Easy Tailgating Food – Cuban Sliders!!
I know this is National Soup Day, but Sunday is the Super Bowl and this is a recipe I just have to get to you before Sunday!
At any given time there are at least two jars of dill pickles in our refrigerator. I’m obsessed with pickles. I’m not sure why? When I was a teenager my summer job was working at Steinfelds Pickle Plant in Portland Oregon. (You can read all about it here.) So you’d think after wearing blisters on my thumbs from packing cucumbers into jars, I’d be sick of them.
But no. I eat pickles every day, sometimes several a day. I probably need to seek help! 🤣
When I first saw a recipe for a Cuban sandwich with a big slice of dill pickle of course I had to try it! Cuban sandwiches are stuffed with pork, ham, pickles, Swiss cheese mustard and grilled panini style. In a word, a Cuban sandwich is delicious!
Grab a Cuban Slider & let’s get ready to watch the big game!!
I first got the idea to turn this sandwich into a slider when we were home For Thanksgiving. I developed the recipe there. Served it up to my entire family (for the first time) and got their unanimous stamp of approval.
Like my recipe for Sticky Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip, Cuban Sliders are perfect for game day! They are sweet, buttery, salty, tangy, spicy, cheesy and amazing!
I have some high standards when it comes to game day grub.
- It has to taste fabulous with BIG flavor.
- It can be eaten with your hands while watching TV or tailgating in a parking lot.
- Make-ahead is a must (because I ain’t gonna be in the kitchen during the game).
- They have to be easy.
This recipe checks all of those boxes!
Gather the ingredients. They are simple – slider buns, mustard, ham, cheese, pickles, butter sauce.
Prepare the butter sauce – melt the butter, add the spices and seasoning. Add about a third of the sauce to the bottom of a baking dish.
Slice the slider buns (this recipe for Easy Dinner Rolls makes a GREAT slider bun!) in half. Slather mustard on both sides of the sliced buns. Put the bottom half of the bun in the buttered baking dish on top of the butter sauce.
Top the bottom half of the bun with a slice of cheddar, thinly sliced deli ham, sliced pickles, top with Swiss cheese and tuck the top of the slider bun on top.
Pour the butter sauce over everything, cover with foil. Put it in the refrigerator for four hours or even better? Overnight.
Bake it off the next day – easy peasy!
Serve hot right out of the oven, delish! Or serve at room temperature. I’ve enjoyed them both ways and They are amazing. That’s why these are great for tailgating and great for the big game!
For these sliders I used sweet Hawaiian rolls. This paired with the salty ham & pickle, gooey cheese and tangy butter sauce, YUM! They are the perfect bite in a slider.
You will love these! They will be the first thing gone on the buffet. Cuban Sliders are sweet, buttery, salty, tangy, spicy, cheesy and amazing! They are perfect for game day!
More great game day grub!
- Vegetarian Pizza Bombs
- Pico de Gallo
- Baked Beans – perfect with these sliders!
- Chicken Wings and Blue Cheese Dip
Cuban Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 package slider rolls (I used Hawaiian rolls - 12 roll package)
- 24 slices ham thinly sliced
- 12 slices Swiss cheese
- 6 slices cheddar cheese
- 1-2 dill pickles thinly sliced
- Butter Sauce
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp pepper sauce (I used tabasco sauce)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsps poppy seeds
- yellow mustard
Instructions
- Prepare the butter sauce - melt the butter, add the spices and seasoning. Add about a third of the sauce to the bottom of a baking dish.
- Slice the slider buns in half. Slather mustard on both sides of the sliced buns. Put the bottom half of the bun in the buttered baking dish.
- Top the bottom half of each bun with 1/2 slice of cheddar, 2 pieces of thinly sliced deli ham, sliced pickles and top with Swiss cheese. Put the top half of the sliders on top.
- Brush the remainder of the sauce over the top of the buns. Cover with foil. While you're covering, press down lightly to bind the ingredients. Tuck in the refrigerator for four hours or even better - overnight.
- Remove the pan from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 15 minutes. Before baking loosen the foil from the top of the buns (that way they do not stick when you remove the foil after baking).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Remove the foil and return the pan back to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Nutrition
These will be the first thing gone on the buffet. Cuban Sliders are sweet, buttery, salty, tangy, spicy, cheesy and amazing! They are perfect for game day!
Lisa@Lisa's Dinnertime Dish says
February 3, 2017 at 9:20 amI love cuban sandwiches and putting them in slider form is PERFECT for a Super Bowl party! YUM!!
