These warm, cheesy hot ham and cheese sliders are perfect for a crowd and a delicious easy lunch that makes in under half an hour.
Nothing says comfort like a ham and cheese slider. Up the ante with some seriously delicious compound butter, soft and fluffy slide buns, and lots of gooey ooey cheese, and you’ve got a meal your whole family will want over and over again. Plus, they can be made in under 30 minutes — just 15 minutes if you prep them ahead of time — is icing on the cake.
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The components of these sliders are minimal and straightforward, but each serves a specific and delicious purpose:
- Compound Butter: This mixed butter can be made with ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and pantry, and it turns those ham and cheese sliders from ordinary to outstanding. Not only does it flavor the sliders, it helps them turn perfectly golden brown and not dry.
- Swiss cheese: There are many types of cheese that would work well here, from American and cheddar to Gruyere. I’ve personally found that sliced Swiss cheese gives the best results – it’s mild and makes the ham and compound butter shine, and it’s inexpensive. There’s also a double layer of cheese in this recipe that acts like glue to keep the ham perfectly in place after it’s baked.
- Sliced fine ham: This recipe calls for thinly sliced ham, but use any type of ham you have access to. After a big holiday meal, these sliders are also great with leftover thick-sliced ham.
- Hawaiian Slider Rolls: Adding just a hint of sweetness, Hawaiian rolls stay perfectly fluffy, even as the compounded butter crunches the outsides nicely. And yes, they’re also pretty fun to rip apart when it comes time to separate them.
The Herbed Compound Butter is key
The herb butter makes this dish stand out, and it’s incredibly easy to throw together. All you have to do is mash softened butter, chopped shallots, chopped parsley and mustard into a homogeneous, spreadable mixture.
In my testing, I found that using butter at room temperature survived melted Butter produced crispier, golden brown buns, while using melted butter made the sliders feel greasy.
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Optional add-ins
Think of this recipe as a blank canvas that you can tweak or refine as you see fit. There’s a whole world of toppings and add-ins out there. Here are just a few ideas:
- To pack a little heatsmear the insides of the buns with spicy mustard, and you can even sprinkle the ham with chopped pickled jalapeños for a tangy, vinegary bite.
- For extra sweetness and acidity To cut through the rich compound butter, layer on top of sliced dill pickles.
Make them ahead
All you have to do is pop the sliders in the oven and bake them until hot. The assembled sliders – up to step 4 – will stay covered in the fridge for 24 hours before they start to get soggy.
Bake the sliders covered with foil for 3 to 4 more minutes if cooked cold from the fridge.
More sandwich ideas for lunch!
- Hot turkey sandwich
- How to make a grilled cheese sandwich
- The ultimate club sandwich
- Italian sub sandwich
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Slider for hot ham and cheese
ingredients
For the compound butter
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3 tablespoon unsalted buttersoftened
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1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
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2 teaspoon chopped shallots
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2 teaspoon chopped parsley
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the sliders
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1 (12–counting package) Hawaiian casters
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1/2 lb cut Swiss cheeseabout 12 slices
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1/2 lb thinly sliced Delicatessen ham
method
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Preheat oven to 375°F.
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Prepare the compound butter:
In a small bowl, mix together the butter, mustard, shallots, parsley, salt, and black pepper with a fork. Reserve until assembly.
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Prepare buns:
Using a serrated knife, cut the buns in half through the middle, parting the tops and bottoms as you secure the buns together.
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Assemble slider:
Place the open buns on a baking sheet or baking dish and spread half of the Swiss cheese evenly over the bottom bun. Place the ham on top, overlapping slightly as you lay each slice down. Arrange the remaining cheese slices on the ham and close with the bun lids.
Use a spoon or butter knife to smooth the softened butter mixture over the tops of the sliders.
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Bake the sliders:
Cover the sliders loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the tops of the sliders are crispy and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.
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Serve the sliders:
Tear or cut the sliders and serve warm.
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Storage and reheating instructions:
Keep the remaining sliders tightly sealed in the fridge. Leftovers can be kept for up to 3 days.
Microwave each slider for 30 seconds – add 15 seconds for each additional slider.
To reheat, bake in the oven at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and sliders are crisp and warmed through.
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| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 498 | calories |
| 22g | Fat |
| 48g | carbohydrates |
| 26g | protein |
