Roast Beef Sliders With Onions & Cheese (30 Min)
Tuck into gooey roast beef sliders with deli beef, golden brown onions, oozing cheese, and your favorite spread. They are an easy-to-make appetizer for game day, any gathering, or a simple weeknight meal. Ready in 30 minutes.
These beef sliders are great for a crowd as a snack or just two as a super easy dinner option.
What to expect
No need to be exact: Use the recipe as a guideline – a little more or less of this and that won’t matter much. Be guided by your preferences. Love cheese? Add extra. Prefer smoked meat instead of roast beef? Go for it.
Easy to make ahead: I love that these sliders can be assembled ahead of time and popped in the oven before serving. It makes them perfect for super bowl game night, a dinner party appetizer or a casual dinner with minimal cooking and effort.
Build your own flavors: The flavors come from the spread you choose (we have several suggestions in the recipe) and the buttery-Dijon-brown sugar topping brushed on top of the buns. If everyone likes different flavors, serve the spreads as dips on the side.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Slider rolls: Any small fluffy rolls that come packaged as 12, 16 or 24 will work. They should be baked together so you can cut an entire block horizontally in half (see pictures). Good choices are sweet Hawaiian rolls, slider buns, mini brioche dinner rolls (from Costco), potato rolls, mini hamburger buns, or dinner rolls.
Deli roast beef: I get thinly sliced or shaved beef, preferably low sodium (I find a lot of the deli beef too salty). You can of course, use leftover beef, sliced very thinly.
Cheese: Melty cheeses such as provolone cheese, cheddar cheese slices, gruyere, fontina, swiss cheese, pepper jack and American cheese work well. Shredded cheese or slices of cheese are both fine. Some pre-shredded cheeses don’t melt quite as well because they contain a lot of anti-caking preservatives.
Glaze on top of the rolls: We use a blend of melted butter, Dijon and brown sugar topped with sesame seeds. It’s flavorful and delicious! Add a pinch of Worcestershire sauce if you like.
Choose a spread
Keep your sliders simple with just mayonnaise or boost the flavors with one of these spread alternatives. I am a horseradish aioli or spicy mustard fan.
- Horseradish aioli (mayonnaise + horseradish to taste)
- Dijon mustard, maple Dijon or honey mustard
- Sriracha aioli (sriracha + mayo)
- Cranberry relish
- Pesto mixed with a little mayo
- Barbecue sauce – spicy or not
- Peach chutney (or any chutney)
Variations
- Caramelize the onions: This will take an extra 30-40 minutes to create deep-flavored, rich, sweet, soft onions. Here is a recipe for caramelized onions.
- Vary the meat: Instead of deli roast beef, try pastrami or corned beef. The curing spices will create a different flavor for the sliders. Another option is shaved deli roast chicken or turkey.
- Skip the cheese.
- Modify the glaze: Instead of the recipe mixture, feel free to brush the tops of the sliders with just butter. Or spray them with oil. You can substitute the sesame seeds with Everything Bagel Seasoning or black poppy seeds.
Step-by-step instructions
Tip
If you like your sliders oozing with cheese, add an extra layer on top, just under the top of the buns.
Shortcuts
We are taking a shortcut by sautéeing the onions instead of caramelizing them which takes much longer. You will sacrifice a bit of flavor, but I find it’s minimal if you brown the onions sufficiently. And, of course, we are using deli meat instead of cooking beef from scratch.
Make Ahead
Instructions for these cheese roast beef sliders are in the recipe card below for assembling them ahead, leftovers, reheating and freezing.
What to serve with beef sliders
If you are serving these sliders as an appetizer, I pair them with a few lighter appetizers such as a shrimp cocktail, vegetable rice paper rolls, or a 5-minute red pepper dip.
As a main dish, I serve the sliders with pickles, cole slaw and either charred corn salad or herbed potato salad (without mayo) in the summer. Or with a soup such as squash apple soup or pastina soup with veggies in the winter.
Love sliders? Try our cheeseburger sliders (30 minutes) – classic flavors without the fuss. Perfect for a game day crowd, appetizer, snack, or simple weeknight dinner.
If you like this recipe, please leave a 5 star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟in the recipe card below. And if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments. Thanks very much!
