Air Fryer Hasselback Potatoes: Easy Step-by-Step Recipe

Hasselback potatoes are one of those side dishes that look as though you’ve made loads of effort when, in reality, most of the work involves carefully slicing a potato and trying not to accidentally chop straight through it. I’ve definitely made much more complicated potato dishes that don’t look half as impressive!

For these air fryer Hasselback potatoes I use baby potatoes, a little olive oil and salt, then cook them at 175°C for around 30–35 minutes. As they cook, the thin slices start to separate and brown around the edges while the middle of the potato stays lovely and soft.

They’re a nice alternative when you’re bored of ordinary chips or roast potatoes, and once you’ve got the basic cutting technique sorted you can change the seasoning depending on whatever else you’re having for dinner.

If you’re looking for more things to try in yours, I’ve got lots more air fryer recipes too.

What are Hasselback potatoes?

Hasselback potatoes are potatoes that have been sliced thinly across the top without cutting all the way through to the bottom. The potato stays together, but the cuts open slightly as it cooks, giving you lots of edges that can brown and crisp.

They look rather fancy considering they’re essentially still a potato with some carefully placed cuts in it!

I like using baby potatoes for this version because they’re a good size for serving as a side dish and cook nicely in the air fryer. Using potatoes that are roughly the same size also makes life easier because they’re more likely to finish cooking at around the same time.

How do you cut Hasselback potatoes without cutting through them?

This is probably the most useful trick in the whole recipe.

Put a potato on your chopping board with a chopstick down either side of it. If you haven’t got chopsticks, the handles of two pieces of cutlery can work instead.

Make thin slices across the potato, cutting down until your knife reaches the chopsticks. They act as a barrier and stop the knife going all the way through.

You’re aiming to cut roughly three-quarters of the way down the potato. The slices don’t need to be microscopically identical, so don’t turn this into some sort of potato engineering project. Keeping them fairly close together is enough to give you that lovely Hasselback effect as they cook.

Once you’ve done the first couple of potatoes, it gets much quicker.

What temperature do Hasselback potatoes need in the air fryer?

I cook mine at 175°C.

For the 800g of baby potatoes used in this recipe, they take around 30–35 minutes, although the exact cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes and your particular air fryer.

If you’ve bought especially tiny baby potatoes, start checking them sooner. Bigger potatoes may need longer.

I always think cooking times are more useful as a guide than a promise because potatoes haven’t read the recipe and don’t all arrive in identical sizes!

How to make Hasselback potatoes in the air fryer

Start by rinsing your baby potatoes and removing any eyes that need trimming, then pat them dry with kitchen roll.

Using the chopstick trick above, carefully make thin cuts across each potato without slicing all the way through.

Put the prepared potatoes into a bowl and add the olive oil and salt. Try to get a little of the oil around the cut surfaces rather than leaving it all sitting underneath the potato.

Preheat your air fryer if your particular model recommends doing so, then arrange the potatoes in the basket with enough room for the hot air to circulate around them.

Air fry at 175°C for 30–35 minutes, turning them about halfway through cooking. Towards the end, check that they’re cooked through and that the sliced edges have browned nicely.

Serve them while they’re hot.

How do you know when Hasselback potatoes are cooked?

The outside should be golden and the sliced edges should have opened and started to crisp, but the important bit is the potato underneath.

Push a small sharp knife into one of the thicker parts. It should slide in easily without meeting a hard centre.

If the outside looks great but the middle isn’t quite there, give the potatoes another few minutes and check again.

How can I make Hasselback potatoes crispier?

Giving the potatoes room in the basket makes a difference because an air fryer relies on hot air moving around the food. If you’ve got them all wedged together, those lovely sliced edges aren’t going to get quite the same exposure.

Getting the oil reasonably evenly distributed helps too. You don’t need the potatoes swimming in it, but I wouldn’t remove the oil simply to shave calories off the recipe because it’s doing a job here.

Thin, fairly even cuts also create more edges to brown. Just don’t get carried away and slice right through the potato or you’ll have invented some rather elaborate chips instead.

Different ways to season Hasselback potatoes

The basic recipe uses olive oil and salt, which means the potatoes work alongside almost anything.

Garlic and herbs are an easy addition if you want more flavour. Rosemary works particularly well if you’re serving them with a roast dinner, while garlic granules are handy because you can distribute them easily over the potatoes.

Paprika gives them a slightly different flavour and colour, while fresh parsley or chives scattered over the cooked potatoes makes them look rather nice without changing the recipe very much.

You could also add grated Parmesan towards the end of cooking if you fancy cheesy Hasselback potatoes. I’d add it late rather than at the beginning so the cheese doesn’t spend half an hour becoming increasingly annoyed at 175°C.

What to serve with air fryer Hasselback potatoes

I tend to think of these as an alternative to roast potatoes, chips or a jacket potato, so they’re pretty flexible.

They’d work alongside chicken, sausages, fish, a veggie burger or a vegetarian roast. You could also serve them with chilli instead of the usual rice or jacket potato if you fancied something different.

If potatoes are very much the plan for dinner, you might also like my air fryer sweet potato fries or air fryer salt and pepper chips. I’m also working on improving my air fryer roast potatoes recipe, so that one is worth a look if you want something more traditional.

Can you prepare Hasselback potatoes ahead?

You can do some of the preparation ahead if it makes dinner easier, although potatoes can discolour once they’re cut.

Personally, for such small potatoes I’d usually cut them fairly close to cooking rather than creating another storage job for myself. The slicing is the fiddliest bit, but once you’ve got the chopsticks out it doesn’t take particularly long.

Cooked leftovers should be cooled and refrigerated promptly. Reheat them thoroughly before serving again; using the air fryer can help the edges regain some of their texture.

More easy air fryer side dishes

One of the reasons I like the air fryer is that side dishes don’t have to occupy half the oven, especially if I’m already cooking something else in there.

Alongside these potatoes, you could try my crispy air fryer cauliflower, air fryer aubergine or crispy air fryer chickpeas. They’re all useful recipes when you want something a bit different without turning dinner into an enormous project.

You’ll find those and plenty more in my air fryer recipes and cooking tips collection.

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