Who says potatoes at a holiday dinner have to be part of the main event? Instead, try serving these (adorable) Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Creamy Dill Dip as an appetizer for your next dinner party or Thanksgiving meal.
I can’t get over how fun these are to eat. I love anything that can be dipped in a dip (who doesn’t?), but somehow the cut layers of these potatoes make it all the more fun. The pieces of potatoes can be pulled apart and dunked, or you can just go for it with the whole thing.
And that dill sauce!! Man, is it good. I had some leftover (I don’t know how) and had it with crab cakes the next day. It’s wonderful. You will want to put it on everything. I even did an entire post about a dill dip recipe because it’s so delicious as a stand-alone recipe.
Cutting the hasselback potatoes can be a bit of a challenge, but I have a trick that helps. Basically, you want to cut slits in the potatoes about 1/8 of an inch apart but not cut all the way through, so the slices are attached.
I just put a couple of chopsticks on each side of the potatoes, so my knife wouldn’t go through all the way. You can use two spatulas or wooden spoons, or anything else that will brace the potato and stop your knife.
After you cut the potatoes, it’s a simple matter of roasting with extra virgin olive oil, pepper, and plenty of salt. The number one mistake I make when cooking potatoes is not adding enough salt. They are bland little tubers and need a ton of seasoning to live up to their potential. Salt freely!
As they roast, the slices of potato shrink away from each other and the edges get golden and crispy. If you want, halfway through baking, you can brush them with more olive oil or even some melted butter, so it seeps into the crevices a bit more.
I didn’t do this and it’s not necessary, but if you like an extra crispy and decadent roasted potato, you might want to try it.
Here’s a great thing that I didn’t expect from this recipe: you can make them in advance and reheat! I reheated a few I had leftover as an experiment, after they were in the fridge overnight. After about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven, they crisped up and revived themselves beautifully.
So, if you are pressed for time, or need to use your oven space for other things, I recommend making these in advance and re-roasting them about 20 minutes before serving (especially because these little guys are definitely best served warm- leave the cold potatoes to potato salad or vichyssoise).
I used three special tools to make this recipe:
- Two chopsticks, to brace the sides of the potatoes and ensure I didn’t cut through to the bottom (you can use two wooden spoons, spatulas, or anything long and straight!)
- A good quality roasting pan- I LOVE my Nordic Ware aluminum half baker’s sheet. It’s sturdy, so it doesn’t buckle (and scare the heck out of you) under high heat, and it always roasts things evenly with no sticking.
- A food processor to make the dill dip- you can pulse to chop the veggies before adding the sour cream and mayo, which means no chopping. Alternatively, you can just chop the dill and green onions finely and mix in a bowl.
If you like this recipe, try these Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes.
Recipe for Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Creamy Dill Dip below!
Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Creamy Dill Dip
Equipment
- Chopsticks
Ingredients
For the Potatoes:
- 1.5 lbs. miniature golden or fingerling potatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For the dip:
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- 4 green onions green and white parts, cut into 3-4 inch pieces
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- juice and zest of one lemon
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Using a sharp knife, cut slits into the potatoes that are approximately 1/8 of an inch apart and do not cut all the way through (you can use chopsticks or something similar to brace each side of the potato and stop your knife from going through).
- Place cut potatoes in a bowl. Mix with the olive oil (2 tablespoons) and plenty of salt and pepper.
- Place cut side up onto a parchment covered rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast for approximately 60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and golden brown on the outside.
- Meanwhile, add dill (2 tablespoons), scallions (4), kosher salt and pepper to taste, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the sour cream and mayonnaise and pulse until combined. (alternatively, you can just chop the dill and onions finely and mix everything in a bowl)
- Serve the potatoes warm with the dip.
Notes
- To make these in advance, follow all instructions as directed. Refrigerate the dip and the potatoes overnight, and reheat the potatoes on a roasting pan at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until warmed and crispy.
- If you want a crispier, more decadent potato: halfway through baking, you can brush them with more olive oil or even some melted butter, so it seeps into the crevices a bit more.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Monica M
Delicious! I used Greek yogurt instead of the mayo and sour cream to help on the saturated fat, it was great! Thank you
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!