This easy cheeseburger sliders recipe uses Hawaiian buns, and has a trick to make 12 burger sliders, quickly! Have a smoker? You may want to smoked cheeseburger sliders too!
Thanks to all of the 5-star reviews on these baked hamburgers, I knew we had to do a mini hamburger version of the classic burger perfect for cooking for a large crowd or even for fun family dinner recipes or easy lunch!
Perfect for game day or any party idea, as an appetizer recipe, these cheeseburger sliders are a crowd favorite, along with this cheeseburger casserole!
Serve them with air-fried sweet potato fries or seasoned potato wedges or even other finger foods like slow cooker BBQ meatballs or these sloppy joe sliders!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Ingredients Needed
- Hawaiian Roll Sliders
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Cheeseburger Sliders
- Pro Tip:
- How Long to Bake Cheeseburger Sliders
- Expert Tip:
- Favorite Slider Toppings
- How to Store Burger Sliders
- Cooking for a Crowd?
- What to Serve with Cheeseburger Sliders
- Favorite Burger Recipes
- Recipe
- Comments
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- There’s a TRICK! Instead of making a ton of little bitty burgers to try and build 12 little cheeseburger sliders… you bake the ground beef in a rectangle, the size of the rolls, so then you can place it on the rolls and cut later just before serving! See how to, below!
- 30 Minutes or Less: This recipe is a 30-minute or less dinner idea that we love adding to the busy night dinner rotation. (They’re almost as fast as our cheeseburger subs!)
Ingredients Needed
Here are a few notes about some of the key ingredients for these cheeseburger sliders. Make sure to visit the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions to make this recipe a success.
- Ground Beef – we only use 1 pound of ground beef to achieve the look you see in the sliders. However, some readers have said that they prefer to use 2 pounds for thicker burgers. (This is a good idea if you’re using fatty beef that tends to shrink quite a bit during cooking.) See more of our favorite ground beef recipes you can make for dinner!
- Butter – salted or unsalted! (Just be mindful if using salted, that the added salt will combine with the saltiness of the seasoned salt and the garlic salt that’s also in the recipe.)
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls – the sweetness of these rolls goes perfectly with the savory flavors of the burger!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Hawaiian Roll Sliders
What makes this recipe so great is the bread you use. It’s hard to go wrong with King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (or similar) for cheeseburger slider recipes and I knew this should be the first choice for the baked hamburger sliders! (We even used these on the Breakfast Sliders and those are delicious too!)
Plus, the amount of rolls that come in a pack are perfect when using 1-2 pounds of ground beef. However, feel free to use another brand of slider buns or slider buns if desired or if that’s what you have on hand for these mini cheeseburgers.
The bit of sweetness the rolls add to the savory flavor of the meat is hard to beat, much like these roast beef sliders! (If you love salty mixed with sweet, make sure to also try these donut burgers or waffle burgers the next time the craving hits!)
Substitutions & Variations
Feel free to change things up with this cheeseburger sliders recipe, using the products and ingredients that you prefer!
- Cheese – We love American cheese slices but you can use other melty cheese such as Swiss, pepper jack, Colby-jack, etc.
- Rolls – If using different rolls that are not connected like the King’s Hawaiian rolls, you can still make this recipe! Bake the ground beef as described above, and slice/cut ground beef in to squares that match the size of the rolls you are using. (Note: the amount of sliders you end up with can vary if your rolls are bigger than the rolls we use in this recipe.) Or, use dinner rolls like we used in this fried chicken sliders recipe if you’re not a fan of the sweetness.
- Sesame Seeds – If you prefer sesame seeds on your cheeseburger sliders, you can sprinkle those on after brushing on butter and before toasting the buns!
- Ground Beef Mix-ins – When making regular burgers, do you love using more ingredients, such as Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt or garlic powder, or brown sugar? Feel free to with this recipe! It’s very versatile and can be changed according to your taste!
