Oven Baked Hamburger Sliders Recipe

When it comes to burgers, there are plenty of ways to serve them. If you're looking for something to feed a crowd, we have to say that sliders are the best way to do it. These bite-sized burgers are the perfect handheld food, and they'll fill you up without making you feel like you've overeaten. Pair the thin layer of ground beef with some finely chopped onions and a sweet Hawaiian roll, and this is bound to be your new favorite dish! 

Recipe developer Stephanie Rapone came up with this yummy recipe that aims to please. "This recipe is great when we just want to have a 'snack dinner' or for game day food," Rapone shares. "The sliders are so easy to make, and they don't require you to really babysit anything, so it's easy to have other yummy snacks cooking at the same time. We love to have snack foods on Friday movie nights."

Let's start by making a list and heading to the grocery store. The first thing you need to get is ground beef — pick up 1 ⅓ pounds. In addition, be sure to pick up a white or yellow onion. The recipe also calls for Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper. Double-check to see if you have these at home, as they are pretty standard items. 

Moving to the spice aisle, grab some garlic and onion powder. You'll also need Hawaiian rolls, which provide the perfect amount of sweetness to the recipe. In terms of condiments, you'll need ketchup and mayo. Finally, pick up some unsalted butter and brown sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the ground beef, half the chopped onion, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Press into an even layer in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake meat mixture for 20 minutes.

While the meat is baking, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the rest of the minced onion. Reduce heat to low and allow it to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

After 5-10 minutes, turn off the heat and add the remaining teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce to the butter and onion, as well as the brown sugar. Stir to combine thoroughly.

Combine the ketchup and mayonnaise in a small bowl and set aside.

Remove the meat and onion mixture from the oven, and drain off the juices. Gently take the meat out of the pan with a spatula.

Using a large serrated knife, slice the Hawaiian rolls horizontally. Place the bottom half in the pan.

Top bottom half of sliders with the cooked meat.

Spread approximately half of the ketchup and mayo mixture on the underside of the top buns.

Place the top buns over the meat mixture. Pour the butter-onion mixture over the bun tops and use a spatula or spoon to distribute the sauce evenly.

Cover the baking dish with an oven-safe lid or with tin foil. Bake for 10 min, then uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the buns are golden.

Serve with the remaining sauce for dunking.

Sliders make a filling (if a little quirky) main entree any night of the week, but they really shine as part of a game day spread. Let these sliders be the focal point if you're having people over to watch the action unfold, then fill the rest of the table with all of your favorite munchies (chips and dip, Buffalo wings, pigs in a blanket, etc). 

The special sauce in this recipe, a simple-yet-satisfying blend of mayonnaise and ketchup, is a classic for a reason, and it goes with so much more than sliders. While you should definitely have some on the side for dunking your mini burgers, consider whipping up some additional dippables to go along with it. You can't go wrong with French fries here. But if you want to switch things up a bit, some other options to consider include onion rings, hushpuppies, and fried pickles.

When it comes to sliders, we are firm believers that Hawaiian rolls are the best choice out there for your buns. Like many delicious offerings from the Aloha State, these rolls are a product of many different cultures. Pão doce was brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants. What set it apart was its fluffiness — particularly when freshly baked — brought by the inclusion of potatoes in the dough and subtle sweetness with the addition of sugar. Many Hawaiian recipes now include an additional ingredient that provides additional sweetness, as well as some local flair: pineapple juice.

Perhaps the most ubiquitous brand of Hawaiian rolls is King's Hawaiian Bread, which began in the 1950s as a humble bakeshop in Hilo, Hawaii, run by Japanese-American Robert R. Taira. The company has since moved its operations to California, where it continues to bake up the delicious, fluffy, slight sweet loaves.