These Marinara Meatball Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls are over the top delicious with juicy homemade meatballs smothered in marinara and cheese. A must make for game day or whip them up for lunch or dinner! They're seriously so good and impossible to stop eating. Ready in just 45 minutes.
I've been on a real slider kick lately and these ones turned out so good. Homemade meatballs are the best, and combined with King's Hawaiian Rolls it's the ultimate appetizer!
For more of my favorite slider recipes, check out these Breakfast Sliders, Pulled BBQ Chicken Sliders, Chopped Italian Sliders, and Hawaiian Roll Cheeseburger Sliders.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Homemade Meatballs. There's nothing better than homemade meatballs and I'm about to teach you all the tricks to get the best results.
- Simple. There are quite a few steps for this recipe, but it's so easy to follow.
- Quick. For a recipe with homemade meatballs, these are on the quicker side taking just 45 minutes.
- A Game Day Favorite. These are big on taste and will be a crowd favorite.
If you're hosting game day, everyone loves this Cream Cheese Salsa Dip, Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls, Fried Cheese Balls, and Steak and Cheese Calzones.
Ingredients:
Ground Beef: I highly recommend an 80/20 or 85/15 lean to fat ratio for a juicier meatball. We're using a rack to bake the meatballs, and the fat will just drip right onto the cookie sheet, which makes it super easy. Anything leaner than 85/15 will dry out.
Bread: Use a simple piece of soft white bread, like Nature's Own. It will soak up the milk really quickly and makes the best meatballs.
Onions and Garlic: Make sure these are minced really well to avoid crunch or chunky texture in the meatballs.
Full recipe ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- If you want to use a mixture of half ground beef and ground pork, that's delicious too! I don't recommend ground turkey or ground chicken because it dries out quickly and falls apart a bit. If you don't eat red meat and it's your only option, add in double the breadcrumbs to help hold the mixture together.
- Feel free to add more fresh herbs into the meatball mixture. Be sure to mince them well before adding into the mix.
- Don't love sweet Hawaiian rolls? Get the savory version or any 12 pack of slider rolls will work.
- For a homemade marinara sauce, try this San Marzano Marinara Sauce.
If you're big on meatball recipes, you've gotta try these Sweet Chili Sauce Meatballs, Mini Meatballs, and Sticky Asian Turkey Meatballs.
How to Make Meatball Sliders (Step by Step Instructions):
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, pour in the milk. Tear apart the sandwich bread and add it to the bowl, pushing down to absorb the liquid. Allow to sit for few minutes, then break it apart even more with your fingers.
Step 2: Make the meatball mixture by combining ground beef, Italian breadcrumbs, ¾ of the spice mix, garlic, onion, egg, and the milky bread. Mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Step 3: Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top. This will allow the fat drippings to drip through. Roll the meat mixture into 12 larger sized meatballs. Note: Try to roll them in similar size so that they are fully cooked around the same time. Bake for 18-24 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.
Step 4: As the meatballs are baking, pour the sauce into a large pot or dutch oven and cover over low heat. Once the meatballs reach 150 degrees, carefully transfer them from the cookie sheet into the pot. Roll them gently around in the sauce and cook covered for 5 minutes.
Step 5: Slice the Hawaiian Rolls in half into a top and bottom, like a hamburger bun.
Step 6: On the bottom portion of the buns, I like to push my fingers down to create a little meatball indent on each of the 12 rolls for the meatballs to fit into. It helps them to stay in place.
Step 7: Fit one saucy meatball in each slider indent. Top with the mozzarella cheese and ¾ of the parmesan cheese.
Step 8: Fold the top of the rolls over the meatballs. Brush with butter and sprinkle with remaining seasoning and remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese melts.
Step 9: Cut into 12 individual sliders and serve with warm marinara sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Mince the garlic and onion really fine to avoid any crunch.
- Allow the bread to really soak in the meat, then crumble it a bit with your fingers.
- Line the meatball cookie sheet with foil for easy clean up.
- Try to roll the meatballs in similar size, so they cook evenly in the oven.
For more Italian Favorites, try this Italian Cheese Manicotti, Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta, Ground Chicken Spaghetti and Vegetarian Stuffed Shells.
Recipe FAQs:
The best way to know if the meatballs are cooked is to use an internal thermometer and insert it half way into the meatball at the very center point. It should read 160 degrees. I pull my sliders out of the oven at around 150 degrees, then finish cooking them in the marinara sauce, and they go back into the oven on the slider buns to finish.
Wrap the leftover sliders in tin foil with 2-3 sliders in each pouch (or whatever serving size you want). Store tin foil pouches in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place the tin foil pouch in a 350 degree oven until hot again, about 8-10 minutes.
More Slider Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Meatball Slider Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Meatball Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 sliders 1x
Description
These Meatball Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls are over the top delicious with juicy homemade meatballs smothered in marinara and cheese. A must make for game day or whip them up for lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 slice white bread
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 lb 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 heaping tablespoon yellow onion, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Spices to blend together: 1 teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon dried oregano and ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 24 ounce jarred Marinara Sauce
- 12 count King's Sweet Hawaiian Rolls (12 ounce)
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, pour in the milk. Tear apart the sandwich bread and add it to the bowl, pushing down to absorb the liquid. Allow to sit for few minutes, then break it apart even more with your fingers.
- Make the meatball mixture by combining ground beef, Italian breadcrumbs, ¾ of the spice mix, garlic, onion, egg, and the milky bread. Mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top. This will allow the fat drippings to drip through. Roll the meat mixture into 12 larger sized meatballs. Note: Try to roll them in similar size so that they are fully cooked around the same time. Bake for 18-24 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.
- As the meatballs are baking, pour the sauce into a large pot or dutch oven and cover over low heat. Once the meatballs reach 150 degrees, carefully transfer them from the cookie sheet into the pot. Roll them gently around in the sauce and cook covered for 5 minutes.
- Slice the Hawaiian Rolls in half into a top and bottom, like a hamburger bun.
- On the bottom portion of the buns, I like to push my fingers down to create a little meatball indent on each of the 12 rolls for the meatballs to fit into. It helps them to stay in place.
- Fit one saucy meatball in each slider indent. Top with the mozzarella cheese and ¾ of the parmesan.
- Fold the top of the rolls over the meatballs. Brush with butter and sprinkle with remaining seasoning and remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese melts.
- Cut into 12 individual sliders and serve with warm marinara sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- Mince the garlic and onion really fine to avoid any crunch.
- Allow the bread to really soak in the meat, then crumble it a bit with your fingers.
- Line the meatball cookie sheet with foil for easy clean up.
- Try to roll the meatballs in similar size, so they cook evenly in the oven.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: appetizer
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Robert says
These were incredible and I could not stop eating them!
Tara Smithson says
I feel the same way about these. They are dangerous, haha!