How to Make Cheeseburger Sliders
- Preheat your oven to 375° F.
- Take the white tray of buns out of bag (if using King’s Hawaiian Rolls).
- Using parchment paper, unroll enough paper to make it the size of the tray that the rolls come in. Cut the parchment paper to the size of the tray of rolls.
- Cut the parchment paper to an inch or so larger, than the size of the tray of rolls.
- Set the tray of rolls aside and place raw ground beef on parchment paper and flatten to the size of the parchment paper.
This will make the ground beef a rectangular shape that will fit on the buns nicely, when it is spread close to the sides of the parchment paper. (See image below.)
Pro Tip:
Ground beef can “shrink” when cooking so if desired, you can spread/flatten it out a little over the edges to help it fit the buns, even if it shrinks!)You’re using the parchment paper as a guide to know what size to flatten the ground beef to, so it can fit nicely on the rolls after cooking.
If you prefer a thicker burger patty, you may want to use 2 pounds of ground beef, just know that it may have a longer bake time than instructed in the recipe card.
- Season ground beef with seasoned salt and pepper. (Amounts are given in the recipe card, or you can use your desired amount!)
- Now place parchment paper and ground beef rectangle into a rimmed baking sheet or cake pan.
How Long to Bake Cheeseburger Sliders
- Bake at 375° F for 15-17 minutes or until juices run clear on the top.
- While the ground beef is baking, this is a great time to make the garlic butter and prep your rolls.
- In a small microwavable dish, melt butter and then add in garlic salt. Stir to combine, and set aside.
- TIP: Using a bread knife (or serrated knife), and keeping the rolls connected… cut the rolls in half, long ways, creating a giant top layer and bottom buns layer.
This way you can easily place the rectangle ground beef layer, once fully cooked, on top of the bottom full layer of buns. (No need to try and build 12 individual patties or individual cheeseburger sliders when it can all be done in one step.)
- Once the ground beef has finished baking (and the juices are running clear) remove the pan from the oven.
- Carefully, with a large spatula, pick up beef and tilt to drain excess grease back in to the pan.
- Then, place bottom halves of rolls, upside down on top of beef, and flip and transfer burgers to a clean baking sheet. This will result in the ground beef and bottom layer or rolls on the new baking sheet with the parchment paper facing up. (See images below.)
- Remove the parchment paper and throw it away.
- Place 6 slices of cheese on top of ground beef. (We use American but you can use your favorite kind).
- Then, place the top buns layer on top of the cheese. (See image below.)
- Using a basting brush, brush the top of the buns with the garlic butter you have prepared. If you do not have a basting brush, carefully drizzle butter on top of buns, trying to lightly cover each slider top.
- Place baking tray of sliders in a 375° oven, for 3-4 minutes or until cheese has melted and tops are golden brown.
Expert Tip:
Do you love White Castle burgers? We do too. So what we like to do is wrap the cheeseburger sliders in aluminum foil to let them “steam” for a few minutes, after toasting them in the oven. After this, they’re so soft and even better!
- Remove from oven (careful, HOT!) and you can now cut the burgers in to sliders by using a pizza cutter (my favorite) or by cutting on the lines with a knife to get your mini burgers!
Favorite Slider Toppings
Although our boys love these sliders “kid-friendly”, with only cheese… there are some GREAT topping ideas that we also love to add to cheeseburger sliders and especially offer when we’re serving a burger bar when hosting!
- Lettuce – instead of iceberg lettuce, you can use romaine or leaf lettuce or even spinach
- Bacon – if you’re heating up the oven anyway, you can bake bacon in the oven while you’re at it, and can even bake turkey bacon in the oven if you prefer! Or, if you have an air fryer, you may enjoy cooking air fryer bacon for bacon cheeseburger sliders!
- Onions – feel free to add on red onions, green onions, white onions or your favorite kind!
- Condiments – Mustard, ketchup, or any of your favorite sauces are delicious on sliders too! We use hot sauce in our buffalo chicken sliders, so that may be a fun twist.
