You can’t imagine how good a ham sandwich can be until you’ve tried Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders! Rolls stuffed with ham and cheese smothered in an onion poppyseed butter sauce baked until the cheese is melty, this American game-day favourite is excellent big-batch party food that is leftover Christmas ham-worthy! (Find more suggestions here).
Leftover Christmas ham recipe idea!
Wouldn’t it be great to re-purpose leftover Christmas ham to make something to ring in the new year?? The answer is here – Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders!!
If you’re wrinkling your nose wondering why is she so excited about a ham sandwich??! – here’s why: because this is not your usual boring ham sandwich. This is a ham sandwich dialled up to 10 by baking it smothered in a savoury seasoned onion butter until the cheese is oozy, the bread is crusty and it’s soaked up the butter sauce.
It’s not something I made up, though I’d love to take credit for it! It’s a popular American party-food favourite. Excellent big-batch food that’s a crowd pleaser, easy and economical to make that can be eaten with your hands. Ticks a lot of boxes!
Recipes for ham and cheese sliders are pretty standard, involving – well, ham, and cheese (I know, you’re shocked), buns and a butter mixture seasoned with garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and onion (sometimes fresh, sometimes dehydrated).
So there’s nothing groundbreaking with the ingredients I’ve used but I do have some specific steps I take during the making process that aren’t standard. 🙂 With good reason though, relating to cheese melting and butter soakage. These are important issues!!
What you need for Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders
I’m sharing this recipe with leftover Christmas Glazed Ham in mind. Though truthfully, I’ve always just made this with boring old deli-ham.
Filling and Onion Poppyseed Sauce
For the filling:
Ham – As noted above, this recipe was shared with the intention of using leftover Christmas Ham! But you can use any ham you want. I like using shaved ham so you can pile layers and layers on.
Swiss cheese – This is the classic cheese though you can use any melting cheese you want, such as cheddar, tasty, gruyere, Monterey Jack, Colby (though I personally wouldn’t use mozzarella because it’s not flavoured enough). While I used pre-cut slices for convenience, you can cut or shred your own.
American mustard – for spreading on the buns. This is the bright yellow stuff that comes in squeezy bottles that’s tangy and not spicy. You can substitute with any other smooth mustard though if you use a mustard like Dijon, you won’t have the same signature yellowy tang, plus it’s more expensive. ⚠️ Just don’t use hot English mustard. Too spicy!!
For the Onion Poppyseed sauce:
Unsalted butter – melted
Poppyseeds – Traditionally used, adds nuttiness and visual effect, plus you get to make fun of everybody who gets the seeds stuck in their teeth. But don’t make a special trip just to find them. Worth making without!
Finely chopped onion – Just standard brown onions, or substitute with white onion for eschallots (US: shallots, the baby onions).
Salt, pepper and garlic powder – Flavourings / seasoning.
More American mustard! For the signature tang and colour.
The bread
As for the bread, you just need a slab of soft white rolls that are stuck together that measure around 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ so it fits snugly in a standard size pan. The rolls pictured below are from Bakers Delight (an Australian bakery chain), 12 rolls is the perfect size. If you’re in the states, 1lb of Hawaiian rolls (12 large or 24 small) are literally the perfect size.
Soft is best because the onion butter soaks in better than using crusty, chewy artisan bread (like sourdough) and the whole sandwich just kind of melds together nicely. White is traditional through if you’re feeling the need to be a bit virtuous, wholemeal bread is fine too.
How to make Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders
There’s one thing I do differently from the usual, and that is to give the cheese melting a head start by baking it without the lid first. Once you put the lid on, this massively slows down the cheese melting process – from cold, it takes an hour, by which time the bread on the edge of the pan is far too crusty and dry. In fact, if you look closely at most Ham and Cheese Slider recipes online, the cheese is not melted except on the outer edges. That doesn’t work for me!! 🙅🏻♀️
Split the slab of bread in half, keeping the rolls stuck together so you can bake in one piece.
Spread the base and lid with mustard.
Top with ham;
Then cover with cheese.
Bake without the lid for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted;
Butter sauce – Meanwhile, mix together the Savoury Butter ingredients.
Remove the sliders from the oven. Melty cheese, hurrah!
Top with the mustard-smeared lid.
Smother with the Onion Poppyseed Sauce;
Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes;
Pierce for soakage – Remove foil then stab the crevices where butter is pool to encourage it to soak into the bread;
Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until the top is crusty. Then cut and serve!
Serve hot
I’ve seen some recipes call for the sliders to be left to cool before serving, during which time all that effort to melt the cheese is undone.
If that’s your preference, go right ahead! But for me, eating it while the cheese is oozy and the butter is shiny and the ham is warm and the bread is soft and cosy…. That is an eating experience that is pure joy. Watch the video. You’ll see how happy to makes me. And then, it’s your turn!! 😇 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders
Ingredients
Sliders:
- 12 standard or 24 small soft white roll slab (23 x 33cm / 9 x 13" slab) – Note 1
- 1/3 cup American mustard (ie bright yellow stuff) – Note 2
- 350g/ 12 oz ham , shaved or thinly sliced (up to 500g/1lb, Note 3)
- 250g/ 8 oz Swiss cheese or other melting cheese slices (10 – 12 slices)
Onion poppyseed butter:
- 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter , melted
- 1/4 onion , finely chopped
- 2 tbsp American mustard (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp poppyseeds (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder (sub fresh garlic, finely minced)
- 1/2 tsp cooking / kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced). Line the base of a 23 x 33cm / 13 x 9" pan with paper (Note 5)
- Savoury Butter – Mix ingredients together.
- Assemble base – Cut the slab of rolls in half horizontally. Spread base and lid with the 1/3 cup mustard. Place bread in pan, top with ham then cheese. NO LID YET!
