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These hot ham and cheese sliders come together in a snap and are easy to make for the big game! Serve them up alongside your favorite game day snacks for a buffet that everyone will love.
I’m going to be straight with you guys. Football isn’t really my jam.
You’ll find me at basketball games on occasion, but when it comes to football, I really only start to pay attention as we head towards the end of the season, and all the parties for playoffs and the big game at season end.
As you can probably guess, it’s not because I care about who is actually playing. I’m just here for the snacks, okay?
I even have a t-shirt to that effect, just for wearing to these parties!
Why are game day snacks just so dang good? I could happily never eat a fancy dinner again, so long as you tell me I can have game-day-level snacks.
Rotel dip, chips, and sliders like these.. I’d be set.
Hot ham and cheese sliders: The easiest dinner or game-day snack
As someone who is really just into the big game for the snacks, I of course take my game day menu very seriously.
In addition to appetizers like french onion dip and pizza dip, I like to have a couple of sandwich options alongside jo jo potato wedges and macaroni salad or bacon ranch pasta salad.
Crockpot pulled pork is always a hit, but my family is really obsessed with sliders.These hot ham and cheese sliders were some of the first sliders I ever made, and my family inhaled them. As much as we love them for game day, they’re also perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or family movie/game night snack.
If your kids are old enough for sleepovers, I think they’d be super fun for sleepover snacks as well!
As great as the combo of ham, cheese, and Hawaiian rolls is, it’s the buttery herb topping that really takes these sliders over-the-top.
How to make these ham and cheese sliders
Ready to see just how easy these delicious sliders are to make?
Ingredients you’ll need
For the sliders themselves, you will need:
- 1 (12-count) package sweet Hawaiian rolls
- ½ pound thinly sliced cooked deli honey ham
- ½ pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
We love making this recipe with swiss cheese, but you can swap it out if swiss isn’t your favorite. Cheddar or gouda would be delicious!
You can’t skip the flavorful herb butter on top of the sliders. It’s where the magic is really at!
For the butter, you will need:
- 4 tablespoons melted salted butter
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
The mustard and the honey add a little bit of tang and sweetness that pairs so well with the deli ham. Trust me, it’s SO good!
Making this recipe
To make these hot ham and cheese sliders, start by stirring together the melted butter, honey, mustard, parsley, onion powder, and garlic powder. Set this mixture aside.
To prep the rolls, use a large serrated knife to slice the entire package of rolls in half, similar to how you would slice a bagel. This will separate all of the tops from all of the bottoms.
Place the bottom half of the rolls into a greased baking dish. If you’re making a double batch, I recommend using a rimmed sheet tray instead of a baking dish.
Layer on half of the ham, top with all of the cheese, and then add the rest of the ham. Finish by adding the top half of the rolls.
Brush the butter mixture evenly over the tops of the rolls. From here, you can either cover and chill the sliders for up to 4 hours or bake them right away.
Bake the ham and cheese sliders at 350°F covered with foil for 12 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, until golden and the cheese is melty.
Recipe variations
My family loves these hot ham and cheese sliders exactly as written, but we also love to change them up occasionally too!
If you aren’t a big fan of ham, you can swap it out for deli turkey to make turkey sliders. I prefer to use honey-roasted deli turkey.
Swiss isn’t your only cheese option, either! Any good melting cheese will work here, such as cheddar, provolone, gouda, monterey jack or pepper jack.
In my opinion, using Hawaiian rolls is key to this recipe. The sweet flavor of the rolls is so good with the savory ham and cheese. But if you can’t find Hawaiian rolls or don’t care for them, you can use slider buns instead.
More delicious and easy slider recipes
This ham and cheese slider recipe was one of the first slider recipes I tried. And let’s just say that it started a little bit of an obsession.
My family can’t get enough of them and I love them because they’re so EASY to make!
Cheeseburger sliders are a copycat for your favorite fast-food burgers while cheesy roast beef sliders are a great Arby’s copycat recipe.
Turn your favorite party dip into a hand-held snack with buffalo chicken sliders or go for a twist on pizza night with pizza sliders.
