Cheesy Jalapeño Hasselback Potatoes with Avocado Cream Sauce

Hasselback potatoes are stuffed with jalapeño peppers, shredded cheese, and topped with a creamy and delicious avocado lime sauce.  A fun new way to enjoy your baked potato!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Lunchbox.  All opinions are my own.  Thank-you for supporting the brands that help support Sweet Peas & Saffron!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Has it been Mexican-food overload on the internet lately, or what?

Personally, I could never have too much Mexican food…there is just no such thing in my world!  Even without an excuse (like Cinco de Mayo) to make Mexican food, it is on regular rotation at our house, and I am constantly looking for new ways to incorporate the flavors into my cooking.

So when I was asked to create a recipe using Kraft products, my mind immediately floated towards Mexican flavors…resulting in these delicious Cheesy Jalapeño Hasselback Potatoes with Avocado Cream Sauce!

Now I have to admit that we don’t eat a lot of baked potatoes at our house.  For some reason just thinking the name ‘baked potato’ makes me think of a boring, dried out potato.  But I’ve decided that baked potatoes are really just a blank canvas that is begging to be painted on.

I am pretty excited about this recipe, because it brings all of my favorite Mexican flavors (jalapeños, avocado, lime, and cheese) to spice up your boring old baked potato.  Not only that, but cooking it hasselback style (or can we call it ‘accordion style’?) gives these potatoes an impressive look, and makes them more fun to eat!

These hasselback potatoes may look fussy to make, but I promise they aren’t!  They are brushed with a touch of vegetable oil, and baked up for an hour.  After an hour in the oven, they will fan out, and are begging you to stuff some jalapeño strips down in the potato folds.  Brush with additional oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and return to the oven.  Without the seeds or membrane, the jalapeños aren’t very spicy, and as they roast in the potato the jalapeno flavors deepen and the spiciness mellows even more…total yum!!

When the potatoes are cooked through, sprinkle with Kraft Shredded Cheese.  I found it best to try to work some of the cheese in the potato folds, and sprinkle more on top of the potatoes (carefully, so it doesn’t spill off the tops).  Return to the oven until the cheese is melted.

While these potatoes are baking up in the oven, you will whip up the world’s easiest avocado cream sauce…avocado, salt, pepper, lime juice, and one secret ingredient that brings this sauce to a whole new level: Philadelphia Cream Cheese!  The cream cheese is so tangy and creamy, and this avocado sauce is so delicious you will be lucky if it lasts long enough to make it onto the potatoes.

In fact, I could see myself using this avocado cream sauce on sandwiches, maybe on a burger, as a dip…the possibilities are endless.

So, are these potatoes a fun twist on the old baked potato or what?  How do you bring in new ideas for family meals?

Don’t forget to head over to check out the other Kraft Kitchen Hackers, and vote for your favorite Kraft-inspired recipe!

Cheesy Jalapeño Hasselback Potatoes with Creamy Avocado Sauce   Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 1 hour 30 mins Total time 1 hour 40 mins   Hasselback potatoes are stuffed with jalapeño peppers, and shredded cheese, and topped with a creamy and delicious avocado lime sauce. A fun new way to enjoy your baked potato! Author: Denise Recipe type: side Cuisine: Mexican Serves: 6 Ingredients Jalapeno Hasselback Potatoes

• 6 small russet potatoes (6 oz each)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (and more as needed)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 jalapeno, membrane and seeds removed, and sliced as thinly as possible
• 1 ½ cups Kraft Shredded Cheese

Avocado Cream Sauce:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 tablespoons Philadelphia Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper

Instructions Jalapeno Hasselback Potatoes

1. Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
2. Scrub russet potatoes clean. Place a wooden spoon on either side of the potato, and slice slits ⅛ inch apart that do not go completely through the potato. Repeat along the length of the potato.
3. Run the sliced potato under cold water, gently fanning out the potato. This rinses off extra starch and helps the potato fan while cooking.
4. Place the potato in a baking dish and repeat with other potatoes.
5. Brush potatoes with around 1 tablespoon of oil, to coat.
6. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for one hour.
7. After one hour, remove dish from oven. Gently place jalapeno slices into every second or so fold in the potato. Drizzle remaining oil over potatoes so that it seeps into the folds, brush for coverage, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes (or until potatoes are cooked through in the center).
8. Top each potato with around ¼ cup of shredded cheese, working the cheese down into the folds of the potato.
9. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes, until cheese has melted.

Avocado Cream Sauce:

1. In a medium bowl, beat together all ingredients until smooth. Add additional milk as needed to thin out the sauce. Taste and add additional salt, if desired.

To Serve:

1. Spoon the sauce evenly over the potatoes.
2. Serve immediately.

Notes The baking time is very specific to 6 oz russet potatoes. Using larger or smaller potatoes, or a different variety, will alter the cook time. 3.3.3070