These Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders are made with pillowy and sweet Hawaiian slider buns, savory black forest ham, gooey Swiss cheese, and topped with a buttery honey dijon sauce flecked with onion and poppy seeds! They’re the perfect appetizer for game day or any party, and will feed a crowd!
This is one of my Appetizer recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
We’re coming up on prime party food season, which is one of my favorites! Between game day parties (go Bengals!) and holiday gatherings, you’ll want to have some easy appetizer recipes in your back pocket.
This slider recipe is definitely an easy recipe! Made with simple and common ingredients, ham and cheese sliders are absolutely loaded with flavor.
In the Southern US, this type of slider may be referred to as “funeral sandwiches/funeral sliders”. The name might sound morbid, but just my like Funeral Potatoes, they got the name since they were a common thing to be laid out at funerals, wakes, and other church gatherings.
The soft and fluffy rolls are packed with plenty of salty and savory ham and cheese, then the tops of the rolls are slathered in the most mouthwatering buttery honey dijon sauce!
You can also make these sliders ahead of time, and even freeze them!
So whether you’re hosting the party, or just attending, you can serve/bring the party food everyone will be talking about.
How to make ham and cheese sliders?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Slice rolls. Once sliced horizontally, add the bottom sections to baking pan/baking dish.
- Layer. Spread with mayo, ham, and cheese… then top with the top sections of the rolls.
- Make butter sauce. Feel free to melt the butter whichever way you’d like, then just stir in the other ingredients.
- Pour sauce. When pouring the sauce, try to make sure every slider is coated.
- Bake. Baking the sliders covered ensures the cheese is nice and melted, then uncovering towards the end browns the tops for a nice crispness.
Helpful Tip!
If you have to substitute the baking pan, just make sure you use one that has sides. This is pretty buttery and you don’t want melted butter all over your oven!
Variations of this recipe
- Leftover ham – we normally use sliced deli ham for this because it’s something we usually have at home anyway, but this recipe is perfect for leftover Christmas or Easter ham!
- Rolls – any slider buns/rolls will work for this recipe. Hawaiian, potato, or butter slider rolls are my favorites. Leftover homemade dinner rolls will also work!
- Pan – you can use any rectangular baking pan that both packages of rolls will fit into. You could also use a baking sheet, but make sure it’s one that has a rim. You don’t want to clean up any melted honey butter from the bottom of your oven!
- Cheese – Swiss cheese is the usual go-to for these sliders, but sliced provolone, Muenster, or Havarti cheese are other great options.
- Sauce – feel free to add more or less of the sauce ingredients (mustard, dried onion, poppy seeds, etc), per your tastes.
FAQ’s
I like to use Kings Hawaiian rolls, but any slider-style bun will work. Potato rolls, or butter rolls are great substitutes.
Personally I like to use black forest ham, or plain smoked ham from the deli. But feel free to use any sliced ham you like best.
Making sliders ahead of time
The great thing about ham and cheese sliders, is that you can make them completely ahead of time!
Just make the recipe right up until the baking part, and cover tightly with foil.
Refrigerate for up to 1 day, then bake as directed.
Freezing
To freeze, make the recipe right up until baking, then cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake as directed. I feel this method makes the sliders a bit softer, but if you don’t mind, it’s a great long-term storage option.
Storage
Any leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within 3-4 days.
My Favorite 9×13 Pan!
You can use any 9×13″ pan, but I like that this one comes with a tight fitting lid.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Sliders
- 2 packages (12 count each) Hawaiian sweet rolls
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise optional
- 1 lb. thinly sliced black forest ham
- 1 lb. thinly sliced Swiss cheese
Butter sauce
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 – 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13” pan with foil, and spray lightly with cooking spray. If both packages of sliders won’t fit in your pan, you can use a rimmed baking sheet instead.
Slice rolls
- Add a package of rolls to your cutting board and using a serrated knife (like a bread knife), carefully slice across the rolls, horizontally, keeping one hand on top of the rolls to steady them.
Assemble sliders
- Once sliced, keep the rolls connected to each other and lift the entire top section off of the bottom section. Add the bottom section of the rolls to the prepared baking pan, cut side up. Repeat with remaining package of rolls.
- If using, evenly spread a thin layer of mayonnaise over the cut side of each of the bottom roll sections.
- Top each section evenly with ham, then top that with Swiss cheese. Add the top sections of the rolls, cut side down.
Make butter sauce
- Melt butter (however you prefer to melt it), then add the honey, Dijon, minced onion, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
Finish sliders
- Slowly and evenly pour the butter mixture over the tops of the rolls, using a rubber spatula to spread it around. Some may pool up at the bottom of the pan and that’s okay.
- Cover with aluminum foil and let sit for 5 minutes or so to let the butter sink in a little.
Bake
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake another 5-10 minutes, until as golden brown and crispy as you’d like.
Serve
- Slice into individual sliders and serve hot or warm.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- Recipe will make 24 small sliders, but can be halved if you only need 12.
- Potato or butter rolls can be used in place of the Hawaiian rolls.
- Mayonnaise is optional, but recommended.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Tina says
I made these yet again for Christmas Eve 2024 (at the request of a few family members). Wanted to say … I use the mayo (even though a few people don’t like mayo, they don’t even notice it) and that the two packages of rolls don’t fit in my regular Pyrex 9×13. I have to use my giant Cuisinart 9×13 roasting pan, which is totally okay, but in case others were wondering. A larger 9×13 pan seems to be necessary for these. They are FABULOUS!
Briannah says
These were so yummy!
Tina says
These were AMAZING!!! Huge bonus they could be assembled in advance. They are so easy and turn out so flavorful. Everyone loved them and my mom is really excited to visit your site to get the recipe for her gatherings.
Leah says
So good! I did use the same concept, but altered it a bit. Used provolone cheese and did half turkey and the other half ham and turkey. Hubs and I loved it for a nice football snack! Definitely do the mayo!
Juliane says
My brother would surely love this! Excited to give this a try!!
Erin says
For sure this is a hit on our table! Definitely a must make!
Catalina says
These sliders look so inviting! My family will love it for sure!
Sandra says
This is such a perfect appetizer! So easy to make and really good!
Beth says
I’m going to make these this weekend. We have family coming in, and I think this is just the thing to serve!
REBECCA ANDREWS says
Hi Amanda! I probably have made these sliders every way possible. Sometimes, using whatever I had on hand. Just a thought, as I was reading over your recipe; how about cameralizing some onions and adding them on top of or between, the cheese and ham. I love carmarlized onions and think it would add a delicious flavor to the sliders. I think I will try it next time I make these! Love your recipes. Keep them coming.