Bowl Me Over says
February 3, 2017 at 9:35 amThanks Lisa – so yummy & so flavorful!!!
Shay says
February 7, 2017 at 11:13 amI can’t find the recipe?
Bowl Me Over says
February 8, 2017 at 8:58 pmHi Shay – the link is at the bottom of the post. Also there is a button right underneath the title of the blog post (at the very top) that say JUMP TO RECIPE – just click that and it will take you right to the recipe!
Dan Clark says
February 3, 2017 at 9:38 amThe flavor is bold and unbelievable! Hard to stop eating them once you start!
Bowl Me Over says
February 3, 2017 at 9:41 amHaha! Well my love you are a little bias 😀 Love to have your BIG stamp of approval!! Thank you so much for commenting!!!
Angela says
February 3, 2017 at 1:19 pmWow, these sliders are amazing and I need them in my life asap haha! I know what I’m making this weekend! Thanks!
Bowl Me Over says
February 4, 2017 at 8:49 amYes!! Your life will life will now be complete!! 😀 Seriously though these are fab, enjoy!
Deanna says
February 3, 2017 at 4:39 pmMmmm This perfect for Sunday’s Game!!!
Bowl Me Over says
February 4, 2017 at 8:48 amThanks Deanna, I hope you give them a try!
debi at Life Currents says
February 4, 2017 at 2:25 pmWhat a great recipe! I love that these will be perfect for tomorrow’s game. My friends and family will love them!
Bowl Me Over says
February 5, 2017 at 3:33 pmI know they will Debi, enjoy the game! Go Falcons!! 😀
Aunt Bee says
February 5, 2017 at 4:09 pmI absolutely love sliders! I have to try these. They look GREAT!
Bowl Me Over says
February 5, 2017 at 5:36 pmAwesome, swing back by and let me know what you think!! Thanks Aunt Bee!!
Justine says
February 5, 2017 at 6:51 pmI love Cuban sandwiches and these have me drooling!
Bowl Me Over says
February 5, 2017 at 7:19 pmMe too Justine, love that cheesy salty bite. Thank you!!
Michelle says
February 5, 2017 at 8:52 pmThese look delicious…Cuban sandwiches are one of my favorites! And like you, I’m obsessed with pickles too…we always have several jars in the fridge! I’d rather eat pickles than cookies!
Bowl Me Over says
February 6, 2017 at 8:54 amMe too Michelle – I think I’m missing the sweet tooth gene! Thanks so much for checking out the recipe!
Sandra Shaffer says
February 5, 2017 at 9:04 pmYUM! These sandwiches look so tasty! Love the garlic and poppy seeds lathered on top!
Bowl Me Over says
February 6, 2017 at 8:53 amI made another batch of these yesterday, my husband just loved the big flavor! Thanks Sandra!!!
Jennifer A Stewart says
February 6, 2017 at 5:55 amI am always so happy to find recipes that I can put together and then forget about until ready to cook and serve! I am also a huge fan of pickles and love the sour dill ones the best!! I hope people don’t think I am pregnant because I eat so many of them:)
Bowl Me Over says
February 6, 2017 at 8:53 amHaha! That is totally me, always with my hand in the pickle jar!:D And if I was pregnant….well that would be a miracles, LOL! Thanks for stopping by Jennifer, enjoy the sliders!!
Jenny | Honey and Birch says
February 6, 2017 at 5:46 pmMy husband and I are obsessed with pickles too! We are constantly buying more jars at the grocery store.
Bowl Me Over says
February 8, 2017 at 9:01 pmMmmmm….. never enough pickles, right? 😀
Katie says
April 12, 2017 at 9:12 amI happened across your recipe on Pinterest. A quick question; your recipe directions say to slather the “mustard sauce” but your ingredients list doesn’t have mustard or a mustard sauce. Are you referring to just plain yellow mustard? Thanks!
Bowl Me Over says
April 13, 2017 at 2:42 pmHey Katie – boy do I feel dense! 😀 I updated the directions. You’ll slather just the mustard on both sides of the bun – just plain mustard, Yes!! Sorry about that and thank you for bringing it to my attention! Enjoy these sliders, they are great!!
Carly says
January 19, 2019 at 2:58 pmI found this recipe a couple of weeks ago and they were a huge hit! I am making them again for tomorrow’s game!!
Bowl Me Over says
January 19, 2019 at 4:29 pmThat’s awesome Carly! I love these too, just the perfect bite – Cuban sandwiches are the BEST!!!