This post is in partnership with Rhodes Bak N Serv, the recipe and all opinions are our own.
Delicious Rhodes dinner rolls and flavorful sliced ham, topped with sweet pineapple slices, ooey gooey Swiss cheese, slathered in a delicious maple mustard sauce, and baked to golden brown perfection. These Hawaiian Ham and Cheese sliders are an easy weeknight dinner you will have on permanent repeat in your home!
Keep these sliders easy with Rhodes Warm & Serve rolls (I keep a few bags of these in the freezer for an easy warm-up when needed!). One bag of rolls is perfect for a 9 by 13-inch pan!
Main Ingredients:
- Rhodes dinner rolls Using ready-made dinner rolls that you simply slice and fill your pan with keeps these sliders especially easy to make. Try subbing hawaiian rolls!
- Pineapple slicesCanned pineappleslices works wonderfully for this! Set the pineapple on a plate lined with paper towels for a few minutes before using them. This helps keep the buns from getting soggy.
- Ham If you are getting deli ham, about ⅛ to ¼ inch thick slices is about perfect to fold over a couple of times for each bun. Shaved ham that comes pre-packaged also works great, too. Leftover remaining ham works wonderfully in these sliders! Try honey ham for this!
- Cheese I recommend Swiss cheese but feel free to use your favorite sliced cheese. Smoked Gouda, cheddar or Provolone would be excellent.
- Dijon mustard You can skip the dijon mustard if your family isn't into that flavor. Or sub what you have. However, dijon mustard gives these the perfect tangy bite!
- Maple syrup Sweetening the pour over sauce with maple syrup adds just the right touch of sweet and comfort for this dish. If you don't have real maple syrup sub out a teaspoon of brown sugar, instead.
- Unsalted Butter You absolutely need the butter to create the warm, gooey, and flavorful sliders. The butter sauce mixes with the pineapples, maple syrup, and mustard for the perfect sandwich!
If you haven't ever used Rhodes Warm & Serve rolls, give them a try! They store in the freezer and can be baked straight from the freezer (you can even bake only a few at a time, if needed) in only 20 minutes or so. Crazy convenient!
Can I use another cheese than Swiss?
Of course! I would suggest provolone or another white cheese but test out your favorite! Cheese always wins.
Can I make this without poppy seeds?
Ummm, no.
LYING! Of course you can. These sliders won't look the same but they will taste just as good! If you are making these for a party or to bring somewhere I would recommend you add the poppy seeds (try sesame seeds, those are also good!). But feel free to leave them out on an ordinary Tuesday night family supper.
How to Make Ham & Cheese Sliders:
- Pop the rolls, in a baking dish, in the oven to warm (don't heat them the entire time, we just want them warm enough to slice) and then slice them in half. While they are in the oven you can get going on the rest of the easy prep.
- Place a ham slice on the bottom halves of the rolls. Putting the ham on the bottom of the slider bun with the pineapple on the top half of the rolls ham helps protect the bun from getting soggy.
- Add a slice of pineapple to the ham.
- Top the sliced pineapple with a slice of cheese. Topping the pineapple with swiss cheese allows the cheese to melt down into the sandwich and act like glue for the whole sweet, gooey business. Cheese glue should be a thing, right? So good!
- Close up the rolls.
- In a small bowl, make up the glaze and pour the glaze over the top of the closed rolls brushing it to cover all of the bread. This maple mustard glaze is EVERYTHING. Don't skip it.
- Optional, sprinkle poppy seeds over the top of the rolls.
- Let it all sit covered with plastic wrap and marry the ingredients together for 10 minutes.
- Bake until it's yummy and golden brown. Heck yes!
As Mary Berry would say... "nobody likes a soggy bottom!" --comment if you know who Mary Berry is, we are probably besties :)!
Why do I need to let the glaze sit before baking?