- Bake topless – Bake 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. (Note 6)
- Smother – Remove bread from oven. Top with bread lid, pour/spoon over butter, leaving no patch naked.
- Bake covered – Cover with foil, bake 20 minutes.
- Pierce for soakage – Remove foil. Pierce the intersections where the corners of the rolls meet to encourage pooled butter to soak into the bread.
- Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until top is crusty.
- Cut while hot then serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More slider-type things that make excellent party food
Life of Dozer
Shot of the year? Mum swimming towards champagne and Dozer swimming towards mum!
Hi Nagi and Team. I really need to make these!! Do you mind giving me the dimensions of the baking pan you used? Size is perfect for the dish and I need to buy a new one anyway. A hint of the brand would be great if you’re able.. many thanks for your inspirational recipes over the years. Happy new year to you all ( not forgetting your beautiful Dozer)
Hi Beth! 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13″ but don’t worry if you don’t have exact, just use foil to wrap, see recipe notes for directions 🙂 N x
I’ve been making these sliders for years here in the States. They’re especially yummy using Kings Hawaiian rolls. Love your recipes Nagi!
They are!! So sweet and soft 🙂 N x
Thank you for this. What a good idea for actually melting all the cheese! Poor Dozer really wanted some, but the neck scratch makes up for it!
Yes!! Used to irritate me no end that it’d take an hour for the cheese to melt if you don’t melt the cheese first. Who would’ve though it’d take that long!!
Oh Nagi, I’m so happy you posted these! I’ve been making these and many variations for years and like you, quickly realized that baking them without the tops was the only way to warm the filling and melt the cheese. Woohoo! I love how versatile these are and how nice they are to serve with a salad and/or soup. I have to admit, we are not a fan of the Hawaiian rolls (the texture is not to our liking) with these sandwiches and prefer to use slider or even a nice slab of dinner rolls available in the bakery section of our grocery store.
I encourage everyone to experiment with this technique, because they always turn out delicious. Even a simple topping of melted garlic butter with a dash of Italian seasoning is delicious. Hot sandwich lovers rejoice!
Baffles me why other recipes online don’t melt the cheese first???! Who wants a hot cheese-and-anything sandwich with unmelted cheese?? 🥹
I’ve never tried these because I don’t have a regular oven, but I bet they’d work in my GoSun solar oven! Maybe I’ll need to cut regular buns in half or use hotdog buns, but I’m going to try it!
Thanks for the cheese melting tip, Nagi! If you like things a little spicy, try spreading prepared horseradish on the bottom roll before adding the ham. Super yummy!
I’m making these tonight, what a great tip!
This is so perfect! I wanted to make sliders for new year’s. I don’t eat meat, so I’ll figure out a variation for the ham, but YAY thank you for your tips on getting the cheese melty all around!!!
I bet these would be delicious with roasted veggies or mixture of roasted veggies and beans tossed lightly in a vinaigrette. I can’t wait to hear what you’ve come up with.
Ahh thank you!! I ended up doing spicy brown mustard, Gruyère cheese, with chopped rosemary, sliced tomato, and Kalamata olives. I brushed the tops with olive oil. Because of her technique, the tomato cooked all the way through and it was so delicious!!! Really appreciate the attention to detail and meltability of the sandwich!
This is why you’re famous. It’s the little things that make the difference. I’ve made a version of this recipe many times and I’ve always run into having to heat it longer than stated because the cheese doesn’t melt. Nagi has a simple solution. Leave the sandwiches uncovered for 10 minutes in the oven to help the cheese melt.
So easy, so delish! Some Hollis tweaks:
(1) I love to mix my neon yellow mustard 50/50 (more or less) with Kewpie mayo.
(2) I add smoked paprika to the melted butter.
(3) I love adding minced fresh herbs after spreading the Kewpie mustard on the bottom, before adding the ham, usually a combination of some of these: flat-leaf parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, dill. AND/OR toasted caraway and/or celery seeds, cooled and ground to a powder. I also like using finely ground white peppercorns instead of black, but be careful with the white pepper, it can be strong!
(4) Hawaiian rolls are the way to go with these sliders.
(5) And I grate the shallot to release all of its flavorful juiciness, then go over the gratings a few times with my sharpest knife.
And a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Kwanza to all!
Made it tonight and loved it. Used leftover rolls and ham from Christmas, it was so tasty.
Looks Great, will definitely try this
Yes, I agree. Bill was such a sincere and genuine person. So sad, rest in peace Bill.
I know! And such a beautiful sunny personality. I feel like we could’ve been friends in real life 😢
That is a gorgeous photo of the 3 of you!! Omg, the water colour💙
Very cool recipe Nagi. I have 2 leftover hawaiian rolls, ham, cheeses. Im going to try a very mini version of this. Yum.
And, to answer you about ill be up to till 2024
Defo full on sloth
Yum! And also loved seeing Dozer get some scritches and lovin’!!
Nagi, You and your lovely recipes and your swimming Mom and Dozer are the best!
I’ve never even eaten a “slider” because of the name, but these look delicious! Every best wish for the happiest of New Years yet! Paula
There’s only two of us so I’m going to use three large rolls and put them in a small loaf tin.
I’ll just have to keep an eye on them and guesstimate the baking times.
Oh noes! I might have to do it 3 or 4 times as I experiment! How terrible.
Have you tried curried egg?
I love Dozer
Oh that priceless photo of your darling Mom and our darling Dozer and you = a ten-year bestie for me I believe !!!! Two huge hugs and a tummyrub!!!
I make these little flavour bombs regularly, so simple, so tasty everyone raves about them. They are just so yum. Great recipe for crowds too. Cheers.😊
What is the recipe?