8 Store-Bought Frozen Sliders, Ranked Worst To Best

Have you ever wanted a burger, just smaller? If you're reading this, you probably have. Sliders are perfect for those of us who would rather eat two or three small things than one big thing, and it's about time these dainty delights got some time in the spotlight. The creation of the slider is widely attributed to the fast food chain White Castle (consider this not-so-subtle foreshadowing), though some sources suggest American sailors popularized sliders long before White Castle introduced its unique sandwich in 1921. These days, you can get frozen sliders from your local supermarket, but which kind is best? I aim to answer that question by taste-testing every frozen, store-bought slider I can find to determine which tiny sandwich comes out on top.

I'll judge each slider based primarily on taste, texture, and price, then I'll rank them from worst to best. In order to qualify, each box of frozen mini sandwiches must feature the word "slider." No full-size frozen burgers on this list — we've already ranked those, as well as frozen burger patties with the highest-quality ingredients. Also, some of these sliders contain chicken, not beef, but don't worry; I appreciate both proteins equally, so each sandwich will get a fair shot. You can find my full methodology at the end of this ranking, but in the meantime, let's find out which store-bought frozen slider is best.

Tragic, but true: White Castle's original slider placed last in my ranking. It's nothing personal — I've never visited the fast food chain in person, so I can't speak to the quality of its fresher fare. As far as frozen sliders go, though, this one failed to impress. Based on appearance alone, my hopes were not high when I took this sandwich out of my microwave. The patty and onions were barely visible between the two buns, and the bread itself looked a bit deflated and damp.

If I had to choose one word to describe the sensory experience of biting into this sandwich, it would be "gummy." This was thanks to what the box dubbed White Castle's "signature bun," but as you'll see throughout the rest of this ranking, this bun usually did more harm than good. As for taste, I did get a bit of peppery umami from the (very small) ground beef patty, but this was mostly buried beneath the mass of bread, as were the onions. Like most of the sliders in this ranking, White Castle's original sandwich would benefit from a bit of sauce, but the buns' steam kept it from tasting dry.

I purchased this box of six sliders for $5.97, which is just under $1 per sandwich. I think that's a bit steep considering how small and thin each slider is, though the price wasn't what landed this item the last-place spot. That would be the unpleasant consistency and bread-heavy construction, which we'll see a few more times from White Castle before we finish this list.

White Castle's chicken and cheese slider was definitely a step up from the brand's original sandwich, but this was mostly thanks to the more balanced meat-to-bread ratio. In both appearance and consistency, this slider was much more substantial than the first. The patty, while definitely smaller than one you'd find in a full-sized chicken sandwich, was larger than a typical chicken nugget (which, admittedly, was about the size I was expecting). Unfortunately, this slider's protein quotient was the only positive among many negatives.

The chicken and bun were both mushy and bland, and the cheese didn't contribute much flavor besides a slight (but still noticeable) plasticky taste. Generally, the consistency of the chicken sliders in this ranking was superior to that of the beef options, but this sandwich was the exception. This may have been due to White Castle's hyper-specific heating instructions, which consisted of multiple stints in the microwave at various heat settings, each one just a few seconds long. Results may vary, depending on your microwave.

This box of four chicken and cheese sliders cost me $6.39, which is about $1.60 per sandwich. While definitely a better deal than White Castle's original sliders thanks to this sandwich's meatier patty, this price still seems a bit high for the lackluster product I received.

Unfortunately for White Castle fans, the fast food chain's frozen fare sits exclusively at the bottom of my ranking. Its classic cheese slider was nearly identical to the original no-cheese version, and what little difference the cheese made wasn't enough to make this item palatable.

Most of the cheese melted out from between the buns during heating, and once cooled, it stuck to its paper towel wrapper with glue-like ferocity. As such, it wasn't a huge player in the sandwich's overall taste and texture, though I did prefer it to the no-cheese version. The bun, like its predecessor, was thin and gummy. While the peppery ground beef flavor was still present, this patty was no more flavorful than the original's. While this box of sliders was still relatively affordable — I paid $6.39 for a box of six — I doubt I would pay $1.07 for this sandwich on its own.

Another commonality between White Castle's offerings was the lackluster volume of each sandwich after heating. Even when I followed White Castle's instructions to a T, my sliders came out flat, thin, and insubstantial. A different preparation method — like air frying — might mitigate these issues, but to keep the playing field of this ranking even, I stuck with the microwave.

As our final White Castle entry, we have the brand's jalapeño cheese slider. This entry ranks higher than its White Castle contemporaries simply because the hint of jalapeño adds a distinctive element that's absent from the other sandwiches. Worth noting, however, is that this slider's meat patty was practically cemented to that of its twin in the plastic sleeve, and they broke apart unevenly, leaving one slider with less than half of its star ingredient. The heating instructions do suggest thawing the sandwiches for better results, but if you're pressed for time, I would recommend heating both sliders at once and separating them after the fact.

Like White Castle's other offerings, this slider featured thin, gummy bread and barely-there onions. While the melted cheese added a nice bit of moisture, I could barely taste it. The heat was definitely noticeable, especially after a few bites, but it didn't add much to the flavor, rendering the sandwich mostly bland, despite the jalapeño kick.

I purchased this box of six jalapeño cheese sliders for $5.49, which is about $0.92 per sandwich. While I can't say I necessarily enjoyed this item, I do think this is the fairest price I've paid thus far, which did give the item a slight boost in my estimation.

