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These melt-in-your-mouth Baked Cheeseburger Sliders are pretty much the most delicious thing on the planet. Hawaiian slider buns are stuffed with a ground beef filling studded with chopped pickles, onion, mustard, and plenty of gooey cheddar cheese. Perfect for entertaining!
For more easy spins on classic cheeseburgers, check out this Cheeseburger Stromboli, this Chopped Hatch Pepper Cheeseburger, and these French Onion Cheeseburgers.
Baked Cheeseburger Sliders
If you make anything for your next entertaining event, let it be these baked cheeseburger sliders. They’ve officially been my favorite football/tailgating food on the planet for quite some time now, and I can’t stop eating them.
Actually, scratch that, they’re just my favorite food on the planet, period.
Well, this and these spaghetti and meatballs, this healthy chicken spaghetti, and this Easy Shrimp Alfredo.
What’s not to love? Gooey cheeseburger filling studded with salty dill pickles, tangy mustard, and savory Worcestershire sauce is sandwiched between a sweet hawaiian bun, brushed with butter, and baked until golden brown and seriously irresistible. These guys are like a mix between a sloppy joe and a traditional cheeseburger slider, but so much better.
So.much.better.
Kevin even dubbed these, “Better than White Castle,” and after my last lackluster White Castle experience a year or so ago, I’d have to agree.
Ingredients in Bake Cheeseburger Sliders
Onion and garlic. A little bit of onion and garlic goes a long way to flavor the cheeseburger sliders. If you really like a garlic flavor, add in a few more cloves.
Ground beef. You can use whatever ground beef you want. I find that you can get away with a ground sirloin since we flavor the meat with so many other ingredients. Sometimes if you use a ground beef a high in fat, it can make the sliders a bit soggy, but still delicious, of course.
Salt. I typically like to use one teaspoon of salt per pound of meat, but here, 3/4 teaspoon is plenty since a little bit of salt comes from the cheese, pickles, and Worcestershire sauce.
Worcestershire sauce. I love the savoy little something something Worcestershire adds to these cheeseburger sliders.
Mustard. Mustard may seem like kind of a weird ingredient to add to the filling, but trust me, it adds a lovely tanginess to the filling you don’t get by simply slathering the bun with mustard.
Shredded cheddar cheese. Lots of shredded sharp cheddar cheese! It’s what makes baked cheeseburger sliders SO gooey and delicious!
Pickles. I find that dill pickles work best here, but if you have a true love towards bread and butter pickles, feel free to use those as well.
Hawaiian buns. Do I even need to explain why we use Hawaiian buns here?
How to make Baked Cheeseburger Sliders
So first thing’s first. Butter your buns. Slice the Hawaiian buns in half, spread them with butter and toast them. This creates a sort of barrier between the bun and the filling so they don’t get soggy. Also, butter makes everything better.
Next, brown the ground beef and sauté the onions and garlic. Once the ground beef and onions are cooked through, drain an excess grease. Throw in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add in the rest of the ingredients. This includes chopped dill pickles, pickle juice, and cheddar cheese.
Assemble! Spread the filling over the toasted buns, pop in the oven and bake until hot and the cheese has melted.
Dress. Once the cheese is melted and gooey, remove from the oven, cover with chopped lettuce, tomato, and the top bun. Transfer to a platter and let your guests pull off their own sliders.
Can cheeseburger sliders be made in advance??
If you’re making baked cheeseburger sliders in advance, I’d make the filling, aside from adding the cheese and then cool it completely. Once the meat is cooled completely stir in the shredded cheese. Assemble just before serving and bake.
I will say though, I reheated them the next day in the microwave and they were OUTSTANDING. They were slightly soggy, but in the best way possible, and seriously melted in my mouth.
Easy variations
- Mix in chopped jalapeño for a little bit of spice.
- Add bacon for a spin on a bacon cheeseburger slider
- Serve with sautéed mushrooms and Swiss in place of cheddar
- For a fancier version, spread toasted buns with Boursin cheese.
Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success
- If you want to lighten them up a bit, swap out the ground beef for turkey and the full-fat cheese for reduced-fat
- Add in a splash of Worcestershire sauce for an extra kick of flavor.
- You could also use regular slider buns if you don’t have access to Hawaiian
- Make sure to season with plenty of salt and pepper!
- Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray so they don’t stick.
For more great slider ideas, check out these posts:
- Ham & Pimento Cheese Sliders
- Mozzarella-Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Sliders
- Asian Sloppy Joe Sliders
- Cheesy Mexican Breakfast Sliders
Baked Cheeseburger Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sirloin
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp mustard
- 3/4 cup chopped dill pickles
- 2 tbsp pickle juice
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 package hawaiian rolls
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- chopped lettuce and tomato for garnish
Equipment
- sheet pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a small baking sheet.
- Split hawaiian buns down the middle lengthwise, try to keep all of the buns in tact. Spread top and bottom with butter. Place the buns butter-side up in the oven and bake until toasted. Remove from the oven, set aside.
- In a large non-stick skillet, add ground sirloin, onion and garlic. Turn the heat on medium-high and cook until brown and cooked through, about five minutes. If there is any grease, drain. Reduce heat to low and add salt, worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Cook another 1-2 minutes. Turn the heat off and add pickles, pickle juice and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Seaon to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the bottom half of the buns on the greased baking sheet. Spread the filling on the bottom half of the slider buns. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Brush tops with butter. Bake until the filling is hot and the tops are golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with lettuce and tomato. Cover with top buns.
Nutrition Information
sherry says
Made these tonight and was surprised my daughter who doesn’t like onions or pickles liked them. Taste alot like White Castle burgers to me. I will be making these again for sure! Thank you for sharing!
Nicole says
Awesome! So glad your family liked them!
madison says
Made this for the Super Bowl. They were a huge hit! Everyone loved them. My boyfriend loved them so much he asked me to make more this weekend.
Nicole says
So glad you guys liked them Madison!
Elizabeth says
Hi! I’m thinking about making these next week for a party. What recommendations do you have for making these ahead of time?
Nicole says
I’m so sorry for the delay! I missed this comment! I would just make sure everything is cool before layering the meat and cheese, etc on the buns. Cover with plastic and then pop in the oven when ready to serve!
Dana says
Just put these on my dinner list! Cant wait! I think I’m going to add half the pickle juice, no pickles, and maybe a litte mustard, mayo, and ketchup!
Nicole says
Love it!
Mandy says
I made these for the super bowl! I put thousand island dressing on half and everyone said they tasted like tiny Big Macs! They were delicious and simple!
Nicole says
Oooo I need to try to do that. Sounds amazing!
LeeHernandez says
I am always so excited when I realize that I have all of the ingredients to make these! They are delicious! I would never put pickles or mustard on any of my burgers, but I gave this a try and wow! I have changed! Way to go with this recipe!