These meatball sliders are the perfect handheld appetizer. Made with juicy meatballs, marinara sauce, creamy mozzarella cheese and served with Hawaiian sweet rolls. Perfect for game days, holidays and grilling season these easy sliders are family friendly.
Recipe Highlights
- How they taste: Meatball sliders taste exactly like the name. They are Hawaiian rolls filled with juicy meatballs covered in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. The tops of the sliders are garnish with butter and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese across the tops.
- Skill level: This base recipe uses frozen meatballs so it’s super beginner friendly. If you’d like to make homemade meatballs, I’ll share my recipe in the post. Making them from scratch will take more time but the meatball sliders are still simple to make.
- Storage: They aren’t meant to be frozen for later due to the cheese but any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days easily.
Ingredient tips
- Meatballs: For ease, the sliders are made from frozen meatballs. The meatballs can be whatever you like as far as protein, turkey, chicken or the classic ground beef. Below I’ll share some homemade meatball recipes that you can really play with for the sliders.
- Cheese: Mozzarella cheese is perfect but provolone and Monetary jack are some great options. You’ll ideally want a cheese that melts really good and is creamy for texture more than anything else.
- Dinner rolls: Hawaiian rolls are used for the recipe but any dinner roll will work.
- Sauce: A classic marinara sauce is used and it’s store bought for ease. You can swap this out for a pizza sauce, vodka sauce or any of the offerings you find at your local store that you personally enjoy.
Variations
For a more homemade meatball in place of the frozen meatballs, below are some variations that you can play around with:
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Mexican Meatballs
- Asian Turkey Meatballs
- Turkey Feta Meatballs
- Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs
- Bourbon Meatballs
- Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
- Cheesy Bake Meatballs
- Honey Lemon Chicken Meatballs
- Chicken & Spinach Meatballs
Chef’s tips
- For the best cheese, I suggest grating mozzarella from the block itself. For ease, slice cheese or even pre-shredded can work.
- Topping the meatball sliders are simple. The recipe calls for grated parmesan but Italian seasoning is a great option as well.
How To Make Meatball Sliders
- Start by making the meatballs according to the package instructions. Then, slice the dinner rolls in half.
- Add a layer of cheese first, then the meatballs. Pour the marinara over the meatballs then add a little more cheese on top.
- Brush the tops of the dinner rolls with butter, then sprinkle the parmesan across the top.
- Place the meatball sliders in the oven and bake until the tops are toasted and the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can they be made ahead of time?
Of course, but make sure the meatballs are cooked first. Once they are cooked, assemble the meatball sliders then store them in the fridge or freezer until ready to bake.
How to store the sliders?
The meatball sliders are best in the refrigerator but if there are too many that can be frozen. The texture of the cheese will be slightly different once thawed but the flavor will remain the same.
Are frozen meatballs better than homemade for the recipe?
Frozen meatballs are easier. They allow you to make the recipe quicker and with less dishes. But, homemade will be the best. For that reason I shared my cheesy meatball bake recipe because those meatballs are the best flavor for sliders.
Slider recipes to try next
- Crack Chicken Sliders
- Marry Me Chicken Sliders
- Chicken Parmesan Sliders
- Big Mac Sliders
- Hot Honey Chicken Sliders
Follow Sugarless Crystals on Pinterest & Instagram for all my recipes!
Meatball Sliders
Ingredients
- 2 pound meatballs (frozen)
- 12 Hawaiian rolls
- 1.5 cup marinara sauce
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese
Topping
- 2 tablespoon butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- First, reheat the frozen meatballs according to package instructions. They'll need to be cooked and ready before starting the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Slice the dinner rolls in half evenly as possible Do not separate them. Place the bottom half on a sheet pan and the top half to the side for now.
- Add layer of cheese (1 cup) to the bottom layer of the dinner rolls. Then, on top of the cheese, place the meatballs. Pour the marinara sauce over the meatballs then top with the last layer of cheese.
- Place the top portion of the dinner rolls onto the sliders. Then, brush the butter over the top rolls. Now, sprinkle the parmesan cheese across the top.
- Place the dinner rolls into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. That'll be long enough to melt the cheese and brown the dinner rolls. Add more time if you want toastier dinner rolls.
Nutrition
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.