At last, we've emerged from the White Castle wilderness. Our next entry comes courtesy of Walmart's in-house brand, Great Value, and I can honestly say its cheeseburger slider was a pleasant surprise. Don't get me wrong, it still tasted like a miniature microwaved burger, but one crucial factor bumped this sandwich up to the top half of this ranking: the bun.

This slider's bun stood tall and proud both before and after heating, and the consistency was pretty light and airy — no gumminess detected. So, why isn't this slider even higher in my ranking? Unfortunately, where the bun succeeded, the patty and cheese failed. When I opened the still-frozen sandwich, I found a circle of ground beef not much larger than a poker chip, and this left me with a very bread-heavy sandwich. Similarly, the two sliders in the plastic sleeve shared a single slice of cheese that I had to snap in half, and while it was thicker than the cheese on some other sandwiches I tried, it wasn't enough to make a satisfying bite. Despite the meat puck's size, however, its texture was meatier and less mushy than White Castle's offerings, and I did manage to taste the diced onions on top (but just barely).

This box of six cheeseburger sliders cost me $4.24, or just $0.71 per sandwich. This was the cheapest of all the boxes I purchased, and while this definitely influenced its placement in my ranking, I wouldn't want to pay any more for such tiny patties.

Out of all eight sliders I tried, Tyson's original chicken breast slider took the bronze. This was a decent sandwich, all things considered, and I even debated bumping it up one spot higher. The large meat patty extended past the bun all the way around, and while I couldn't taste any particular seasoning, the chicken was moist, which provided a bit of steam for the (albeit slightly chewy) bun after heating.

Now, for the downsides. This Tyson sandwich required some disassembly before heating — the chicken patty had to be microwaved first, then the buns — and while I first thought this was exclusive to the microwave preparation, the heating instructions for both the oven and air fryer detailed the same process. I didn't mind this hands-on approach in theory, but the operation was just time-consuming enough to leave me a bit disappointed with the final product. Still, while I would have preferred some cheese (and, of course, some sauce) to boost this slider's texture and flavor, the absence of cheese meant the sandwich didn't glue itself to a paper towel in the microwave.

I paid $8.99 for this box of eight chicken breast sliders, meaning each one cost about $1.12. Given the size of the chicken patty, I consider this a pretty fair price, though this slider definitely left some room for improvement.

Tyson's spicy chicken breast slider was identical to the original version in almost every way, but the spice factor provided just enough intrigue to bump it up to second place in my ranking. The buns were still a bit chewy, and the chicken lacked any distinctive flavor (I must once again bemoan these sliders' lack of sauce), but the spice was pleasant and built up gradually. That said, the heat factor — credited in the ingredients to "dried hot sauce" made from red peppers, vinegar, salt, and dried garlic — didn't add any additional flavor, only a subtle kick.

This was a solid-looking slider, though the flour dusting on its bun made it appear drier than it was. Additionally, like Tyson's original chicken breast slider, the disassembly (and reassembly) process required for heating kept it out of the top spot. The brand's spicy and non-spicy sandwiches also cost the same: This box of eight spicy chicken breast sliders was $8.99, or $1.12 per item. While neither Tyson offering was anything spectacular, this slider's heat gave it a leg up over the original.

At last, we've reached the end of our ranking, and based on this entry's title alone, you can probably guess why it snagged first place. That's right — sauce! For the sake of fairness, though, I first tried this slider without its included condiment, and while it still outperformed the other sandwiches listed here, it did so by a much slimmer margin than the sauced version.

The beef patty (whose size was unremarkable but not tiny) was relatively moist, and the buns' fluffiness was second only to Great Value's cheeseburger slider. The cheese, while not very flavorful, did lend each bite a pleasant smoothness, and visually, this slider looked the most like proper restaurant fare — fitting for a retail product from a casual dining chain. The barbecue sauce was, indeed, sweet and a bit smoky, which lent the other flavors some complexity. Once I added it to my half-eaten sandwich, I knew at once that TGI Fridays' slider was destined for the gold.

This box of four TGI Fridays cheeseburger sliders cost $8.49, and at $2.12 per sandwich, this is by far the most expensive entry in this ranking. Is this slider worth twice as much as the others? No, not in my opinion, but even if it was a bit overpriced, this was still the best slider I tried for this list.

In this ranking, I primarily considered taste and texture before weighing each sandwich's price, as these first two factors influenced each item's value. I also noted a slider's visual appearance if it significantly added to or detracted from the tasting experience. Lastly, I only factored heating instructions into my ranking if a slider's preparation was remarkably difficult or time-consuming, which was rare. I microwaved all eight sandwiches as instructed, though some boxes did include options for air frying or oven-baking, which would likely improve the sliders' texture.

For all eight slider varieties, I purchased the smallest package available, and I visited several different grocery stores to secure the widest possible selection in my area. Depending on your region, you might have access to different slider brands in your supermarket's frozen section.

Admittedly, none of these entries truly blew me away (though barbecue sauce certainly helped!), so if you want to forego the frozen fare and make your own sliders instead, try out our recipe for ham and cheese sliders or, if you prefer beef over pork, our oven-baked hamburger sliders. If you're displeased with White Castle's performance in this ranking, why not try to replicate that restaurant magic with our copycat White Castle slider recipe?