Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: With pepperoni, sauce, and cheese sandwiched between soft rolls and baked, these pizza sliders will be the hit of your party! You can easily customize the sliders with any pizza toppings you like.
How long it takes: 40 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: baking dish, oven
Servings: 12
You already know I’m obsessed with all things pizza. I’ve put a pizza spin on everything from pasta (you have to try my 20 minute one pan pizza pasta!) to appetizers. We’ve got homemade hot pockets, stuffed pizza bites, and pepperoni pizza dip (SO GOOD). I love these low carb alternatives, too, like bite-sized zucchini pizza bites or pizza stuffed peppers (with quinoa!).
One of my favorite sandwiches is this pepperoni pizza grilled cheese, but today I’m bringing you a recipe for pizza sliders. You can make a dozen pizza sliders at a time, in one pan! This is genius and works so well for game day parties or any get-together.
Easy Pizza Sliders
Great for a crowd. These pizza sliders are very easy to make. In fact, if you’re having a big group of people over, it’s just as easy to make two pans of sliders. They’re always a hit because everyone loves pizza, right? And rather than trying to get pizza delivered (which can be kind of a waiting game), these pizza sliders are ready to eat when you are.
Stuff ’em with your favorites! If pepperoni isn’t your thing, you could fill these with any of your favorite pizza toppings: mushrooms, peppers, onions, sausage, ham, spinach. Really, the possibilities are unlimited.
Pro Tip
A serving is one pizza slider (recipe serves 12), but most people will probably eat two! They’re absolutely irresistible.Ingredient Notes
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls: This is a popular type of dinner roll that has a somewhat sweet flavor (a popular brand is King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls). They usually come in a package of 12 rolls, although I’ve seen them in a 24-pack, too. All 12 rolls are attached to each other, making it really easy to assemble the sliders because you don’t have to fill a bunch of individual rolls; you can slice through the whole sheet of rolls and add the fillings in one big layer.
- Pizza sauce: Use your favorite store-bought sauce, or make your own pizza sauce. Marinara works fine, too, if you prefer it. You’ll need about ½ cup.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese: The recipe calls for 1 ½ cups which is about ¾ of an 8 oz. package. True confession: I usually use the whole package!
- Sliced pepperoni: If you buy regular size sliced pepperoni, you’ll need 12 slices, one for each slider. You can definitely layer more pepperoni on the sliders but I’ve found that the sliders can be a little difficult to cut apart if you have to cut through the pepperoni. Another option is to use mini pepperoni or even another type of meat, such as thinly sliced deli ham or cooked Italian sausage.
- Butter: To take these pizza sliders to the next level, they’re coated with a savory mixture of melted butter before baking. The butter runs down the sides and soaks into the bun, and it creates a crisp golden crust on the top.
- Seasonings: The butter is seasoned with garlic powder, dried parsley flakes, and dried oregano which gives the sliders a big boost of flavor. If you happen to have Italian seasoning instead of oregano, that will work fine.
- Parmesan cheese: A light sprinkling of grated Parmesan is the final touch on the sliders. It turns a light golden brown and will remind you of the best bread sticks!
How To Make Pizza Sliders
Get ready. Preheat your oven to 350°F, and prep a baking dish by spraying it lightly with nonstick spray. The baking dish should be about the same size as the attached rolls, about 11 x 8 inches. If your dish is much larger, the cheese tends to run out of the sides of the rolls.
Prep the rolls. Using a long serrated knife, carefully slice through the attached rolls, separating the top from the bottom, but keeping all 12 rolls connected. Try to cut both halves as evenly as possible. I’d say it’s a little better to err on the bottom half being thicker than the top half. Place the bottom half of the rolls in the prepared baking dish.
Add sauce, meat, and cheese. Spread the pizza sauce evenly on the bottom half of the rolls. Add pepperoni, one slice per roll. Sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese. Position the top half of the rolls on the filling.
Add topping. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter with the garlic powder, dried parsley flakes, and dried oregano. Pour the mixture as evenly as possible over the top side of the rolls. Use it all; it’s okay if some runs down the sides into the pan. (If you prefer, you could use a small pastry brush to spread the butter.) Sprinkle the sliders with Parmesan cheese.
Bake the sliders. Lightly coat a sheet of foil with nonstick spray (to keep the cheese from sticking) and cover the dish tightly. Put the pizza sliders into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Take the foil off and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese inside is melted, and the tops are golden brown and toasty.
Serve. Cool the pizza sliders for 5 minutes or so before slicing them into individual sliders, using a sharp knife. You can either remove the sliders from the dish and serve them on a platter, or simply serve them right from the baking dish so they stay nice and hot!
Recipe Variations
- Use your favorite pizza meat. You can easily substitute ham, cooked bacon, or cooked Italian sausage for the pepperoni. Even cooked ground beef would be okay if that’s your thing.
- Go with veggies. If you lean more toward veggie pizza, sauté sliced mushrooms, onions, or bell peppers and add them to the sliders. Olives are amazing, too! My only caution would be not to overfill the sliders (which is a big temptation!) because they won’t hold together as well.
- Try a different type of roll. If Hawaiian sweet rolls aren’t available in your area, look for bakery dinner rolls that come attached to each other.
More Baked Slider Recipes
Refrigerate: If you happen to have leftover pizza sliders, wrap them in foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days. I don’t recommend freezing the sliders or making them ahead because the pizza sauce tends to soak into the rolls, making them a bit soggy.
Reheat: The preferred method of reheating is to bake the foil-wrapped rolls for 10 to 15 minutes until they are warmed through. You could unwrap them and microwave them briefly but they tend to get a bit tougher.
More Sandwich Recipes
Pizza Sliders
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian sweet rolls (12 ounce package)
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup sliced pepperoni (see note)
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray baking dish (11 x 8 inches) lightly with cooking spray.
- Using a long serrated knife, slice entire sheet of rolls in half (separating tops from bottoms), being careful to try to keep rolls connected. Place the bottom half of the rolls in the prepared baking dish.12 Hawaiian sweet rolls
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the rolls in the dish. Layer pepperoni on top of sauce (see notes). Sprinkle mozzarella on top of pepperoni and then place the top half of the rolls on top.½ cup pizza sauce, 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, ½ cup sliced pepperoni
- Mix melted butter with garlic powder, parsley flakes, and dried oregano. Pour mixture evenly over sliders. Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top.4 tablespoons butter, melted, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray (to prevent cheese from sticking); tightly cover the baking dish with the foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the mozzarella cheese is melted, and the rolls are golden brown.
- Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into sliders. Serve warm.
Notes
- Rolls: If you can’t find the Hawaiian sweet rolls, look for another type of dinner roll that comes attached.
- Pepperoni: To make the rolls easier to cut into individual sliders after they’re baked, I recommend using one pepperoni slice per roll (so you’ll need 12 pepperoni slices total). If you want to use more pepperoni, make sure you have a sharp knife to slice the rolls apart. If you use mini sliced pepperoni, it’s okay to just scatter them on the rolls evenly.
- Alternative topping ideas: In addition to pepperoni (or instead of), you could add sautéed mushrooms, peppers, onions, cooked sausage, ham, spinach, olives, etc.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Perfect for a party! Kids and adults love these!
Thank you!
Oh boy ! On my to do list ! Thank you and have a pleasant day !
Oh my… this is an kale interruption I’m willing to accept!
yummy
Pizza Sliders! That’s a very uniquely interesting idea! I would really give this a try as I love soft rolls more than pizza base and I am having a feeling that I am gonna get addicted to it!