- More Ideas – This list of burger topping ideas is FULL of ideas that are popular and it even suggests toppings that you may not have thought of!
How to Store Burger Sliders
If you have leftover little cheeseburgers, you can store them in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To reheat, you can place them back in the oven for a few minutes at 350°, being careful not to burn the buns before the meat is heated through. You can also use the microwave, air fryer, or toaster oven!
Cooking for a Crowd?
Make a double or triple batch of cheeseburger sliders by using multiple baking sheets and packages of rolls. Fit as many slider batches in your oven that will fit! TIP: tap the “2x” or “3x” buttons in the recipe card below to help you easily configure the amount of ingredients you’ll need for a larger batch.
Or, mix things up and also make these Italian Sliders to serve alongside these burgers!
What to Serve with Cheeseburger Sliders
On a busy weeknight or even when hosting a crowd, our favorite is to serve these cheeseburger sliders with are:
- french fries
- onion rings
- loaded tater tots
- nachos
- side salad
- or some of our favorite appetizer recipes!
Favorite Burger Recipes
If you love burgers as much as we do, then you’ll also love the other hamburger recipes we have, such as air fryer burgers, smoked burgers, turkey burgers in the oven, stovetop burger recipe, grilled burgers, and blue cheese cheeseburgers!
Or, for a different kind of burger, these mini salmon burgers are a hit!
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
The BEST Cheeseburger Sliders
Video
Equipment
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian Rolls 1 package of Kings Hawaiian Rolls
- 1 pound ground beef or 2 lbs for thicker burgers
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 slices American cheese
Garlic Butter Topping
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°.
- Take the white tray of buns out of the bag packaging (if using King's Hawaiian Rolls).12 Hawaiian Rolls
- Using parchment paper, unroll enough paper to make it the size of the tray that the rolls come in. Cut the parchment paper to the size of the tray of rolls.
- Set the tray of rolls aside and place raw ground beef on parchment paper and flatten to the size of the parchment paper.(Tip: Ground beef can "shrink" when cooking so if desired, you can spread/flatten it out a little over the edges to help it fit the buns, even if it shrinks!) This will make the ground beef a rectangular shape, when spread close to the sides of the parchment paper. NOTE: You're using the parchment paper as a guide to know what size to flatten the ground beef to so it can fit nicely on the rolls after cooking. If you prefer a thicker burger patty, you may want to use 2 lbs of ground beef, just know that it may have a longer bake time than instructed in the recipe card.1 pound ground beef
- Season ground beef with seasoned salt and pepper. (Amounts given in recipe card, or you can use your desired amount!)1 teaspoon seasoned salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Now place parchment paper and ground beef rectangle in to rimmed baking sheet or cake pan.
- Bake at 375° for 15-17 minutes or until juices run clear on the top.
Garlic Butter Topping
- While ground beef is baking, this is a great time to make the garlic butter and prep your rolls.
- In small microwavable dish, melt butter and then add in garlic salt. Stir to combine, and set aside.2 tablespoons butter, ½ teaspoon garlic salt
Roll Prep
- Using a bread knife, and keeping the sides of the 12 rolls connected… cut the rolls in half, long ways, creating a giant top layer and bottom bun layer. This way you can easily place the rectangle ground beef layer, once fully cooked, on top of bottom full layer of buns. (No need to try and build 12 individual sliders when it can all be done in one step.)
Burger Assembly
- Once the ground beef has finished baking (and juices are running clear) remove the pan from oven. (TIP: You can leave the oven on if you prefer, to toast buns in the next few steps.)
- Carefully, with a large spatula, pick up beef and tilt to drain excess grease back in to the pan.
- Then, place bottom layer of rolls, upside down on top of beef, and flip and transfer burgers to a clean baking sheet. This will result in the ground beef and bottom layer or rolls on the new baking sheet with the parchment paper facing up. (See images in blog post for tips!)