The longer you let the glaze sit before baking ( I suggest at LEAST 10 minutes but if you can go even a couple hours...the better!) the more flavorful your sliders will be. That glaze will soak into the buns and allow that butter to glisten and shine when baked.
I might have a wee love affair with this glaze. The tangy mustard mixed with the maple syrup and butter (BUTTER!) gets poured all over those beautiful buns to elevate these sliders from sad funeral food to ... POW - IN YOUR FACE - WANNA MARRY you sliders.
I mean...yum!
How do you keep hot sandwiches warm?
I like to bake these and then wrap the baked sandwiches in aluminum foil until ready to serve. Sometimes I'll leave the oven on super low and keep them in the oven until it's time to eat.
I wish you could smell this!
Stick your nose to the computer and imagine hot bread, spicy mustard, creamy cheese, and salty ham. Can you smell it? It's amazing, right!
I know! So good! The best part is that these are really simple to make, easy to make ahead and then bake later, great as leftovers (I recommend reheating in aluminum foil and in the oven), and fantastic to customize. Better than your ho-hum ham sandwich, for sure!
Some ideas for customizing these ham and cheese sliders:
- Add sauerkraut.
- Try different meat like roast beef or shredded chicken.
- Add sliced onion or peppers.
- Swap out the cheese for a spicy cheese.
- After cooking, add lettuce and tomato.
- Try using portobello mushroom instead of ham for a veggie option.
- Swap traditional rolls for Hawaiian sweet rolls.
- Mix a bit of onion powder or garlic powder into the sauce.
Make-ahead / Freeze / store leftovers:
These sliders are great for making ahead and then freezing until you are ready to bake. Make sure to take them out and give them enough time to thaw before putting them in the oven to bake.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container or cover them with plastic wrap in the fridge or freezer. If frozen, let thaw in the fridge.
I recommend reheating these wrapped in aluminum foil in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes and then turning on the broiler for 5 minutes (or until they are golden brown).
Can you make ham and cheese sliders the night before?
Yes! Keep them in the fridge in an airtight container and then warm them in the oven, wrapped in aluminum foil. Hit them with the broiler for the last few minutes to crispen up and they will be tasty!
I wish you could smell this!
Stick your nose to the computer and imagine hot bread, spicy mustard, creamy cheese, and salty ham. Can you smell it? It's amazing, right?
I know! So good! The best part is that these are simple to make, easy to make ahead and then bake later, great as leftovers (I recommend reheating in aluminum foil and in the oven), and fantastic to customize. Better than your ho-hum ham sandwich, for sure!
easy Hawaiian Ham & Swiss Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 can pineapple slices you need 12 slices, you may need a second can to get 12 (most cans have 10)
- 1 pkg Rhodes Warm & Serve Dinner Rolls
- 1 stick melted butter unsalted butter is best
- 3 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
- 4 teaspoons spicy dijon mustard use a fun mustard, if you have it. But yellow mustard is just fine!
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 lb sliced ham (sliced about ⅛ inch thick) deli ham is fine.
- 12 slices swiss cheese Provolone can be subbed.
Instructions
- Place frozen dinner rolls into 9 by 13 baking pan (you may have to squish them in) and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. --just until they are thawed and able to be sliced easily.
- While the rolls are baking, drain the pineapple well and then place the slices on to a plate lined with paper towels to let them dry even more.
- Stir together melted butter, honey, mustard, poppy seeds, and sea salt.
- When the rolls are able to be sliced, slice the rolls in half and set the tops aside.
- Layer the bottoms with ham, pineapple, and then the cheese. Add the tops back.
- Pour the butter mixture over the top of the sandwiches, brush all over the top, and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
REcipe tester miranda advises:
They were good- quick, easy dinner or part of a spread for a party. They’d be great to bring to a party too! They definitely fit the “easy” category once you have all the ingredients.
I really wish I had the spicy mustard when I made these but Dijon was really good and I like the addition of the pineapple slice. The salty-sweet and different textures was really nice.
