Baked Italian Sliders

Baked Italian Sandwich Sliders are my husband’s absolute favorite and everyone in our house loves it when we make sweet roll sliders. They are such an easy way to feed a crowd and endlessly customizable.

Sweet Hawaiian rolls sliced in half and loaded with ham, salami, pepperoni, and melty cheese was always going to be a win with him but the pesto mayo and roasted red peppers take it over the top.

Last weekend my kids played their last soccer game of the season and after celebratory ice cream we came home and made these Hot Italian sandwich Sliders to have with leftover Tomato Bisque. It was the perfect way to end a crisp fall day.

Appetizer, snack, entree, Baked Italian Sandwich Sliders work for everything and are endlessly customizable. I like to keep rolls in the freezer ready to go during the holidays for a quick and easy option I can pull out at any time to feed a crowd!

Baked Italian Sandwich Sliders Ingredients

Hawaiian Rolls: Hawaiian sweet rolls that are all one piece are the base for this recipe. Their subtle sweetness pairs so well with the salami and pepperoni especially after brushing them with an Italian herb butter that creates an addictive salty sweet bun.

Pesto Mayo: Pesto brightens things up keeping the curved meats from feeling too heavy. We always have some homemade pesto cubes in our freezer and I just thaw one and stir it into our favorite mayo.

Herb Butter: melted butter with your favorite Italian seasoning gets brushed over the top making the sliders a beautiful golden brown and giving them a light crisp texture on the outside.

Salami: we like to use uncured genoa salami for these sliders.

Ham: slices of your favorite ham are the first layer of these sliders. We typically have honey ham in our house from my son’s lunches so that’s what we end up using.

Pepperoni: you want sandwich style pepperoni for these sliders. It will be sliced much thiner and be a lot softer and easier to cut the sandwiches apart for serving.

Cheese: thinly sliced provolone cheese is our favorite for these Hot Italian Sliders but any melty cheese you like will work.

Roasted red peppers: the roasted red peppers add a nice tang that cuts the heaviness of the cured meats.

How to make Baked Italian Sandwich Sliders:

• Preheat the oven to 350. Rub Prepare a 9 x 13 pan.
• Slice the Sweet Rolls in half separating the top of the rolls from the bottom. Place the bottom half of the rolls in the prepared pan.
• Spread half of the pesto mayo evenly over the tops of the sweet roll bottoms.
• Layer ham evenly over the bottom rolls. It will be easier to cut the sandwiches for serving if you fold the ham so a slice fits on each roll. This will also give good height to the sliders.
• Next evenly top the ham with the salami, pepperoni, and Provolone cheese slices.
• Top the cheese slices with strips of grilled red bell peppers.
• Spread the remaining half of the pesto mayo evenly over the cut side of the top buns. Place the top of the rolls on the sliders.
• Create a herb butter topping by melting 1 tablespoons butter and add in a 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite Italian seasoning. Whisk together until well combined
• Brush the herb butter evenly over the rolls. Cover the sliders with foil and bake for 10-15minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is melty and the sliders are golden brown.
• Serve immediately with your favorite sides! We like to have them with tomato bisque.

Baked Italian Slider Q & A

What is a slider?

A slider is a burger or sandwich served on a small bun approximately 2 inches wide. The term slider was originally a slang term used in the Navy to describe the small greasy burgers they were served that was later used by White Castle to describe their mini burgers.

Can you make sandwich sliders ahead?

You can prep sandwich sliders ahead just cover them with aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. I don’t recommend baking ahead to time because these sandwiches really are best hot out of the oven.

What to serve with sandwich sliders?

We like to serve our sandwich sliders with chips, fries, salad, or tomato bisque.

Are Hawaiian rolls vegan?

Hawaiian rolls are not vegan because they contain butter, eggs, and milk.