Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders take a traditionally open-faced sandwich and turn it into an appetizer with turkey, tomatoes, homemade cheese sauce, and bacon. Try my Italian Sliders and Cuban Sliders for a couple of other flavorful appetizers.
Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders
A Kentucky Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich made with turkey, bacon, and sometimes tomatoes, with a creamy Mornay (cheese) sauce that you have to eat with a fork. These sliders make this sandwich into a finger food that is as delicious as they are fun to eat.
Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders Ingredients
Rolls: In all of my slider recipes, I use King’s Hawaiian Rolls. The super soft and slightly sweet rolls bake beautifully and are the perfect complement to all the different flavors of the sliders. I also have a homemade recipe for Hawaiian Rolls you could make and use. You can also use dinner rolls.
Turkey breast: This is a great way to eat up leftover turkey! You could also use thick-cut deli turkey or make your own roasted turkey.
Bacon: You can cook the bacon ahead of time for this recipe. I will let you know how to bake bacon to save on the mess and clean-up time! Or, you could even whip up some air fryer bacon to use in this recipe.
How to Bake Bacon
This recipe calls for cooked and crumbled bacon. Set the oven temperature to 415°F and while it is preheating, lay the individual slices of bacon on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. (Yes, right on the pan! No rack needed.) They are perfectly crispy in 18-20 minutes. No flipping and easy cleanup! Then, when cool enough to touch, crumble the strips of bacon into little pieces. You can store cooked bacon for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
How to Freeze Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders
First, get out your aluminum foil. Simply wrap the cooked and cooled sandwiches individually in the aluminum foil and place them in your freezer. They will be good for up to one month. When you are ready, unwrap the sandwich and place it in an oven preheated to 350°F for about 10 minutes. Or you can warm it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Either way, make extra and keep the leftovers!
More Slider Recipes
Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (245 g) whole milk, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (113 g) white cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup (25 g) parmesan cheese, grated
Butter Topping
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Sliders
- 1 package (12-count) King's Hawaiian Rolls
- 1 pound turkey breast, leftover or thickly sliced deli turkey
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 8-10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
Cheese Sauce
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in flour and cook until smooth and golden brown (1-2 minutes).
- While whisking constantly, slowly pour in the milk.
- Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Continue cooking for 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.
- Remove from heat and add the cheeses. Whisk until fully melted. Set aside.
Butter Topping
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, garlic salt, parsley, and salt. Set aside.
Sliders
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 7×11-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Split the rolls in half, placing the bottom halves in the prepared baking dish.
- Top the buns with turkey, tomato slices, cheese sauce, and crumbled bacon.
- Place the tops of the buns on top and brush with the melted butter mixture.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the tops of the sliders turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, slice, and serve.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
I want to make these ahead for my derby party. Will the sauce hold up if I make pans of sliders ahead and refrigerate to heat up the next day for the party? Just want to be sure the sauce doesn’t curdle/split/separate if made ahead and heated back up later!
Hi Heather – I haven’t made it that way so can’t speak about whether it will work or not. You could always make the sauce when you are making the sliders and then heat & assemble when you are ready the next day. 🙂
Y