- Remove the parchment paper and throw paper away.
- Place 6 slices of cheese on top of ground beef. (we use American but you can use your favorite kind).6 slices American cheese
- Then, place the top bun layer on top of the cheese.
- Using a basting brush, brush the top of the buns with the garlic butter you have prepared.
- Place the baking tray of assembled sliders in a 375° oven, for 3-4 minutes or until cheese has melted and tops are golden brown.
- Optional: You can wrap the sliders in aluminum foil after coming out of the oven, so they will "steam" a bit.
- Remove from oven (careful, HOT!) and you can now cut the burgers in to sliders by using a pizza cutter (my favorite) or by cutting on the lines with a knife.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Kay says
Turned out great. When my adult daughter says it tastes just like a fast food place, i’d say “yea”. I will got thinner next time and put onions sliced thin underneath instead of on top.
Jessica says
So glad that you liked these cheeseburger sliders too! Thank you!
Dianne says
So wonderful, thank you for all the great tips(parchment paper etc).
Jessica says
You’re so welcome! Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m so glad that you found it all helpful!
Margalo says
QUESTION – I have not made recipe yet tho someone gave me pkg of kings recently fr Washington state USA in Canada (I don’t think Kings sold here) – so I want to try this
American cheese ? What is that ? Like processed Kraft singles?
When do I add pickle / lettuce / tomato / sauce?
After baking and slicing up ?
Thank you for details you post
Jessica says
Oh! Yes, Kraft singles would work great! Adding toppings would be great to add after. The only thing is, the buns may stick to the cheese, so it may be difficult to pull them apart but you can try it!
Susan M Morris says
I made this recipe the other day for a Cinespia outdoor movie event and it worked just as it should have. Good directions. Helpful hints. Everybody love them. I added caramelized onions.
Jessica says
Hi Susan! So glad that these cheeseburger sliders worked for you too! Thank you for sharing!
Patyy says
Fabulous! My 2 and 4 1/3 year old grandkids loved them! So did the adults. I will definitely be making these regularly! I love that it is quick and easy, too!
Jessica says
This is so great to hear that you liked this slider recipe too! Thank you so much for taking the time to review and share with me!
Md says
Can these be made a day ahead and baked the day of serving them
Jessica says
Hi there! I haven’t tried doing that. Do you mean baking the ground beef first and then reheating the next day with the buns on? Or do you mean prep the meat and then bake the meat the next day?
Mary Rappleye says
These were absolutely fantastic. I added some chopped onion, salt, pepper & garlic powder in with the hamburger before cooking. Used 12 rolls & used 1/2 size sheet pans. Brushed both the inside bottoms & the top of the rolls with garlic butter. Everything came out perfect and no mess💕💕💕
Jessica says
Yuuum!! Love hearing what you added to these cheeseburger sliders! That all sounds amazing, and I’m thrilled that you liked them!
Sarah says
Fantastic recipe! This were a huge hit with my family. Truly delicious. Definitely will be going into dinner rotation for us. Thanks for posting this!
Jessica says
That’s so awesome that you liked these cheeseburger sliders too, thank you so much for sharing!
Catherine Mueller says
These worked well for me.
The fact that the patty does shrink a bit is also due to the type of beef used. I always cut my ground beef with turkey and rarely use less than 90/10. Mine still shrunk…but if you are using 80/20, I bet it will shrink more.
I made them about an hour ahead of time, then assembled them, and popped them into the oven when everyone arrived. They were warm and tasty. I made some chopped onion sautéed in butter, so it was very similar to the White Castle vibe lol.
An easy dish that kids love, too.
Jessica says
Hi Catherine! Thank you so much for sharing how you made these cheeseburger sliders! Yes, I agree, the type of beef will really cause different “shrinkage” in the patty!
Michele Conn says
Found that using a 13 x 9 baking dish and spreading the meat even almost perfectly fits the Hawaiian rolls.
