These Havarti Cranberry Turkey Sliders are an amazing lunch or game-day munch! These little sandwiches are filled with wonderful fresh ingredients like Havarti cheese, tart cranberry sauce, and turkey and are then brushed with an amazing poppy seed butter sauce. They bake up to melty cheesy perfection!
Serve these up with some wonderful appetizers like Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls with Asparagus, Homemade Boursin Cheese, Crab Rangoon Dip, or Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies.
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Amazingly cheesy sweet/tart turkey bites! The butter sauce adds richness and so much more flavor with the perfect seasoning also.
What is a Turkey Slider?
A turkey slider is a little sandwich and in this case, also filled with a double layer of melty Havarti cheese and cranberry sauce.
Hawaiian Roll Turkey Sliders of this type are made together in one pan and then brushed with a butter sauce and baked. They are then pulled apart to eat and enjoy!
One could make leftover turkey sliders with thinly sliced turkey also instead of deli-sliced turkey. When you have leftover turkey you usually have leftover cranberry sauce too. A whole new meal is invented with leftovers that are sometimes just as good or better than the initial main meal.
Have leftover ham? That would be amazing with the cranberry sauce also!! Mmm, ham and cheese sliders!!
How to Make Turkey Sliders
Simple, fresh ingredients that are easily found in any grocery store make up these super easy turkey sliders.
Ingredients
Sandwiches
Hawaiian rolls (dinner rolls will work if you can’t find Hawaiian rolls)
Deli turkey or leftover sliced turkey, turkey breast or thighs
Sliced Havarti cheese
Cranberry sauce (see recipe)
Butter sauce
Butter
Poppy seeds
Sesame seeds
Dijon mustard
Onion powder
Worcestershire sauce
Brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the slab of buns in half horizontally, so you have the tops and the bottoms in two pieces.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and place the bottom halves of the buns into the pan.
Spread 1/2 the cheese on the bottom buns, then layer on all the turkey to cover the cheese.
Spread the cranberries over the turkey so that they are evenly distributed. Cover with the remaining cheese slices.
Top with the other half of the buns.
In a small bowl, combine the butter ingredients starting with melting the butter in the microwave. Then stir in the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, Dijon mustard, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
Using a pastry brush, brush the tops and sides of the buns with the butter mixture.
How Do You Heat Sliders?
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through and the cheese is melted.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes to crisp up the tops of the buns.
At the very outside, it will take a total of 30 minutes to get the buns melty with cheese and crisped on the outside.
Allow to cool slightly before serving.
What Cheese Goes with Turkey?
Mmmm, turkey, and cheese go great together. Want to change the sandwich up a bit and add a different cheese? Here is a list of some great cheeses that I think go great with turkey.
For the sliders, you want cheese that melts easily and quickly so I am keeping that in mind also when selecting the cheese for these sandwiches.
- Mozzarella, fresh mozzarella would be good too.
- Swiss Cheese
- Cheddar Cheese
- Brie
- Monterey Jack
- Gouda
- Marble
- Fontina
- Muenster
- Provolone
Can You Serve Sliders Cold?
Sure, you can serve sliders cold. I would omit the butter sauce as it would just make the sliders soggy then. Add in other condiments instead, like Dijon mustard and mayo.
You could still make a large sandwich but slicing Hawaiian or dinner rolls in half and loading them with turkey, cheese, cranberry sauce, and more. That would feed your family fast and easy for any lunch or game day treat too.
Other Great Appetizers to Serve With Sliders!
Do you want to make a buffet of wonderful appetizers for a casual family meal or game day munchies? Here are a few suggestions that you can add to make it an entire meal or day of grazing!!
- Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies
- Crab Rangoon Dip
- Delicious Sausage Pinwheels
- Mexicali Dip
- Best Ever Mexican Corn Dip
- Little Potato Irish Nachos
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Pin it HERE!!
Havarti Cranberry Turkey Sliders
Ingredients
Sandwiches
- 1 – 12 count packages of Hawaiian rolls dinner rolls will work if you can’t find Hawaiian rolls
- 12 ounces sliced deli turkey or thinly sliced leftover turkey
- 8 ounces sliced Havarti cheese
- 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce see the notes below
Butter sauce
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- 2. Cut the slab of buns in half horizontally, so you have the tops and the bottoms in two pieces.
- 3. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and place the bottom buns into the pan.
- 4. Spread 1/2 the cheese on the bottom buns, then layer on all the turkey to cover the cheese.
- 5. Spread the cranberries over the turkey so that they are evenly distributed.
- 6. Cover with the remaining cheese slices and top with the other half of the buns.
- 7. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, Dijon mustard, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
- 8. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops and sides of the buns with the butter mixture.
- 9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through and the cheese is melted.
- 10. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes to crisp up the tops of the buns.
- 11. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Comments & Reviews
Leslie Susan Clingan says
Absolutely delish. Made these with turkey lunch meat, canned whole berry cranberry sauce and sliced Havarti cheese. We enjoyed them the first night and they were even tastier the second day for lunch. Would like to try them with Thanksgiving leftovers.
Tara Noland says
I hope you get a chance to enjoy it with Thanksgiving leftovers too!!
Sylvia says
Very tasty, easy to make
Tara Noland says
So glad you enjoyed them!
trista says
Thank you SO much for this recipe – it was perfect for a baby shower this weekend and everyone was RAVING about them!!
Tara Noland says
So glad you and everyone else loved them, thanks for letting me know!!