Roast Beef Sliders With Onions and Cheese (30 Min)
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (~2 cups sliced – I use sweet onions)
- 1 pound deli roast beef, thinly sliced or shaved, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise or choice of spread, Note 2 (I use at least 3 tablespoons of spread)
Rolls and cheese
- 12 slider rolls or buns, Note 3
- 4 slices cheese, Note 4 or 3-4 ounces shredded cheese
- 1 tablespoon soft butter (to spread on pan) (or spray with oil)
Glaze for rolls, Note 5
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or maple syrup)
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (garnish) (or Everything Bagel Seasoning or poppy seeds)
Instructions
- HEAT OVEN TO 350F/177C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (sprayed with oil). TIP: If you want the sliders to have buttery slightly crispy bottoms, spread a thin layer of soft butter directly on the pan surface or on the foil.
- SAUTÉ ONIONS: Heat oil in a medium skillet to medium-high heat. Add onions and saute for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and soft. TIP: to speed up the caramelization/browning, add a pinch of sugar while onions are sautéing.
- PREPARE AND ASSEMBLE SLIDERS: Cut rolls in half horizontally, keeping rolls intact (don't separate them). Layer from the bottom up: °bottom half of rolls°spread°cheese°deli beef°onions (then optional extra cheese if using)°top half of rolls.
- GLAZE, BAKE, SERVE: In a microwaveable small bowl, add butter, Dijon and brown sugar. Microwave for 25 seconds and stir well to combine. Brush glaze on tops of the rolls. Immediately sprinkle on sesame seeds so they will stick. Place on buttered or lined pan. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cut into individual sliders along roll lines with serrated knife, and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- Beef options: Ask the deli counter for a taster – I find a lot of the deli beef is very too salty – if so, asked for a low sodium option. You can of course, use leftover beef, sliced very thinly. Instead of deli roast beef, try pastrami, corned beef, roast chicken or turkey.
- Choose your spread for flavor: If your eaters like different things, just go with mayonnaise and serve a few spreads on the side as dipping sauces. Or do half of the sliders with one spread, and half on the other.
- Horseradish aioli (horseradish + mayonnaise)
- Dijon mustard, maple Dijon or honey mustard
- Sriracha aioli (sriracha + mayo)
- Cranberry relish
- Pesto mixed with a little mayo
- Barbecue sauce – spicy or not
- Peach chutney (or any chutney)
- Slider Roll/bun options: Any small fluffy rolls that come packaged as 12, 16 or 24 will work – the recipe is portioned for smaller buns, approximately 2×2 inches/5×5 cm. If your rolls are on the larger side, increase the amount of deli beef, onions and cheese. The buns should be baked together so that the entire block can be cut horizontally in half. Good choices are Hawaiian sweet rolls, mini brioche dinner rolls (from Costco), potato rolls, mini hamburger buns, or dinner rolls.
- Cheese options: Melty cheese such as cheddar cheese slices, provolone cheese, gruyere, swiss cheese, fontina, pepper jack and American cheese is best. Shredded or sliced cheese are both fine. Some pre-shredded cheeses don’t melt quite as well because they contain a lot of anti-caking preservatives. Alternatively, skip the cheese for a dairy-free option.
- Variations for glaze topping: Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce for a little extra zip. Or keep it simple and just brush on melted butter or spray with oil. But I recommend using the recipe glaze!
- To caramelize the onions: This will take an extra 30-40 minutes to create deep-flavored, rich, sweet, soft onions. Here is a recipe for caramelized onions.
- Make ahead/reheat/freeze:
- Leftover sliders can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.
- Make 1 day ahead (or several hours ahead): Assemble sliders a day ahead without the butter glaze topping. Place in fridge well covered. When ready to serve, brush on the glaze and sesame seeds and bake.
- To freeze, make and assemble sliders. Freeze, well wrapped in a sealed bag for up to 3 months.
- To reheat from frozen: Place frozen sliders on a buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350F/177C, covered for 10 minutes and another 10 minutes uncovered or until heated through. Note: In my experience (you know I am all about simplified!), other heating options don’t work as well. Microwaving for 30-40 seconds wrapped in parchment makes the bun very soggy. And heating the slider in the oven uncovered for 18-20 minutes makes the bun too crunchy and brown.
