LOADED HASSELBACK POTATOES
This impressive potato side dish only looks intimidating. Once you taste the buttery, crispy edges, the fluffy, tender interior, and the delicious toppings, you won’t want plain baked potatoes again.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
6 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
10–12 slices cheese of your choice (I like using Velveeta slices because they melt so well.)
½ cup sour cream
4 scallions, sliced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
To slice the potatoes: place two wooden spoons on either side of the potato. Slice the potatoes thinly (about ⅛-inch wide) without cutting all the way through to the bottom.
Place the potatoes onto a rimmed baking sheet.
In a small bowl in the microwave, melt the butter and minced garlic together. Stir in the Kosher salt and pepper.
Use a pastry brush to slather the butter/garlic mixture over the top of the potatoes, trying to get some of the butter into the slices.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the remaining butter mixture over the potatoes and into the slices. Place back in the oven and bake until crispy on top and tender in the center, about another 30-40 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the oven.
Cut the cheese slices in half and carefully tuck the slice halves between the potato slices.
Return the potatoes to the oven just until the cheese melts.
Remove the potatoes from the oven.
Spoon a dollop of sour cream over the top. Sprinkle with the bacon crumbles and sliced scallions.
Serve immediately while hot.
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