Crispy Garlic Butter Hasselback Potatoes (Potato Bugs)

Crispy hasselback potatoes sliced thinly three-quarters of the way through, so the garlic butter and olive oil roast into every layer. The edges turn deep golden and crisp while the centres stay soft and fluffy. A side dish that works with almost any roast, casserole or grill.

Roast potatoes are often the most anticipated part of a meal at our table, and these are the ones everyone asks for by name. Instead of roasting simple chunks, a thin slice comes off the base of each potato so it sits steady, then it is sliced repeatedly three-quarters of the way through, hasselback style, so the slices gently fan open in the oven and let the garlic butter slip between every layer. The result is dozens of crispy golden edges on the outside and a soft, fluffy centre underneath.

The name came from my kids. Once roasted, the thin slices curl slightly and the layered pattern reminded them of the shell on the back of a Moreton Bay bug, so they christened them potato bugs and it stuck. Now whenever a roast is on the menu, someone inevitably asks if the potato bugs are ready.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 80 min · Serves: 6 · Cuisine: Australian · Category: Dinner

Ingredients

Crispy Garlic Butter Hasselback Potatoes (Potato Bugs)

• 1.5 kg Red Royale washed potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 3 cloves garlic, freshly minced
• 1½ teaspoons sea salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C fan forced.
2. Wash the potatoes. Peeling is optional, and I peel mine. Cut a thin slice from one long side of each potato so it sits flat and steady on the board. Keep those slices, they roast into crisp chips alongside the potatoes.
3. Sit the potato cut side down. Place a chopstick along each side of it, running the full length. Anything long, thin and even will do the same job.
4. With a sharp knife, slice down at about 3mm intervals, letting the blade come to rest on the chopsticks each time. The guides stop the knife cutting all the way through, so the base stays intact and the slices stay connected.
5. Run your fingers gently through the slices to open the fan a little. This is what lets the butter reach the middle rather than sitting on top.
6. Dry the potatoes thoroughly with a clean tea towel, or paper towel, working between the slices as well as over the surface. Any water left in the fan will steam instead of crisp, so take your time here.
7. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, olive oil, sea salt and pepper, and mix well. Keep the garlic and rosemary aside for now.
8. Arrange the reserved base slices on a large roasting tray and sit each potato on top of its own slice. Drizzle the butter mixture generously over the potatoes, letting it fall between the slices.
9. Roast at 200°C for 20 minutes, then baste the potatoes with the buttery pan juices.
10. Roast for another 20 minutes. Stir the minced garlic and rosemary into the pan juices, then baste again. Adding them at this point gives the garlic time to flavour the potatoes without catching over the full cook.
11. Roast for a further 20 minutes and baste once more, so the potatoes have had an hour at 200°C and three bastes in total.
12. Lift the oven to 220°C fan forced and roast for a final 20 minutes. They are ready when the slices have fanned wide open, the edges are deeply golden and crisp, and the centres are soft when pierced with a knife. The base slices underneath will have crisped into chips.

Common Questions

Why won't my hasselback potatoes fan out?

Three things usually cause it. The slices are too thick, the potato has not been opened up before roasting, or it is sitting flat against the tray with nowhere to expand. Aim for slices around 3mm, run your fingers through them to start the fan, and sit each potato on the thin slice you cut from its base so it has a little lift.

Why cut a slice off the bottom of the potato?

Two reasons. It gives you a flat, steady base to slice against, which makes the whole job safer. Then, once the potato sits back on top of that slice for roasting, the fan has room to open properly and the offcut crisps into a chip underneath.

How do I stop the knife cutting all the way through?

Place a chopstick along each side of the potato, running its full length, and let the blade come to rest on them with each cut. Anything long, thin and matched in height works the same way, including wooden spoon handles.

What are the best potatoes for hasselback?

Waxy or all-rounder varieties hold their shape best. Red Royale is what I use, and any similar potato of the same size will work. Floury baking potatoes tend to collapse between the slices once the starch softens.

Do I need to peel them?

No. The skin crisps well and holds the base of each fan together. I peel mine because I prefer the cleaner look and the more even fan, but the recipe works either way.

Can I slice hasselback potatoes ahead of time?

Yes, up to a day ahead. Keep them submerged in cold water in the fridge so they do not brown, then drain and dry them completely before dressing. Any water left between the slices will steam instead of crisp.

Why are my hasselback potatoes crisp on the edges but soft in the middle?

Usually the potatoes went into the oven damp, or they have not been basted often enough. Dry them thoroughly between the slices before the oil goes on, then baste every 20 minutes so the butter keeps working its way down into the fan as it opens.

When should the garlic go in?

Not at the start. Over an eighty minute roast, minced garlic added at the beginning will darken and turn bitter well before the potatoes are done. Stir it into the pan juices at the second baste, around the forty minute mark, and it flavours the butter without catching.

Do I need to raise the oven temperature at the end?

It is what takes the edges from golden to properly crisp. An hour at 200°C cooks the potato through and opens the fan, and the final 20 minutes at 220°C does the browning without drying out the centre.

Serving Suggestion

These potatoes belong beside a roast, and The Grace Table Roast Chicken Method (Golden, Juicy & Extra Crispy Skin) is their natural partner. They also hold their own next to something rich and slow like Red Wine Beef Bourguignon or Slow Simmered Blade Roast Beef Casserole, and alongside Greek-Style Lamb Loin Chops with a bright Green Goddess Cabbage Salad to balance the richness. Serve them straight from the oven while the edges are still crisp.

Storage Notes

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 180°C fan forced oven for 10 to 15 minutes to bring back the crisp edges. The microwave will warm them through but the slices will soften, so the oven is worth the extra few minutes.

Notes

Chopsticks either side of the potato give a reliably even depth without needing knife confidence. Wooden spoon handles work the same way, and so does anything long, thin and matched in height.

Peeling is a personal preference rather than a requirement. The skin crisps well if you leave it on, and peeled potatoes give a cleaner, more uniform fan.

Drying is the step people skip and the one that decides the result. Water trapped between the slices turns to steam in the oven and softens the edges you are working for.

Hold the garlic and rosemary back until the second baste. Eighty minutes is long enough for minced garlic to catch and turn bitter, and it flavours the butter just as well going in partway through.

Red Royale potatoes hold their shape well when sliced this way. Any waxy or all-rounder potato of a similar size will work.

The butter builds a rich golden crust while the olive oil raises the smoke point and stops the garlic from burning.

If some potatoes are larger than others, sit the bigger ones toward the back of the tray where most ovens run hotter, so the batch finishes together.

The Grace Table Tip

Do not lose the base slices under the potatoes. They roast in the garlic butter for the full cook and come out as thin crisp chips, and they are usually the first thing to disappear from the plate. Lift them off with a spatula and serve them scattered around the potatoes.

The potatoes can be sliced up to a day ahead. Keep them submerged in cold water in the fridge, then drain and pat completely dry before dressing and roasting. Peeled potatoes especially need the cold water to stop them discolouring.