Meatball sliders on Hawaiian rolls topped off with a simple garlic butter! These little sandwiches are perfect for serving a crowd and they’re always a hit!
We’re super ready for the Super Bowl this year.
I mean, I literally do not know what teams are even playing, but I. am. ready. With the snacks. 😉
It is basically my mission to be MVP of game day food and I’m bringing the fire this year. (Can you tell that I don’t sport? I do not know the lingo, but I’m trying my best.)
We’re obsessed with sliders in my house and I always serve up some variety of them at football games. One year I think we had 6 different varieties of sliders for the Super Bowl. It was the best.
This year I haven’t quite finalized the menu, but these meatball sliders are on it, for sure!
These meatball sliders are so cheesy, super easy, and they’re made on Hawaiian rolls which means they’re an instant hit. Everyone loves the Hawaiian rolls!
How to make meatball sliders:
First, we’ll whip up the meatballs.
I’m doing homemade meatballs because YUM. You can cheat and use the frozen kind from the grocery store if you’re just looking for a quick and dirty snack. I won’t tell anyone.
For the homemade meatballs, you’ll mix together some ground beef, bread crumbs, onions, parsley, garlic, egg, and seasonings. Basic stuff here, friends.
Roll them up and then pop the meatballs in a hot skillet with a little oil.
We’re not going to cook these through in the skillet – just brown them on each side.
We’ll finish them off in the oven with some marinara.
To turn these into sliders, you’ll want to start with a pack of Hawaiian rolls. Slice ’em in half, stuff each one with a meatball, and top it off with some mozzarella. Lots of mozzarella, if you’re like me. 😉
The key to making these meatball sliders EXTRA amazing, is the garlic butter.
Combine melted butter, minced garlic, onion powder, and parsely in a small bowl and then spoon that over the top of the sliders.
The sweet bread paired with the garlic sauce is oh. so. good.
Bake these up until the bread is a little toasty and the cheese is all gooey and melty.
Bet you can’t eat just one of these little sammies!
More game day food:
White Queso Dip: Grab your chips because this one is impossible to resist.
Cuban Sliders: My all time favorite slider recipe!
French Dip Sandwich: The easiest recipe ever and always a hit.
Olive Dip: Warm, cheesy, and loaded with olives.
Buffalo Chicken Sliders: You can’t watch football without some buffalo chicken!
Meatball Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup minced onion
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 20 ounces marinara
- 12 Hawaiian Rolls
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons minced parsley
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to a medium mixing bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon or combine with your hands.
- Roll meat mixture into 12 evenly sized balls.
- Heat a 12 inch oven safe skillet, such as cast iron, over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering.
- Add the meatballs to the skillet and brown on each side, about 5 minutes total. You may have to work in batches.
- Pour the marinara over the meatballs and place the pan into the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Slice the Hawaiian rolls in half and separate each roll. Place the bottoms of the rolls in a 9x13 baking dish.
- Spoon one meatball onto each roll and top with marinara from the pan.
- Sprinkle the meatballs liberally with the mozzarella and place the tops of the rolls over the cheese.
- Add the butter, garlic, parsley, and onion powder to a small bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle the garlic butter evenly over the tops of the sandwiches.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Marrisa Figueroa says
Yummy!! I made it with Italian sausage, medium heat on stove top than oven for 15mins and didnt cover with foil when baked with buns!! Came out delish!! Thanks for another good recipe!!!
Karly says
Sounds great with the sausage! Thanks, Marrisa!
Denise Browning says
Hi, Karly! What a delicious dish, perfect for The Super Bowl. Love your other recipes too.
Karly says
Thanks, Denise!
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Karly, these look SO GOOD! These would definitely be a huge hit at my house. The Hawaiian rolls are so perfect for sliders.
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
holy moly these sound great. i have no idea who’s playing either (nor did i realize that the superbowl was even this weekend oops), but my body is ready for some great party food (;