Honey & Goat Cheese Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut off the rough ends, and make slices all along each one. Whisk the cinnamon, honey, butter, orange juice and salt in a separate bowl and drizzle the mixture into the slices. Put a dollop of goat cheese into each incision, garnish with chopped pecans, and bake 45 minutes to an hour, until easily poked with a fork.
The hasselback technique — slicing a potato into a thin, fanned accordion without cutting all the way through — turns a humble sweet potato into a showpiece. Roasted, the thin slices crisp and caramelize at the edges while the center stays creamy, and a finish of tangy goat cheese and floral honey plays sweet against savory against sharp. It is a side dish that draws compliments before anyone has taken a bite.
The Hasselback Cut
The signature fan is easier than it looks. Slice the sweet potatoes crosswise into thin, even cuts, stopping just short of the bottom so the slices stay connected and can fan open as they roast. A pair of chopsticks or wooden spoons laid alongside the potato acts as a guard, stopping your knife before it cuts all the way through. Thin, even slices are what give you the most crisp, caramelized edges and that beautiful accordion spread.
Roast, Then Finish
Roast the potatoes until the thin edges crisp and darken while the flesh within turns soft and creamy, the honey-butter glaze in the slices helping them fan open and glisten. The high heat caramelizes the sweet potato's natural sugars at every exposed edge. The goat cheese tucked into each slice before baking softens in the heat, and the honey glaze turns glossy. Sweet, savory, creamy, and sharp all land in a single, gorgeous bite.
Honey & Goat Cheese Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Peel 4 sweet potatoes, cutting off the rough ends.
- Make slices all along the sweet potato as shown in the photo.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together cinnamon, honey, butter, orange juice and salt.
- Drizzle the mixture into the slices of each sweet potato.
- Using a cheese spreader or small spoon put a dollop (or two!) of goat cheese into each incision on the sweet potato.
- Garnish the insides of the sweet potatoes with chopped pecans.
- Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the sweet potatoes can be easily poked with a fork.
The Heart of the Table
To set down a side dish this beautiful is a small, generous gesture — a way of showing your guests that even the supporting players got care and attention. There is warmth in the sweet-and-savory abundance of it, in the honey and the goat cheese and the fanned, glistening potatoes, all arranged to delight the eye as much as the plate.
The Art of the Host
A sharp knife and a simple chopstick trick are the keys to a clean hasselback fan — the guard rails stop you from cutting through. Slice the potatoes thin and even for the most crisp edges, and tuck the honey glaze, goat cheese and pecans into the slices before they go into the oven.
Neighborly Grace
- The Preparation: You can hasselback the potatoes ahead and hold them in cold water to keep them from browning, then roast when you need them. They reheat reasonably well, but they are best fresh from the oven, so time the roast to land near dinner.
- The Pour: A dry rosé or an off-dry Riesling flatters the sweet potato and tangy goat cheese. For a non-alcoholic option, a spiced apple cider or a sparkling pear water carries the sweet-savory notes.
- The Vibe: This is an elegant, eye-catching side — arrange the fanned, honey-drizzled potatoes on a platter and let their beauty do the talking beside a roast or a holiday centerpiece. It is a simple side that feels special, sweet and savory in every bite.