- December 28, 2017
- 30 Minute Meals
Pull Apart Sliders Recipe
This pull-apart slider recipe on King’s Hawaiian rolls is truly an easy recipe that’s become a family favorite. If you love take out style cheeseburger sliders made with ground beef, slices of cheese, and topped with crispy pickles, then this recipe is for you!
I’ve been making these Hawaiian roll pull apart cheeseburger sliders for 15+ years and they are one of my most requested recipes to date and one of the most viral recipes across my website and social media.
My party guests always love them because they taste very similar to a White Castle burger (a popular slider fast food chain in the Midwest). They’re also fabulous for tailgating or a game day too (check out these other popular game day recipes for your smoker for more ideas).
These sliders are truly easy to make, packed with flavor, and have a wonderful delicious texture (cheesy, moist, and perfect for sharing). Each ingredient is listed below with purpose, and I do not recommend substitutions to get the best texture and flavor (an no, you cannot taste the mayo).
These pull apart sliders can also be cooked in one pan, added to the individual rolls, and topped to your liking with all your favorite sauces and toppings. Bake or smoke your sliders up and then serve them for your new favorite appetizer, simple meal, or game-day snack!
Supplies Needed
- Aluminum Foil
- Large Skillet
- Spatula
- Silicone Pastry Brush
- Serrated Knife
- Baking Dish or Sheet Pan
Cheeseburger Slider Ingredients:
Here is what you will need to make these delicious burgers-
- King’s Hawaiian Rolls (or similar dinner rolls/potato rolls): Hawaiian sliders are my preferred roll for this recipe. You will not want to pull them apart until you’re going to serve them. Leave all the rolls as one connected loaf.
- Ground Beef: I use slightly leaner ground beef (90% lean or higher) because there are a lot of higher fat ingredients added to this recipe already. Use what you have access to though.
- French Onion Seasoning Packet: This seasoning packet adds a ton of flavor to the sliders, so don’t omit. It’s made up of beef bouillon, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried onion. This is often found in the soup aisle (I used the Lipton brand typically). You can also add a little Worcestershire sauce for that umami flavor.
- Shredded Cheddar: Shredded cheddar gets added to the beef mixture to create a rich and creamy texture and flavor and binds everything together.
- Mayo: I know this sounds really strange, but mayo acts not only as a binding agent but also keeps the beef really moist and tender.
- American Cheese Slices: For extra cheesy pull-apart sliders. I add this to the top of the ground beef mixture before baking.
- Melted Butter: (Optional) You can brush on some melted butter over the buns at the end of the cooking process if desired.
- Sesame Seeds or Poppy Seeds: This is a nice little garnish to give it that classic cheeseburger feel!
- Optional Toppings: Caramelized onion, bacon, pickles, and this delicious burger sauce recipe!
Making your cheeseburger slider filling:
Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. (you can also use a smoker for this too).
Start by cooking your ground beef and your French onion seasoning mixture in a frying pan on the stovetop over medium heat. If there is any excess fat, drain it.
You want to cook your meat until it’s browned fully and no longer pink (you should always cook ground meat to at least 165 F. according to the USDA).
Let the beef mixture cool off the heat for a few minutes before adding the shredded cheese and mayo to the mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold it all together. The mayo and cheese makes a huge difference in the overall texture of the sliders, so do not omit this!
How to assemble your pull apart sliders:
To make your sliders, use a serrated knife to cut through the middle of your Hawaiian bun loaf. You want the tops of the buns to stay together, but set them aside.
Next, you either need a glass casserole baking dish or some foil placed down on the counter. Spray generously with non-stick spray (this is so important so the bottom bun doesn’t stick).
Place the bottom half of the rolls over the foil (or baking dish) side by side so they are touching. Take your beef mixture and pour it evenly over the tops of the bottom buns.
If you want additional toppings, add them now (bacon, caramelized onions, Dijon mustard, pickles, etc.).
Add the cheddar cheese slices over any of your toppings (this gives it that extra melty cheese feel). Then place the tops of the rolls back over the filling and press down lightly.
