An easy shortcut gets these hasselback potatoes ready in just over a half hour!


My aunt has always baked her potatoes in the oven. She does own a microwave, but she likes cooking them the old fashioned way I guess. I have always been a microwave potato baker because I don’t have an hour plus to wait for potatoes to cook! These hasselback potatoes are actually cooked in the microwave AND the oven, so the recipe should make everyone happy :)
I precook the potatoes in the microwave so that they don’t have to bake as long, but I bake them in the oven to get them brown and bubbly on top. Since the potatoes are already tender when you get to the baking stage, they only need to be in the oven around 15 minutes.

A lot of the cheese and butter kind of melts into the potatoes, so they are incredibly creamy and moist. I can’t wait to make these again! They are easy enough to make for a weeknight family dinner, but they look fancy enough to serve to guests. That’s my favorite kind of recipe!
While I chose to season the butter with ranch seasoning, you certainly don’t have to. You could use whatever kind of herbs you like or just use plain butter. I’m a bit of a ranch fanatic, so of course I wanted to incorporate that into the recipe. You could also change up the cheese if you like to use cheddar or pepper jack. I might even try goat cheese next time to see how that tastes!
I actually shared these potatoes here a LONG time ago, back when I first started the blog. You can imagine how bad the photos were, and they were worse than what you just imagined. I think I was on a hasselback kick in 2013 because I also made these two other recipes back then. Have you seen them?
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Red Hasselback Potatoes
Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes are the perfect side dish for just about any meal!
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 4 medium red potatoes washed and scrubbed well
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk ranch dressing mix
- 4 ounces sliced jack cheese cut into pieces to fit into potatoes
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Microwave potatoes for 4-5 minutes, turning over once, until almost tender when inserting knife into center.
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Meanwhile, stir together softened butter and ranch mix until smooth.
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Using a towel or oven mitt to protect your hand, make 1/4″ slices in potatoes, stopping before you slice through to the bottom. (Placing potato in a large wooden spoon during this step can help prevent slicing through completely.)
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Place sliced potatoes on baking sheet. Use a spreading knife to push some of the seasoned butter into each incision.
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Place a piece of cheese into each incision (cut to just fit).
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Bake potatoes for 10 minutes in preheated oven. Then, broil for 5-7 minutes, until skin starts to brown.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
Watch The Recipe Video Here:


Just looking at all these sliced up, cheesy recipes makes me want to make another one! Keep an eye out for that, but until then, here’s the recipe for these easy Red Hasselback Potatoes!
Dee says
I love potatoes — the cheesier, the better! I’m definitely trying this version soon!
Spend With Pennies says
I’ll be making this!! Cheese is definitely my love language… add in some potatoes and there’s no going back.
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
Totally one of my favorite side dishes! My husabnd would literally eat these every day if I made them!
Jessica Segarra says
Love hasselback potatoes! So many different ways to make them!
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
Love when you look back on old photos and see how far you have come :) We love potatoes here and wrapping things in bacon!) so these just sound amazing!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes... says
These are such a great side dish!! I am trying to think of something for tonight, and I think these are it!
Kate@Diethood says
I really, reeeeeally like the way this sounds and looks!! SO YUM!!
Ann Adair says
Do you need to prick potatoes before nuking?
Andi @ The Weary Chef says
Hi, Ann! I didn’t prick them because I knew I was going to be slicing them and wanted the skins to hold together. You definitely can poke them though if you like to do it that way! I usually do that when I’m baking potatoes to make sure they get cooked in the center. (Really I just do it because my mom told me to when I learned how to cook potatoes, and I’ve always done it since!)
Amy Stafford says
I am like your grandma, and prefer the oven. These hasselback potatoes look delicious.