This Hawaiian roll meatball sliders recipe is a go-to for my family and a great party appetizer for game day. The great news is even your kids will love this easy-to-make treat.
I typically make huge batches of meatballs ahead of time and then freeze them for later use. But if you don’t do this, you could also buy pre-made frozen meatballs and use those instead.
Hawaiian roll meatball sliders recipe
Once you put your cheese sliders together, they will taste delicious, partially thanks to the combination of Italian seasoning, pasta sauce, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese.
Saying frozen meatballs makes my Italian grandmother roll around in her grave. We DO NOT USE FROZEN MEATBALLS IN MY HOUSE usually. It’s just not something an Italian from New York would ever do. But when you’re hosting a million people at your house and know you need to get a ton of appetizers on the table, you do what you need to.
I’ve done this during many Super Bowl parties, and no one bats an eyelash. It’s a great appetizer, but this cheesy meatball sliders recipe can also just be dinner as well. It’s so hearty! Just serve with a big green salad and you will be set.
Let’s get right to the Italian Sliders recipe because I know your family and friends are simply going to devour this game day appetizer dish as soon as you serve it to them this Sunday. It’s one of our favorites to make.
Mozzarella Meatball Sliders Ingredients
- 12 King’s Hawaiian rolls, cut in half
- 36 pre-cooked frozen meatballs, thawed
- 1 jar, 24 oz, marinara sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic or garlic powder
How To Make Meatball Sliders With Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
To begin, you will need to defrost your frozen meatballs before cooking them – this is a very important piece of the puzzle.
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the rolls onto the bottom of the pan and then set aside.
In a large skillet, add in your thawed meatballs. Stir in your sauce and heat over medium-high heat. You will want to heat through for about 10 minutes or until the center of all of your meatballs are hot. As a reminder, your frozen meatballs should be thawed during this stage.
When everything is heated through, spoon 3 meatballs onto each bun – or however many can fit – and top with some sauce. Make sure that you have enough sauce to cover all meatballs on your parmesan sliders.
Continue this process until you fill the entire tray. Then top the dish with shredded mozzarella cheese. At this point, you can place the top of the buns.
Mix melted butter and garlic together and use a pastry brush to spread on the top bun of each mini-sandwich. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until warm. This easy meatball sliders recipe makes 12 rolls. If you’d like, add a parmesan topping to the top buns before serving. This is optional.
Tips and Variations:
- You can swap out ground beef for turkey meatballs and use this recipe similarly.
- When warming up your jar of marinara sauce, throw in a few fresh basil leaves to add a layer of home-cooked flavor.
- This easy weeknight dinner is a fun way to serve little sandwiches. For best results, make sure the cheese is completely melted before serving.
- Hawaiian buns slathered in delicious butter is my personal preference. But you don’t have to use these particular rolls. Use what you have or whatever you can find at the grocery store.
- On top of the sliders, consider spreading garlic butter, toasted breadcrumbs, or red pepper flakes.
- If you have leftover sliders, be sure to wrap them in aluminum foil or store in an airtight container.
- Use this recipe for leftover meatballs as well!
This delicious Italian sandwich is the perfect game day snack for every football fan. Using just simple ingredients and a butter mixture, your friends and family will love this individual sandwich/party snack. The best part about these Hawaiian roll sliders is they are just so easy to make.
If you like Italian dishes, how about these other options:
- Alfredo Pasta Recipe – Rich And Creamy And Easy To Make
- Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan Recipe
- Easy Pizza Casserole Recipe For Friday Night
- The Best Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-Ups Recipe
- Stuffed Zucchini Lasagna Recipe
Meatball Sliders Recipe In Under 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian rolls, cut in half
- 36 pre-cooked frozen meatballs, thawed
- 1 jar, 24 oz, marinara sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place rolls into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
In a large skillet, add meatballs. Stir in sauce and heat over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until the center of meatballs is hot. Spoon 3 meatballs and sauce onto each bun. Top with shredded cheese. Place tops on rolls.
Mix melted butter and garlic together and use a pastry brush to spread on top of the rolls. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until warm.
Notes
Makes 12
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 403Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 940mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 4gSugar: 11gProtein: 18g