Mini handheld pizzas between soft dinner rolls, piled with your favorite toppings and melty mozzarella cheese make these pizza sliders a massive hit for all occasions!
Why this recipe works
Pizza sliders are one of the quickest and easiest hot appetizers to throw together for parties, game days, or anytime you’re craving a bite-sized pizza snack. Mix and match your toppings, top with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese, brush with butter, then bake until golden. That’s really all there is to it! Let’s get started.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
SLIDERS – For the buns, you can use regular slider buns or Hawaiian rolls. Homemade Hawaiian rolls are an even better option!
SAUCE – We’re partial to homemade pizza sauce around here, but any store-bought sauce will do the trick if you want to save a little extra time.
CHEESE – Both shredded or sliced mozzarella cheese work for this recipe. Shredding the cheese straight from the block is your best bet to make it extra melty and delicious.
ADDITIONS – Instead of pepperoni, or in addition to, you can easily use pizza sausage. Green peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives, or just about any of your favorite pizza toppings can also be incorporated! If you plan on adding vegetables I would recommend quickly sauteeing them before adding them to the sliders to be sure they are cooked through when coming out of the oven. The same goes for the sausage, crumble and cook partially before adding to ensure doneness.
How to Make Pizza Sliders
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 13×9 baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave.
- Slice the buns across the middle and set the tops to the side.
- Spread the pizza sauce over the bottom sections of the buns and place into the baking dish.
- Spread 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top of the sauce.
- Layer the pepperoni slices to make one full layer over the top of the cheese.
- Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Place tops of rolls back on and baste with melted butter.
- Sprinkle on oregano and cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake sandwiches for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and butter has been fully absorbed, resulting in golden sandwich tops.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Pizza sliders are best enjoyed right away, however, they can be stored in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350F oven covered with aluminum foil until heated through. You can also pop them into the air fryer using the reheat function.
You can prepare the pizza sliders an hour or two in advance, but any longer and you risk the buns becoming soggy. If you want to make them the morning of I would suggest first layering with pepperoni to create a barrier between the sauce and buns so that it doesn’t soak into the bread after sitting. Another option is to not add pizza sauce to the sliders at all and instead, serve it on the side for dipping. Prepare the sliders up until step 8 and refrigerate if prepping ahead. Bake as directed.
Your sliders may become soggy if you add too much pizza sauce or allow them to sit for too long before baking. To avoid this, you can first layer the buns with either cheese or pepperoni slices, followed by a layer of pizza sauce to create a barrier.
Serving Suggestions
Serve pizza sliders as a main course or appetizer for parties and get-togethers. Serve the sliders with a side of pizza sauce, marinara, or ranch for dipping. Optionally garnish the top of the buns with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
These easy pizza sliders are a great last-minute option when you forget to make something for an event! They’re always a hit for football or game nights. Enjoy!
More Slider Recipes
- Italian Sliders
- Roast Beef Sliders
- Cheeseburger Sliders
- Mississippi Pot Roast Sliders
- Chicken Parmesan Sliders
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Pizza Sliders
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 12 slider buns or Hawaiian rolls
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 7 ounces pepperoni slices
- ¼ cup pizza sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or oregano
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- We’re partial to homemade pizza sauce around here, but any store-bought sauce will do the trick if you want to save a little extra time.
- Both shredded or sliced mozzarella cheese work for this recipe. Shredding the cheese straight from the block is your best bet to make it extra melty and delicious.
- Instead of pepperoni, or in addition to, you can easily use pizza sausage. Green peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives, or just about any of your favorite pizza toppings can also be incorporated! If you plan on adding vegetables I would recommend quickly sauteeing them before adding them to the sliders to be sure they are cooked through when coming out of the oven. The same goes for the sausage, crumble and cook partially before adding to ensure doneness.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 13×9 baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave.
- Slice the buns across the middle and set the tops to the side.
- Spread the pizza sauce over the bottom sections of the buns and place into the baking dish.
- Spread 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top of the sauce.
- Layer the pepperoni slices to make one full layer over the top of the cheese.
- Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Place tops of rolls back on and baste with melted butter.
- Sprinkle on oregano or Italian seasoning and cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake sandwiches for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and butter has been fully absorbed, resulting in golden sandwich tops.
Expert Tips & FAQs
- Pizza sliders are best enjoyed right away, however, they can be stored in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350F oven covered with aluminum foil until heated through. You can also pop them into the air fryer using the reheat function.
- Make Ahead – You can prepare the pizza sliders an hour or two in advance, but any longer and you risk the buns becoming soggy. If you want to make them the morning of I would suggest first layering with pepperoni or cheese to create a barrier between the sauce and buns so that it doesn’t soak into the bread after sitting. Another option is to not add pizza sauce to the sliders at all and instead, serve it on the side for dipping. Prepare the sliders up until step 8 and refrigerate if prepping ahead. Bake as directed.
Nutrition
This post originally appeared here on Jun 29, 2016 and has since been updated with new photos and expert tips.
Amanda Davis
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Amy C says
These sound delicious and I plan on making them. My sister made some last year but she said the bottom buns were soggy, how can I avoid this?
Amy says
Looking for something to take to a family reunion, several hours away. How do these hold up after cooking?
Amanda Formaro says
If you are able to assemble them and bake there, that’s your best bet. If not, they will hold up like any other leftover. Wrap in foil to reheat.
Madea says
Eating these now and they are so simple and delicious. I baked my pepperoni before hand cause I wanted a crispier pepperoni. I used marinara sauce and added pickles for a little zing. Soooo good!
Annie says
Do you heat it up in the microwave? How long?
Amanda Formaro says
These are baked in a conventional oven. The full instructions are at the end of the post :)
Bonnie Nadaud says
Sounds Greattt Going to try for Our Football ? Game!!! Go Bengals!!! ?
Sara says
Keep the foil on when baking? Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
Yes keep the foil on for soft bread, for crusty tops bake without the foil.
Penny says
I made a double batch for our church homecoming dinner and they were a hit! I thought it would be popular with the children but I had adults asking for the recipe for themselves! Thanks for sharing, will definitely use this one again.
Amanda Formaro says
That’s awesome! Perfect for football games, potlucks, parties, etc! So glad they all enjoyed it :)
Bev Schuster says
I would love to have these wonderful recipes