Ham and Cheese Sliders That Disappear in Under Ten Minutes

Ham and cheese sliders are one of those recipes I’ve been making for years, but honestly? I was doing them wrong the whole time.

Not wrong like they tasted bad. Wrong like they were just… fine. You know that feeling when you eat something and think “yeah, okay, this is a thing”? That was my sliders. My husband ate them politely. My kids ate them because cheese was involved. Nobody raved. Nobody scrambled for the last one. They were perfectly fine and completely forgettable.

Then I brought a tray to my friend Karima’s game night last fall — made with a proper Dijon butter sauce I’d been tweaking for weeks — and within ten minutes the pan was wiped clean and three different people cornered me in the kitchen asking what I put in them. Three. Separate. Corners. I had to repeat myself every time and honestly? I didn’t mind one bit.

So here’s the recipe. The actual good one.

The Best Ham and Cheese Sliders Recipe Starts With the Right Rolls

Okay, this is non-negotiable and I say that as someone who has 100% tried to cut corners on the bread situation because King’s Hawaiian rolls aren’t always cheap and sometimes life is busy.

Do not cut corners on the rolls.

Hawaiian ham and cheese sliders are a specific experience. These little pillowy, slightly sweet rolls soak up the butter sauce in a way that no regular slider bun ever manages. I’ve tried potato rolls, bakery dinner rolls, and once in a moment of grocery store panic, mini brioche. All of them were fine. None of them were these. Ham and cheese sliders on Hawaiian rolls are genuinely a different category of food. Trust the process.

What You’ll Need

For the sliders:

• 1 package (12-count) King’s Hawaiian rolls — keep them connected, don’t separate yet
• ¾ lb deli ham, sliced thin — honey ham is my go-to but black forest works beautifully
• 6–8 slices Swiss cheese — actual slices, not shredded (pre-shredded has anti-caking coating and melts weirdly, just don’t)
• Optional: 3–4 slices provolone mixed in with the Swiss for maximum cheese pull

For the Dijon butter sauce (this is THE thing that changes everything):

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard — I use Grey Poupon, no notes
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds — do not skip this
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (some people leave it out, I never do)
• Small pinch of salt

Side note: ham and Swiss sliders made with this exact sauce are incredible — the slightly nutty Swiss bite against the tangy Dijon is just chef’s kiss. It works. Either way, the butter sauce is the whole point of this recipe and you’ll understand the moment you smell it.

How to Make Oven Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders Step by Step

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Do this FIRST. These come together so fast and the worst feeling is standing there with a fully assembled pan waiting on the oven to catch up. Done it. It’s annoying.

2. Slice the rolls as one whole slab — don’t separate them.
Cut the entire package in half horizontally, keeping each side connected as a sheet. Place the bottom slab into a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. This is so much easier than dealing with individual rolls and gives you more even baking.

3. Layer on the ham.
Pile it generously and fold each slice slightly as you go — flat layers slide around and you end up with uneven bites. Nobody wants the sad bite with no ham. Layer it up.

4. Add the cheese.
Lay Swiss slices evenly over the ham. Add provolone too if you’re going for it. Don’t be stingy here. The whole point of cheesy ham and cheese sliders is the cheese. Go generous or go home.

5. Place the top slab of rolls back on.
That’s the whole step. Just put it on.

6. Make the butter sauce.
Whisk together the melted butter, Dijon, Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, poppy seeds, brown sugar, and salt. It’ll smell outrageously good in the bowl even before it goes anywhere near heat. That’s correct.

7. Pour and brush the sauce all over the top.
Do NOT just drizzle it casually. Use a pastry brush or a spoon and work it into every seam and corner. Every single roll needs coverage. This is how you avoid the dreaded dry corner slider that everyone side-eyes at the party but won’t admit they got.

8. Cover tightly with foil and bake 15 minutes.
Then uncover and bake another 5 minutes until the tops turn golden and your whole kitchen smells like something wonderful is happening. Because it is.

9. Wait 3–4 minutes before cutting. I mean it.
Cutting immediately means the cheese slides out of everything and the whole structure collapses. Please don’t let me do this again — I made that mistake in front of like eight people at a party once and the look on their faces was something I carry with me.

Tips for the Best Results (Chaotic but Useful)

• Make them ahead. Assemble the whole pan — rolls, ham, cheese, butter sauce — cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Bake the next day straight from the fridge with 5 extra minutes added. These make ahead ham and cheese sliders are a party host’s best friend. Zero morning stress.
• Double the batch every time. For real. Ham and cheese sliders for a crowd means making two full pans minimum. I’ve never once had leftovers and I’ve tried to protect them.
• Add a swipe of mayo on the bottom roll. I discovered this accidentally when I ran out of mustard mid-assembly and improvised. The tiny bit of creaminess it adds is genuinely great and I still do it every time.
• The foil is not optional. It traps steam and keeps the insides soft while the tops get golden. Skip it and you get rolls that are crunchy outside and dry in the middle. Not the vibe at all.
• Swap the protein. Turkey and cheddar with this same butter sauce is equally good if you need a pork-free version. The sauce is the hero of the whole situation regardless of what’s underneath.

These Work for Game Day AND Weeknight Dinner

Game day ham and cheese sliders are the classic move and honestly they’re perfect for it — you can make them ahead, they stay warm covered in foil, and people just grab them. Zero plating effort. But somewhere in the last year I started making these on regular Tuesday nights too because my kids ask for them by name and the whole thing is done in under 30 minutes.

Ham and cheese sliders as a dinner idea with a simple salad on the side is a complete, satisfying meal. My son — who eats approximately six foods — puts these at the top of his personal list. That’s not nothing.

And as a baked ham and cheese party sandwich situation? These are essentially a crowd-control device. Hot ham and cheese sliders in the oven, pulled out fresh, that poppy seed butter sauce glaze shining on top — people will hover near the kitchen waiting and they won’t even apologize about it.

If your current sliders are “fine,” this butter sauce is going to change things. It sounds dramatic. It’s not exaggerating.

Try them and let me know how fast yours disappear — I want to know if anyone actually ends up with leftovers, because I genuinely never have 🧀🥪