It’s not at all surprising that bacon cheeseburger sliders are serious crowd-pleasers. Whether you plan on serving these sliders at a party or at a relaxed grill out, these are going to be Irresistible hunger busters!
Kids love these sliders as a meal, as a lunchbox snack, or for birthday parties while the adults also can’t get enough of them. The combination of simple ingredients brings out flavors and textures that are both satisfying and comforting. The mixed aroma of melty cheese, beef, and toasty rolls cooking together are just the best.
You can serve these bacon cheeseburger sliders as a tasty snack or side dish, or turn them into a more filling meal with extras added. Either way, preparing these sliders is super easy. That’s a huge plus for me!
Consider pairing your bacon cheeseburger sliders with these Jalapeño Poppers, Buffalo Chicken Fries or Air Fryer Potato Wedges.
Ingredients for Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders
- meats: bacon (cooked and crumbled), ground beef (crumbled),
- seasoning: minced garlic, seat salt, ground black pepper, dried onion flakes,
- cheese & sauce: cheddar cheese (grated), cream cheese (cubed small), barbecue sauce, dijon mustard
- buns: Hawaiian rolls (may not use all; I used 1 ½ packages to fill a 9×13)
- garnish: 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds, butter (melted)
How to Make Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add ground beef, minced garlic, sea salt, onion flakes, and pepper to a saute pan and cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat and stirring, until the meat is no longer pink.
- Stir cream cheese, barbecue sauce, and mustard into the meat mixture, then set aside.
- Place the rolls into a 9×13 casserole dish and halve the second set of rolls to fill the casserole dish. Slice the tops off of the rolls in one full slice. Then place the bottoms of rolls into the casserole dish and set tops aside.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the rolls. Next, top with the meat mixture. Then, sprinkle crumbled bacon over the meat mixture and then cover with the remaining cheese. Place the tops of the rolls back into place.
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe dish and stir sesame seeds into it.
- Pour butter mixture over the rolls, using a pastry brush to spread the sesame seeds and butter evenly.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and rolls are heated through. Remove aluminum foil and bake for 5-10 minutes longer until the tops are browned.
- While many people love to use cheese slices, it is preferable to grate your cheese over the rolls as it spreads easily and evenly over the rolls and is quicker and easier to melt.
- Mixing the cream cheese, mustard, and BBQ sauce into the cooked beef will provide an amazing blended flavor and, most importantly, greater cohesion to the slider ingredients. Crumbling beef sliders are a huge disappointment!
- Use melted butter to spread evenly across the tops of the rolls. Butter will also run down the sides of the rolls and the rolls will end up being browned and crispy adding a delicious nutty, buttery flavor to the sliders.
- I recommend using crumbled bacon because it makes serving individual sliders much easier.
- Instead of frying bacon in a skillet, you can cook bacon slices for 15 – 20 minutes in the oven at 425F, layered across a cooling rack over an aluminum-covered baking tray. Crispy and easy to crumble.
- Hawaiian rolls are my go-to rolls but you can use others like brioche, mini slider rolls, butter-style rolls, or even potato rolls.
- Whatever you use to cook the sliders in, I recommend always lining the bottom of your tray or dish with parchment paper as it makes serving much easier.
- Hawaiian rolls often come in a box. You could make use of the box for serving or transporting your sliders if you like!
Variations
- Adjust the seasoning by using garlic powder, steak seasoning, or including a tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
- For leaner slider recipes, use lean ground beef for the beef mixture.
- Add some canned tomatoes into the beef mixture.
- Brown sugar added to the ground beef mixture is another great way to add rich flavor and cut some acidity.
If you plan on making these sliders ahead of time, I recommend that you make the slider meaty filling as well as cooked bacon and grated cheese and store all of these ingredient components in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
On the day of serving your sliders, assemble all the stored ingredient components, glaze and bake to serve. You may also need to add 10 – 15 minutes to the cooking time because the ingredients will have been chilled.
Another way to make these sliders in advance is to completely assemble the sliders in the 9×13 tray without the melted butter, and then seal the tray with plastic wrap to store the sliders in the refrigerator the night before.
Yes, you can freeze these sliders. Freeze the sliders as a completely assembled meal in an airtight container without having covered the buns in melted butter. They will freeze well for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven.
You could also freeze these sliders unbaked and simply add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time once they have adequately thawed. Brush the buns with melted butter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
It’s not a good idea, however, to add these sliders to the oven when they are frozen as they won’t cook evenly through.
The lovely thing about this recipe is that it’s totally adaptable and you can put your personal stamp on it. Whilst I like using cheddar, you can use any cheese you prefer that melts well.
Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders are essentially mini cheeseburgers with all the same delicious flavors and textures. They make great snacks, party appetizers, or light lunch items with other sides such as fries or coleslaw.
Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 pound ground beef crumbled
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 oz. cream cheese cut into small cubes
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1-2 pkg. Hawaiian rolls may not use all; I used 1 ½ packages to fill a 9×13
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Add ground beef, minced garlic, sea salt, onion flakes, and pepper to a saute pan and cook over medium heat, breaking up the meat and stirring, until the meat is no longer pink.
- Stir cream cheese, barbecue sauce, and mustard into the meat mixture and set aside.
- Place the rolls into a 9×13 casserole dish and halve the second set of rolls to fill the casserole dish. Slice the tops off of the rolls in one full slice. Place the bottoms of rolls into the casserole dish and set tops aside.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the rolls. Top with the meat mixture. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the meat mixture and then cover with the remaining cheese. Place the tops of the rolls back into place.
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe dish and stir sesame seeds into it.
- Pour butter mixture over the rolls, using a pastry brush to spread the sesame seeds and butter evenly.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and rolls are heated through. Remove aluminum foil and bake for 5-10 minutes longer until the tops are browned.
Notes
- Grated cheese spreads easily over the rolls and melts more quickly than slices. The cream cheese and sauce mixed into the ground beef help it stick together and also makes the cheeseburger sliders extra tasty.
- The butter melts down and browns around the rolls and adds so much flavor and toastiness to the sliders.
- Crumbled bacon is much easier to work with when it comes time to pull the sliders apart for serving. Use leftover bacon from breakfast or cook up a quick batch in the skillet.
Nutrition
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