I’ve even turned some of your favorite sandwiches into slider form with philly cheesesteak sliders, meatball sliders, and chicken parmesan sliders.
FAQs
If you want to prep your snacks before your guests arrive, you could easily make these sliders in advance!
Simply assemble the sliders in the pan, cover the pan with foil and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
When you’re ready to eat, simply bake the prepped sliders as noted in the recipe.
Look, I am not above snacking on leftover ham and cheese sliders straight from the refrigerator. In fact, I think they’re delicious cold.
But if you prefer them warm, simply wrap one or two sliders in foil and pop the package into a preheated oven for around 10 minutes or air fryer for 5-7 minutes, or until reheated.
Ham and Cheese Sliders
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 package sweet Hawaiian rolls 12 rolls
- ½ pound thinly sliced cooked deli honey ham
- ½ pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, mustard, honey, dried parsley, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Do not pull the rolls apart; simply use a large serrated knife to slice the rolls in half as you would slice a bagel, separating the tops from the bottoms. Place the layer of bottoms into the prepared baking pan, cut side up.
- Layer half of the ham onto the rolls. Next, layer the Swiss cheese over the ham, and top with remaining ham slices. Place the layer of tops onto the sandwiches.
- Brush all of the butter mixture evenly over the rolls then cover with foil. At this point you can cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours, or bake immediately.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake covered sliders in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Remove the foil from the baking pan, return the sliders to the oven and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I had some everything bagel spice and sprinkled that on top. Delicious!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for stopping back and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
First of all these were so flavorful and my hubby thought they were wonderful. Only cheese I had was mozzarella. We thought they were delicious with the mozz. We are old and both have dentures…the ones I made were too crusty on the bottom for us to chew. Was it something I did? I didn’t bake them as long as recommended(just until cheese melted and they were hot.) Left the foil on.
So glad to hear you enjoyed them. As far as being too crusty, you can lessen the baking time a bit so they aren’t as crisp.
Do you think I could make them and freeze them for Christmas time?
Hi Sondra-
I haven’t tried this, so I am unsure how it would work, but if you give it a go, let me know.
-Jamie
Any suggestions for making these for a big party? (45 people). I was thinking of maybe freezing them and doing them in disposable aluminum pans. Probably 5 batches?? But it seems like it might be too much!
That might be a bit too much, but I think 4 trays would be good! Depends on what else you are having. :)
@Mickey, i am going to also.
We had a leftover package of rolls and some ham from Thanksgiving and this was the perfect recipe to use with the leftovers! My family loved them and we will definitely be making them again!!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Ashlee! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
These were really good. I used up some leftover ham and turkey from Thanksgiving and in place of Swiss cheese I used cheddar cheese. I like the honey mustard combo.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Julie! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Can anyone read steps 1 & 2? I can’t see the entire step due to ads hiding the text can’t delete the ad. I plays & changes to another ad. UGH!
Hi Donna-
I sent you an email with the recipe. I hope this helps. Not sure what is going on with the ads, but we let the ad company know. Thanks so much!
-Jamie
Can I make these on a half baking sheet instead of in a 11x 13 casserole? Wondering if the sides of the casserole dish make a difference. I am doubling the recipe so wanted to do them on a cookie sheet?
Sure! You can totally do that as long as it’s a rimmed baking sheet, you’re good!
-Jamie
I have made these twice now, and my boyfriend just came and asked me for some extra honey to dip them in. Not that they needed it, but he just likes dipping things. I added a drizzle on the top of mine, and definitely a game changer if you have more of a sweet tooth when you make them!
So happy to hear you loved the recipe. Love the honey idea!
I used spicy cheddar cheese ( the only cheese in my fridge ) in the recipe so the sweetness of the roll was taken over by spiciness… So I’m thinking about trying it with different cheese next time for sweeter flavor. Oh, is there a way for me to premade them the night before, then pop them in the oven the next morning for breakfast? You mentioned that they only can be kept in fridge for 4 hours.
Erika-
I think you can pre-make them, but I would not brush them with the topping until you’re ready to bake or 4 hours before you’re going to bake. Hope this helps!
-Jamie