Wrap the foil around the slider buns so they are fully covered and place them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. If using a casserole dish, be sure to cover it with foil as well. If you leave the buns exposed, they will get crispy and can burn. Once heated through, remove them from the oven to rest for a few minutes.
Tips for serving, storing, and prepping ahead:
- Remove the sliders from the foil. If you want to add some extra flavor to the top of the buns, add some garlic butter. Melt butter and add fresh garlic to a small bowl and brush over the top buns only.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp. sesame seeds over the top for a classic hamburger bun feel if desired.
- Serve on a platter everyone can pull apart an individual slider as they desire.
- Prep and assemble ahead of time if desired and store in the fridge. Pull out an hour before baking to bring them to room temperature, then follow baking instructions (you may have to add an extra 10-15 minutes if they’re really cold).
- Reheat by microwaving for 20-30 seconds and dig in!
More Slider Recipes To Try
Pull Apart Sliders Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Packs Hawaiian Rolls
- 2 lbs. Ground Beef
- 2 Packets French Onion Soup Mix (seasoning packet)
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 2/3 cup Mayo
- 6 slices American or Cheddar Cheese
- 1 tbsp. Melted Butter
- 1 tbsp. Sesame Seeds
- Optional Toppings Pickles, relish, ketchup, mustard, caramelized onion, bacon etc.
Instructions
- Begin by cooking ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat with the packet of French onion seasoning mix. Cook until the meat is fully browned and then careully drain off any grease.
- Remove the ground beef from the heat and set it aside to cool for a few minutes. While the beef is cooling, prep your slider buns.
- I prefer Hawaiian rolls for this recipe, but any other slider dinner roll works. Use a sharp serrated knife and cut the entire loaf evenly in a horizontal cut. Keep the buns connected. This gives you one large top bun and one large bottom bun. Repeat on the second loaf and set aside.
- Prep 2 sheets of overlapping foil and spray with non-stick spray. The buns will stick on the top and bottom if you skip this step.
- Once the beef mixture has cooled slightly, add the shredded cheese and the mayo and use a spatula to fully mix and combine everything. I do not recommend substitutes for the mayo (it is meant to add moisture and acts as a binder).
- Place your bottom buns over the foil so they are side by side and touching. Scoop all of your beef mixture and pour it evenly onto the bottom buns.
- Add any other toppings like pickles, bacon, onions, etc as desired. Then cover with the slices of cheddar or American cheese.
- Add the top buns and press down lightly. Wrap in foil tightly.
- Bake or smoke the pull apart sliders in a preheat 350 F. degree oven (or smoker on indirect heat). Cook until heated through and the cheese has melted, about 25-30 minutes or until the sliders have heated through and the cheese is melted.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl and brush over the top of the buns and then garnish with sesame seeds for a more authentic burger bun feel.
- Place on a platter and allow your guests to grab and go as needed! You can slice these too if you desire.
This recipe is an absolute winner. Take it to an office food event and you’ll be the star of the show. Incredibly simple but packed with flavor. SO GOOD.
Thanks for leaving a comment Mark! Appreciate you! 🙂
25 to 30 minutes is way too long I follow this to a T only to have the bottom buns burnt to a crisp and unedible.
I am very sorry to hear this. I’ve never had that happen in the 15 + years I have made them and this recipe has been made thousands of times by others as well. I would consider assessing a few things.
1. Is you oven temperature accurate? Where on the oven rack did you place the burgers? 2. Were your buns sliced properly? 3. How hot was the meat before adding it to the buns? 4. Did you wrap them properly in foil only or did you use another type of pan? (I only recommend foil). This definitely sounds sadly like an unique situation that you had.
Delicious and fast. Made this with impossible meat last night for a group with some vegetarians in it. Everyone loved it, meat eaters and vegetarians alike. I sauteed half a yellow onion with the “beef” mixture and added some butter to increase moisture since I was using fake meat. I used French onion dip mix without beef in it because all the soup packets had beef products.
Will definitely be making again with real or fake meat depending on the guests!