The Best Cheesy Baked Italian Sliders Recipe
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Do you know what I love about Baked Italian Sliders? Everything! These cheesy little sandwiches are bursting with flavor inside and out and are super easy to make.
Table of contents
Hot Italian sliders are loaded with our favorite Italian deli meats, provolone and mozzarella cheeses, flavorful veggies, and baked in mini rolls brushed with garlic butter. They make a perfect party appetizer or a fun and easy dinner. No matter what the occasion is, these Italian sandwiches are a guaranteed hit!
One of the best things about making Italian sandwich sliders is that you get to customize them to your liking. Use your favorite Italian meats, melty cheeses, and antipasti to create a combination that you love.
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
- Mini Slider Buns: Feel free to use any type of slider roll that you like. For this recipe, I used mini brioche buns, but you can also use sweet Hawaiian rolls or any soft rolls you prefer.
- Mortadella, Prosciutto, Genoa Salami, and Pepperoni: Any combination of Italian deli meats will work perfectly. Go ahead and swap out one or more of these with other delicious meats such as deli ham, capicola, or soppressata.
- Provolone Cheese: You can usually find the sandwich sliced type of provolone at the grocery store deli counter. I like the flavor of extra sharp provolone, but a milder version will also taste great and melt nicely in these slider sandwiches.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Either shredded or sliced. If you want to use a different cheese, you can try Fontina or Asiago. Martha Stewart provides a list other cheeses that melt well in pasta, panini, and casseroles that you can choose from.
- Sliced Banana Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, and Black Olives: I always have these ingredients on hand and they are delicious in sandwiches as well as other dishes. Other alternatives that you might want to try or add are sliced pepperoncini, chopped giardiniera, green olives, chopped marinated artichokes or sliced onions.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Butter
- Minced Garlic or Garlic Powder
- Fresh Chopped Italian Parsley: You can also use curly parsley or a teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning.
How to Make these Easy Italian Sliders
- Grease the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Slice the slider rolls in half and arrange the bottoms of the rolls in the prepared pan.
- Evenly layer the cold cuts starting with the provolone and then the meats on the bread.
- Top with roasted red peppers, banana peppers, black olives, mozzarella cheese, and bun tops.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan, add the garlic and parsley, and cook gently until the garlic is tender. Brush the melted garlic butter on the tops of the buns, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 25-30 minutes in a pre-heated 350-degree F oven.
- Remove the foil, brush the buns with additional butter sauce, and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top of the rolls.
Cooking Tips for Best Results
- Dry any wet ingredients such as the roasted red peppers, banana peppers, and olives, with paper towels before adding them to the sandwiches. This will keep the veggies from making the sandwiches soggy.
- Greasing the baking dish will allow the bottom of the rolls to crisp up a bit in the oven.
- After you have assembled the sandwiches, use a sharp serrated knife and cut between the buns. It is easier to slice them into individual sliders before baking them.
Serving Suggestions
Hot Italian sub sliders are a perfect appetizer or game day snack. This easy appetizer is delicious right out of the oven or served at room temperature, so it makes entertaining a breeze.
They are so soft, cheesy, and flavorful that they don’t need anything more. But if you want to serve a dipping sauce, a simple marinara sauce would be a good accompaniment.
During one of the last football games we hosted, I served these tasty Italian sliders along with Lemon pepper chicken wings and Italian Nachos. It was a great party! But you can have these mini sandwiches and a bowl of potato chips and you will still have a happy crowd!
For an easy meal I like to serve these sliders with a crisp salad or a bowl of soup.
Make Ahead
The sliders can be assembled and covered earlier in the day and refrigerated until you are ready to bake them. I would not recommend making them the day before because the bread may get soggy.
Leftovers
Leftovers can be stored in a plastic storage bag or an airtight container and refrigerated for several days. These sandwiches can be enjoyed cold, or warm.
To reheat them, arrange the sandwiches on a baking dish, cover them with foil, and place them in a 350-degree F oven for about 10-15 minutes or until they are heated through. They can also be reheated in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until they are warm.
Other Sandwich Recipes
Sandwiches are always a fun and easy way to please a crowd. Some of our favorites are Roast Beef Sliders, Buffalo Beef on Weck, and Stromboli.
I love to get your feedback so if you tried this Baked Italian Sliders recipe or any other recipes on this website, please leave me a comment below. I hope you enjoy our recipes and look forward to hearing from you!
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Italian Sliders
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Ingredients
- 12 Mini Brioche Buns
- 6 Slices Mortadella
- 12 Slices Sandwich Pepperoni
- 6 Slices Prosciutto
- 12 Slices Salami
- 9 Slices Provolone Cheese
- ⅔ Cups Black Olives Sliced
- ⅔ Cups Roasted Red Pepper Chopped
- ⅔ Cups Banana Peppers Sliced
- ⅔ Cups Mozzarella Cheese Grated
- ½ Cup Butter
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1½ Tsp Italian Parsley
- ¼ Cups Parmesan Cheese Grated
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Slice the buns in half. Arrange the bottom half of the buns in a 9"x13" baking dish. Start with a layer of provolone cheese on the buns and top with a layer of each of the meats. Then scatter the olives, roasted red peppers and banana peppers over the meat and finish with the mozzarella cheese and the tops of the buns.
- Melt the butter in a small pan, add the minced garlic and parsley. Cook over medium low heat until the garlic is fragrant. Brush the melted butter mixture on the tops of the buns. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25- 30 minutes.
Notes
Cooking Tips for Best Results
- Dry any wet ingredients such as the roasted red peppers, banana peppers, and olives, with paper towels before adding them to the sandwiches. This will keep the veggies from making the sandwiches soggy.
- Greasing the baking dish will allow the bottom of the rolls to crisp up a bit in the oven.
- After you have assembled the sandwiches, use a sharp serrated knife and cut between the buns. It is easier to slice them into individual sliders before baking them.
