These quick and easy Turkey Sliders are an idea way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers! They are made with only four basic ingredients and include tart cranberry sauce along with gooey cheese to make a turkey sandwich the entire family will enjoy.
I love cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for my family, which includes making a turkey with all the trimmings. But after a busy holiday of cooking turkey, cornbread dressing, rolls, green beans, squash, pies and cheesecake that last thing I want to do the next day is cook more. My family knows after I cook Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner they are going to be eating leftovers for a few days!
This recipe is an ideal leftover recipe, because not only does it use leftover turkey and cranberry sauce it also takes very little effort to make and doesn’t create a mess of dishes in the kitchen. This basically makes it perfect for taking it easy after a big holiday meal! Gooey melted cheese is combined with turkey and cranberry sauce for a slider that is good for lunch, parties, game day gatherings or dinner the day after a holiday. So next time you are trying to figure out how to use up all that leftover turkey give this recipe a try.
How to Make Turkey Sliders
One of the best things about this recipe is how simple it is. You take the tops off the rolls, put the bottoms in a baking dish and then layer the turkey, cranberry sauce and cheese and top with the other half of the rolls. You could stop there, but I decided to spend an extra two minutes and melted butter, brushed it on top of the rolls and sprinkled them with sesame seeds.
Then they just need to bake and your turkey sliders are ready to eat!
How Long Do You Cook Turkey Sliders?
I covered my pan with foil and baked the sliders in the oven at 375 F for 15 minutes. Then I took the foil off and let them brown for about 5 minutes. This is long enough to make sure the turkey is nicely warm and the cheese is melted and gooey. There is no reason you can’t eat the sliders cold, but I think they taste better warm.
Easy Recipe Modifications
- I used Gruyere cheese, but lots of other kinds would work. I like a mild cheese that melts well with this slider so that the cranberry is the dominate taste. So Swiss or Gouda would also work well, and a mozzarella cheese tastes good with it too. I probably wouldn’t use a spicy cheese with this turkey cranberry sandwich.
- I have used both slider rolls and dinner rolls to make this, depending on what I can find at the store. Hawaiian rolls would also make a great sandwich.
- You could sprinkle the tops of the rolls with poppy seeds or caraway seeds or nothing. The next time I make these with mozzarella cheese I want to try sprinkling the tops with Parmesan.
Turkey Sliders with Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 Slider rolls
- 1 cup cooked turkey
- 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
- 2 slices gruyere cheese
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Take the tops off the slider rolls. Put the bottoms of the rolls in a 9 x 9 baking dish.
- Layer the turkey, cranberry sauce and cheese on the slider rolls. Finish off with the slider bun tops.
- Using a pastry brush or a spoon drizzle the melted butter over the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Cover the sliders with foil and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the tops of the rolls.
Notes
Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 618Saturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 527mgCarbohydrates: 72gFiber: 1gSugar: 38gProtein: 19g
Recipe Tips
- If you forget to cover these with the foil these will burn on top – as I know from experience!
- I made a small batch of these using half of the slider package. You could easily double this and use all 12 slider rolls.
Find More Recipes to Make with Leftover Turkey