Cowboy Sliders start with Hawaiian buns filled with seasoned ground beef, jalapeno peppers, bacon, and cheese, then brushed and baked with cowboy butter. Try my Cheeseburger Sliders for another appetizer that can also be served as a main dish.
Cowboy Sliders
The name of these sliders comes from the add-ons that were added to a basic cheeseburger and the homemade cowboy butter brushed on top of the sliders. It’s a slider that is so full of flavor that you will want to have a fork handy to pick up all the ingredients that fall out. You do not want to miss out on any of it!
Ingredients
Meat: I used ground beef in this recipe. You could also try it with ground turkey. It is seasoned with seasoned salt and hamburger seasoning, which you can make if you don’t have any on hand.
Toppings: I added bacon (thick-cut is my preference), sharp cheddar cheese, and jalapeno peppers to the sliders. You could use your favorite kind of cheese (I think pepper jack would be delicious) and leave off the jalapeno peppers if preferred.
Crispy Fried Onions: We tested this recipe with both onion rings and crispy fried onions. The fried onions baked the best; when we added cooked onion rings, they got a little soggy. You could add onion rings to the sliders after they have been baked.
Rolls: As with all the sliders, I love using King’s Hawaiian Rolls. I was making them so often, I also have a homemade Hawaiian rolls recipe that you might want to try.
What is Cowboy Butter?
In this recipe, the tops of the sliders are brushed with cowboy butter. It is butter that has been flavored with herbs and spices and can be used as a spread or a dip. In these sliders, the butter is melted and brushed over the top before being baked, and after if you love butter as much as I do. When making the butter for this particular recipe, leave out the lemon juice.
Can I Make Cowboy Sliders Ahead of Time?
You can get a good start on these sliders by cooking the ground beef ahead of time. Follow the instructions when it comes to seasoning the beef and cooking it with onion and garlic. After the seasoned beef has been made, let it cool to room temperature. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to a couple of months.
How to Store Sliders
Leftover sliders can be stored in the refrigerator. Keep them in an airtight container for up to 3 days, reheating them in the microwave or oven (covered) when ready to enjoy.
More Cowboy Grub
Cowboy Sliders
Ingredients
Hamburger Mixture
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced (about ½ cup)
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 tablespoon hamburger seasoning
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded, sliced
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked, crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup (113 g) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup (80 g) French's crispy fried onions
- 1 package (12-count) King's Hawaiian Rolls
Topping
- 1 recipe cowboy butter*, made without lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 7×11-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Hamburger Mixture
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the oil. When hot, cook the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, and hamburger seasoning. Cook the beef for 8-10 minutes, or until no longer pink, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat; drain any excess grease as necessary.
Assembly
- Split your rolls in half horizontally and place the bottom halves in the baking dish.
- Evenly pour about 2 tablespoons of cowboy butter over the bottom halves of the bread in the pan.
- Top with the hamburger mixture.
- Evenly place the jalapeños, bacon, and shredded cheese over the sliders. Evenly distribute the crispy fried onions over the cheese.
- Place the top halves of the rolls on top of the fried onions. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted cowboy butter*.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes (or until the tops of the sliders turn a golden brown).
- Remove from oven. Slice and serve the sliders with the remaining cowboy butter brushed over the hot sliders or for dipping.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
Absolutely loved these! The flavors were wonderful and kept me coming back! Question, though, if you substituted the shredded cheese for sliced, do you think it would hold the burger meat together a bit better? Maybe I didn’t use quite enough shredded cheese lol.
Made these for family this weekend and they were a hit!! Seriously the best sliders I have ever made and shared. I didn’t change anything on the recipe 10/10
Love everything about this recipe.
Sweet potato fries go really well with these
What do you serve these with?
So many things! Side salads, pasta salads, chips, french fries, etc. Anything you would serve with a sandwich. 🙂
Great dinner, easy recipe with so many flavors! Looking forward to having it again when the veggie garden produces fresh herbs and jalapenos!
Sounds delicious and can’t wait to make! Just curious, why leave out the lemon juice?
It just ended up adding bitterness/sour flavor to the dish that didn’t compliment the other flavor profiles.
This recipe was pretty easy to follow! I deviated a bit though, using pickled jalapenos instead of fresh, and instead of cowboy butter, I made a different glaze using burger seasoning, butter, worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard.. My husband enjoyed these a lot!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
The 7 x 11 pan was too small. We moved everything to a 9 x13. We thought these were just ok.
The dish that these are pictured in is 7×11, so I know they fit. But if you use a 9×13 that is fine too. Did you use the cowboy butter on these? I have heard that they are less impressive when the cowboy butter is left off.
What is the hamburger seasoning?
https://iamhomesteader.com/hamburger-seasoning-mix/
Made these for Super Bowl! My husband thinks they are quite the treat. Thank you for some amazing recipes.
Since I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago, I have made it 3 times at the request of my family. I made it as written, but I have to double it for my house full of boys. So flavorful! We had a birthday this weekend and brought these, they were devoured.
So glad you enjoyed them, Cassie!! Appreciate you letting me know. ❤️
Amazing flavor! Lots of compliments on this dish. Will make it again!
OMGoodness. I made a double batch of these for Christmas Eve and they are just the best. Family loved them too!! (I added a bit more cheese. 🤣)
I’ve never heard of hamburger seasoning. Who makes it?
I linked to a recipe in the post: https://iamhomesteader.com/hamburger-seasoning-mix/
But McCormick makes some and lots of other brands. It is in most grocery stores.
These sliders were great, made a double batch, the family loved them!
I’ve never heard of it or seen it in any grocery store either. Must be something that’s more common in certain areas of the country.
It’s everywhere – McCormick has several options as well as other nation-wide brands. You can always make your own: https://iamhomesteader.com/hamburger-seasoning-mix/
How do you make cowboy butter
https://iamhomesteader.com/cowboy-butter/
What is Cowboy Butter?
In this recipe, the tops of the sliders are brushed with cowboy butter. It is butter that has been flavored with herbs and spices and can be used as a spread or a dip. In these sliders, the butter is melted and brushed over the top before being baked. Then, leftover butter is served for dipping. When making the butter for this particular recipe, leave out the lemon juice.