These Thanksgiving Turkey Sliders transform Thanksgivings into something extraordinary by layering tender slices of turkey, moist stuffing, and creamy cheese, on soft Hawaiian slider bread brushed with garlic butter sauce.
Serve them with warm turkey gravy for dipping, and you’ll have a delicious and creative way to turn yesterday’s Thanksgiving leftovers into something new.
Cranberry lovers can add a few spoonfuls of cranberry sauce before baking to make turkey cranberry sliders. If you’re not a fan, like me, you won’t miss a thing by leaving it out. These turkey and cheese sliders are designed without the need for cranberry sauce.
Leftover Turkey
The star of this slider recipe is slices of leftover turkey. You can use any delicious turkey recipe to prepare these sandwiches, but all my testing used meat from this roasted Boneless Turkey Breast with homemade turkey seasonings.
Meat from any of these popular turkey recipes would work very well: Turkey Breast Tenderloin, Turkey Tenderloin, or Whole Turkey.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are the main ingredients required to make Thanksgiving Sliders. For the complete list of ingredients, reference the recipe card below:
- Turkey- Use leftover turkey or sliced deli meat, as used in turkey avocado sandwiches, to make turkey sliders. Both work exceptionally well.
- Stuffing- you a use any flavor of stuffing you prefer. Keep in mind the slider flavor will take on the flavors and texture of the stuffing utilized. If you don’t have any leftover stuffing, make a fresh batch of boxed stuffing.
- Fried Onions- Caramelized onions make a great substitution for crispy fried onions.
- Cheese Slices- I recommend Havarti cheese slices when making turkey sliders, but any meltable cheese, such as Provolone, will work.
- Slider Bread- I prefer to make Hawaiian Roll turkey sliders, but basic dinner rolls and mini hamburger buns also work.
- Turkey Gravy- Au jus gravy mix or store-bought gravy will also work.
How To Make Turkey Sliders
Here’s some quick visuals showing how to layer and bake the sliders:
Turkey Sliders Recipe Tips
- Quantity – These sliders are loaded with ingredients. You can stretch the recipe by dividing the meat and remaining ingredients between additional slider rolls, if needed.
- Crispy Onions – To keep the onions crispy, add them after baking. They will soften next to the other ingredients when added before baking.
Storage – Store leftover turkey sliders in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Slider Recipes
Thanksgiving Turkey Sliders
Ingredients
TURKEY SLIDERS
- 1 package slider rolls, any count (*Note 1)
- 9-12 slices havarti, provolone, or Swiss cheese
- 1-1½ lb leftover turkey or deli turkey, sliced approx. 1/4 inch thick (*Note 2)
- 2-3 cups leftover stuffing
- ½-1 cup fried onions
TOPPINGS
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- optional: sea salt, to taste (*Note 3)
- 1 batch turkey gravy (*Note 4)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F degrees.
- Cut the slider rolls in half horizontally, keeping the individual rolls attached.
- Place the bottom half of the rolls in a greased baking pan. Top the rolls with the cheese, turkey, and stuffing. Divide evenly between the rolls as much as possible. Place the top of the rolls on top of the stuffing.
- In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, garlic powder, dijon mustard, and Worcestershire Sauce. Use a pastry brush to evenly brush the tops of the sliders with the garlic butter sauce.
- Optional topping: sprinkle sea salt over the top of the rolls.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 8-9 minutes or until warm throughout. Keep an eye on them to ensure the rolls don't burn. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake for 1 additional minute.
- While the sliders are baking, make a batch of turkey gravy or heat up store bought gravy.
- Let the sliders rest for 5 minutes. Right before serving remove the top of the sliders and sprinkle fried onions over the stuffing. Place the top back on and serve with hot turkey gravy for dipping.