Jessica says
Oh that’s great to know, thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Krystle says
These will be going into the recipe box for sure. So quick and so yummy! It’s hard to find things my kiddos will eat but I think these will be a hit.
Jessica says
This is so exciting to hear that you all love the cheeseburger sliders so much!! Thank you so much for the review and the note!
Christi says
These sliders were delicious, l cooked onion & peppers first & added them to the beef plus worchestershire sauce, (Lee & Perrins) along with the other spices. I placed the meat in a dish the same size as the rolls did not bother with the parchment paper. Quick, easy & delicious! Will definately make them again.
Jessica says
Hi Christi! I’m so glad to hear that you liked this way for making cheeseburger sliders! Love to hear how you added the other things too, thank you!!
amanda says
can you use ground turkey?
Jessica says
Hi Amanda! I don’t see why not! I bake turkey burgers all the time and they come out delicious!
Chandra Hendricks says
Super great recipe! I added bacon and we dipped our sliders in a ketchup/mayo dip… perfect! Can’t wait to make these again for Super Bowl night! Thank you!
Jessica says
YUM!!! That dip sounds amazing! Thank you so much Chandra for sharing that you loved them!
Abby says
Can these be frozen as a large batch cooking freezer meal?
Jessica says
Hi Abby! I haven’t tried that yet. However, I did try freezing these sloppy joe sliders, and they turned out AMAZING!! So if you cook the ground beef and assemble them, and then freeze them, I don’t see why they wouldn’t work?? If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Chandice says
I loved your how to cook hamburgers in the oven recipe so much that I had to come try the sliders! Delivered 100% and my husband loves the little Hawaiian buns too! Perfect for Kiddos tiny hands as well. Thank you thank you!
Jessica says
Aww! I’m so glad you liked them Chandice!! YES! We’re burger fans around here for sure, so we had a feeling these sliders would be a good fit too! Thank you!
Allyson says
I made these on a whim for Super Bowl. So easy and so yummy! I’ve made sliders in the past and cooked 12 separate little burgers. Cooking the hamburger as described in the recipe is so much easier!
Jessica says
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked the sliders Allyson! Thank you so much for taking the time to review them too! The trick of cooking the hamburger is KEY!
Kristen says
I made these this weekend for my family and we all loved them. They were gone in minutes and everyone was saying the only problem was that I did not make enough.
Jessica says
Awww haha! I love that you all loved these sliders so much. Thank you for letting us know and for leaving a review!
Tina says
I tried this recipe and the flavors were great however the 1lb of beef shrunk to half size and I ended up with only 6 sliders…What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe
Jessica says
Hi Tina! I’m sorry it did that. The only things I can think of is that it may have been a thicker slab, and sometimes when cooked, the beef can shrink and almost “rise” or the type of beef may not have been as lean so a lot of the fat drained out, causing the size to shrink (like when cooking burger patties?).
Dani says
I did the same thing, but my slab was not thick. You need at least 2 lbs of beef.
Jessica says
Hi Dani! You can definitely use 2 lbs of beef for this! One thing I would caution for anyone seeing this and doing 2 lbs instead of 1, is that the burgers themselves may be thicker than ours, so a longer bake time may be required. 🙂 Other than that, using 2 lbs sounds great!
Maria says
We loved these ! I sautéed onions and mushrooms in butter and olive oil and a little salt and pepper as a topping and my family loved them!
Jessica says
Hi Maria!! Oh yum!! I think my husband would be a HUGE fan of adding onions and mushrooms to these sliders too! Thank you so much for sharing!
Krissy Allori says
I had never made sliders like this and your recipe was so easy! Huge hit with the kids.
Jessica says
That’s so great!! They’re super easy when made like this for sure. Thank you for sharing!
Tatum Burke says
Thank you for this recipe! My three teenage boys loved these!
Jessica says
Oh that’s so great to hear, thank you! My boys love these burger sliders too!