Italian sub-sliders are a must-make party favorite. These are slider rolls loaded with sliced pepperoni, salami, ham, provolone cheese, shredded lettuce, and more. These hot Italian sliders are a great party appetizer or dinner to feed your whole family.
If you are looking for a simple tailgating dish, football finger food, or even a light dinner, these sub-sliders hit the spot. Plus it tastes like it took a long time to make, but truly the prep work is a breeze.
Be sure to check out my pizza sliders for another tasty slider recipe that is loaded with flavor!
What Are Italian Sub Sliders?
Have you ever had an Italian sub? It is a delicious deli meat sandwich and this slider version is a twist on the traditional sub. So you will use slider rolls, and then fill it with a variety of pepperoni, salami, and ham slices. Then you add cheese and other ingredients, brush with a butter mixture, and bake until nice and warm.
These sliders are phenomenal and also versatile in ingredients you pile into these smaller buns.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Piled high with meat, cheese, and veggies! These might be small sandwiches but they are packed with flavor.
- Great to eat on their own or serve up with a marinara sauce for dipping for added flavor.
- Can be served as a meal or as an appetizer. Great for football season, tailgating, potluck events, family gatherings, and more.
- You can customize the meats, type of cheese, and such used. So if you don’t like something leave it out.
- Quick cooking time and quick prep make this a no-brainer recipe in my books.
- Family-friendly recipe that kids and adults will devour.
Ingredients For Slider Sandwiches
- Rolls – Hawaiian rolls.
- Lunch Meat – Deli ham, pepperoni, and salami.
- Cheese – Provolone.
- Butter – Unsalted, melted.
- Spices – Italian seasoning.
- Sauce – Mayonnaise and Italian dressing.
- Vegetables – Lettuce, onions, roasted red pepper, and banana peppers.
Variations to Recipe
Serve Cold – Skip brush with butter and seasoning and serve up these party sliders cold.
Meat – While I went with traditional meat, you can always change up the types of meat used. Reach for spicy capicola, Italian sausage, turkey meat, etc. Feel free to pick and choose your favorites.
Cheese – Swiss or even mozzarella would be a great alternative to provolone. Or up the flavor and use smoked provolone to enhance the flavor. Also, if you are a huge cheese lover try adding two different types of cheese to the sandwich.
Sauce – So I used Italian dressing for a sauce but you could easily create a spicy mayonnaise, use your favorite pesto, etc. Or leave off the sauce and let your guests add whatever sauce of choice they want to their sandwich.
Veggies – Adding or taking away vegetables to this recipe is endless. Try adding on pickled giardiniera vegetables for a tangy kick. Or pile on some sun-dried tomatoes or artichoke hearts. Leave off the lettuce or onions if you want.
Buns – So you can opt for a sweet Hawaiian roll or for a more savory option buy butter rolls.
As you can see these are just a few simple ways to change up the sandwich recipe. But the possibilities are endless. So have fun and pick and choose if you want to change up the recipe a little bit to fit your personal preferences.
Helpful Tips For Success
- Make sure to create even layers of meat, cheese, and vegetable mix so each bite you get all the flavors in each bite.
- You can serve your sliders warm or hot. But these are meat to be a hot Italian slider recipe.
- Slice the rolls and start with meat and cheese so the vegetable mixture doesn’t sog up the bottom of the buns.
- It is important to brush the rolls with butter, otherwise, when you heat them up in the oven they will dry out and become hard.
- Feel free to add fresh herbs to enhance the color and flavor of the sandwiches. This is wonderful for presentation value if you are serving up a crowd.
- Don’t overcook the sub-sliders or they will dry out. You want them heated enough to melt the cheese.
- You can prepare the sliders ahead of time with the meat and cheese. Just leave off the vegetable and sauce mixture until you are ready to heat and serve.
- Place parchment paper under the rolls so they easily lift out of a pan for slicing and serving.
Storing
If you happen to not eat all the Italian slider subs, just place them in a sealed container and store sliders in the fridge. You will find the vegetables and sauce on the buns they will store for 1-2 days.
You can eat the leftovers cold or feel free to warm them in the microwave, oven, or even an air fryer. Just heat until it is warmed through. But do note if you reheat it will make the vegetable mixture soggy.
What meats are commonly used in Italian sliders?
Typically you will find that an Italian sub slider will have ham, salami, and pepperoni. If it is a spicy sub then it can also have capicola for a spicy and tangy flavor.
What cheeses are suitable for Italian subs?
Mozzarella, provolone, or even parmesan cheese are commonly suited for an Italian sandwich.
How do I keep the slider buns from getting soggy?
If you are worried about your slider buns from getting soggy you can slice the rolls in half. Then you will toast the bottom half of the rolls in the oven at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes. Then top with cheese, meat, etc. This will help firm up the bread before you pile on toppings.
What side dishes go well with Italian sub-sliders?
Not sure what to pair with your sliders? Salty chips, pasta salad, coleslaw, vegetable salad, or other simple sides. Or if you want to make a meal consider pairing with tomato soup for dipping sliders into the soup.
Easy Desserts
Here are a few easy desserts to pair next to these savory sliders!
Italian Sub Sliders
Ingredients
- 12 count Hawaiian rolls
- ¼ pound deli ham
- ¼ pound deli salami
- ¼ pound deli pepperoni
- 12 slices provolone
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon italian seasoning
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- Half of a small red onion sliced
- ¼ cup banana peppers
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers
- 1 tablespoon mayo
- ¼ cup italian dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then line your baking dish with parchment paper.
- Slice the rolls in half, and place the bottom half in the baking pan.
- Place 6 slices of the cheese on the bottom half of the slider buns.
- Next add on the ham, salami and pepperoni in layers.
- Top with the rest of the sliced cheese.
- Top the rolls with the top layer of the rolls.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Then stir in the Italian seasoning and brush the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- In a medium bowl add your shredded lettuce, onions, both peppers, mayo and Italian dressing. Toss tom mx well.
- Once the sliders are done, place the lettuce mixture on top of the meat and cheese and replace the top bun and serve.
Equipment
Did you make this recipe?
Make sure to follow on Pinterest for more recipes!
Leave A Reply!