and pepper

Spray oil

Garlic butter – to make this you’ll need butter, herbs (I use parsley) and garlic cloves, salt or powder

Firstly, before starting this recipe it is worth recognising that using larger potatoes will naturally equal longer cooking time. The methods in this post are based on medium potatoes, with fairly small slices in the potatoes.

If you’ve followed the cooking time and your potatoes are not quite ready then just use the air fryer for a few more minutes at a time, checking back and basting again with the garlic butter as required.

Method for making hasselback potatoes in an air fryer:

Slice your potatoes 3/4 of the way through (see near the top of this post for my method). Be sure to use a sharp knife and do not slice all the way through the potato.

Use spray oil on the potatoes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Brush each of the slices on both sides using melted garlic butter. If you don’t have this to hand them combine a little olive oil, butter, garlic powder and dried parsley for a similar product.

Cook at 180C (360F approx) for 15 minutes.

Remove using tongs. Place on to a chopping board.

Completely baste/brush all of the slices again.

Cook at 180C (360F approx) for another 10 minutes.

Brush/baste the potatoes again.

Cook at 180C (360F) for another 5-10 minutes, depending on the size.

Serve and enjoy!

Which potatoes to use for hasselback:

I typically just buy whichever white potatoes are available from the supermarket in the UK; typically russet or Maris Piper.

You can use a different variety of potato, such as red, or even sweet potato, and as long as you make uniform slices into the potato, baste well and check back a few times there is no reason why you can’t make a delicious, crispy hasselback potato.

Do you need to soak hasselback potatoes?

No, I don’t bother. I always slice them, wash and dry as thoroughly as I can and then use right away. I don’t believe that soaking these makes any real difference, neither does parboiling, as you just end up with a messy potato with both ends falling apart before it’s even finished cooking.

Are hasselback potatoes crispy?

Yes! Follow my method and you’ll have that delicious crispy outer edge with soft fluffy potato inside.

I think that using garlic butter gives the crispiest result, as does heating the air fryer to quite a high temperature.

Want to make air fryer hasselback potatoes with cheese?

Follow the above method, then just when the potatoes are cooked you’ll want to cram lots of delicious melted cheese, about 25g per potato, into all those slices. Use a spoon to pack it down and then either air fryer for another 2-3 minutes or place under a grill for 1-2 minutes.

My air fryer has a grill function but I find the air fryer function great for melting the cheese and I’ve already made a mess of the air fryer basket so figure I may as well finish the recipe off in the air fryer.

What about making loaded hasselback potatoes?

Just like nachos or chilli you’ll want to load it up with similar toppings for a really tasty result. I love to use slow cooker beef chilli (or Ninja Foodi beef chilli), grated cheddar, spring onions, sour cream, tomato and chilli salsa, nacho cheese sauce and guacamole. Sometimes I make a garlic and herb dip if I want something a little bit lighter.

I add the cheese at the end and just give it a quick blast in the air fryer again until the cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips too if you’re feeding a hungry crowd.

What to serve with hasselback potatoes?

We love to enjoy these as part of a main meal. In the past I’ve served with air fryer BBQ chicken breast, air fryer cajun chicken, air fryer peri peri chicken, air fryer chicken wings, baked beans or air fryer green beans and lots of brown sugar BBQ sauce.

This is a fantastic side dish that works well with a variety of meals, even a roast dinner!

Do you need to use foil when cooking hasselback potatoes?

I don’t bother. These don’t stick, probably because I turn them around midway through, and the air fryer basket on the model I have is really simple to clean, so I see no need.

If you’re worried about sticking you could use foil, however, do check that it is safe for air frying first, and make sure there is nothing loose inside, as this will blow around when the air fryer is on.

Do you need to use an air fryer basket?

If your air fryer just has a bowl, and no basket, you can definitely still make these potatoes. They will crisp up lovely, just ensure that you turn them at least once during cooking, and leave lots of room so they are not sticking together and can cook evenly.

Why not try some of my other fantastic air fryer recipes while you’re here?

• Air fryer sausages
• Air fryer apple crumble
• Air fryer parsnips recipe (honey glazed)
• Air fryer whole chicken
• Air fryer carrots and parsnips
• Air fryer turkey bacon
• Air fryer English muffins
• Air fryer sausage patties
• Air fryer frozen yorkshire puddings
• Air fryer potato skins

Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!

How to make hasselback potatoes in an air fryer:

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

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