This turkey slider recipe with honey mustard and smoked paprika butter is sweet, savory, smoky, and delicious. Perfect for game day or any day!
Whether you’re looking for an easy recipe for the Super Bowl, summer BBQs, or something quick for busy weeknights, this turkey slider recipe is so easy and addictive that you’ll want to make two pans! They only take about 15 minutes to prep, and you can work on other things while they’re in the oven. Although not pictured, I mixed some extra honey mustard with a bag of coleslaw and a little Greek yogurt for the perfect fresh and crunchy side dish!
When brainstorming ideas for this recipe, I knew I wanted the butter on top to have a big pop of flavor. After trying countless combinations, the smoked paprika, thyme, and Aleppo pepper butter was the winner. It’s so good that I’ve been putting it on everything!
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I make my honey mustard for this turkey slider recipe, and you can print that out here. The beauty of making condiments from scratch is that you control the ingredients. Most recipes for honey mustard are very basic, which is okay, but I like adding a few extra ingredients to give it a little pizzazz. Of course, you can buy honey mustard from the store, but I encourage you to make your own. It makes all the difference. I don’t think honey mustard gets the appreciation it deserves. It’s sweet, creamy, and tangy, making it the perfect condiment or topping for many dishes!
Turkey Slider Recipe With Honey Mustard
Why We Love it
- Sliders are fun. I’ve never seen anyone look disappointed when a tray of sliders is served!
- Quick and easy. Assembly only takes about 15 minutes, and the rest is cooking time.
- Good for a crowd. Make a double or triple batch, and watch them disappear.
- Versatile. The flavor combination is perfect the way it is, but use any meat and cheese you want.
- Use up leftovers. It’s a great way to use Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers. Any turkey will work!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Turkey. I used turkey deli meat for this turkey slider recipe, but you can use what you have or even leftover turkey from the holidays. To ensure you have enough, you want 24 slices, two slices per sandwich. Some deli meat is thinner, so you may need more, depending on your preference. It’s always better to have too much than not enough.
- Slider buns. I’m a sandwich snob and have strong opinions about the bread-to-fill ratio. It matters! My favorite slider buns are the Martins potato roll slider buns. They’re the perfect size—small enough to be eaten in a few bites and big enough to load up the fillings.
- Havarti cheese—it’s so underrated! It’s rich and buttery with a hint of nuttiness and melts beautifully! I use it almost exclusively instead of mozzarella cheese, which I find very bland. My favorite is the creamy Castello Havarti. It is incredibly creamy and rich and provides the ultimate ooey-gooey, melty deliciousness for hot sandwiches!
- Honey mustard. I use my honey mustard recipe, which is perfectly balanced and not too sweet if I say so myself. Of course, you can use any honey mustard you like!
- Salted butter. It’s just better than unsalted butter with salt added, and I will die on that hill. I use it exclusively in my recipes, but if you have unsalted butter, add a small pinch of salt to the butter mixture.
- Seasonings. Smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper, and a little dried thyme make this butter so good I want to slather it on everything. It’s buttery and smoky with a subtle heat. You almost don’t even know the thyme is there, but you’ll recognize it in the background. I adore thyme with honey mustard. It’s such a great flavor combo! Parsley is optional, but I like a little for color.
Ingredient note. Aleppo pepper has a little more personality than black pepper. It’s earthy with hints of citrus and a subtle heat. I love it!
Used In This Recipe | ||
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Pro tip. When pairing an ingredient with a strong flavor like honey mustard, think of the flavors individually and imagine putting them together. Something like cheddar cheese would have thrown the taste of the honey mustard off. Most people brush the top of sliders with garlic butter, but for the same reason, garlic butter would not have worked well here. The salty, smoky butter complements the other flavors while adding a subtle pop of heat from the Aleppo pepper.
How To Make This Turkey Slider Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- If you’re making the honey mustard from scratch, I suggest doing that now so the flavors can develop while you work on the rest of the recipe.
- Shred the havarti and keep it refrigerated. See my tip below about when to shred the cheese.
- Add the butter and seasonings to a small microwave-safe dish. Place the dish in the microwave and cook it on defrost for 20 to 30 seconds or until the butter is melted. I like to cover it with a small plate to catch any splatters. Remove the butter from the microwave and give it a stir.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Separate the slider buns, and arrange 12 bottom buns on the pan with the inside facing up.
- Spread a thin layer of honey mustard on the bottom of each bun. You only need a thin layer here because you’ll serve extra honey mustard on the side for dipping. If you go too heavy-handed, the bottom bun can get soggy.
- Lay two turkey slices on top of each bun. The turkey I used was sliced thicker and in large pieces, so two slices on each sandwich was enough for me. You can use as much as you like.
- Sprinkle the shredded havarti on top of each sandwich, dividing it equally among the twelve. Place the top buns on top.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of the buns with butter. Most of the seasonings will fall to the bottom of the bowl, so I like to stir it a little and scoop from the bottom every time I dip the pastry brush back in. Avoid going too heavy-handed at first, or you will run out of butter. You can always add more to each bun, but you’ll have to make more if you run out.
- Cover the sliders tightly with foil and place them on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
- When the sliders are done, remove them from the oven and serve them with extra honey mustard on the side for dipping. I like to sprinkle them with chopped Italian parsley for color.
Pro tip. I love serving this turkey slider recipe rustically on the baking sheet. There’s no need to fancy them up! Move them around a bit, and nestle a little bowl of extra honey mustard on the baking sheet for dipping! A light sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley adds a little freshness and makes it look prettier!
Helpful Tips
- If you make the honey mustard from scratch, do so at least an hour in advance or even the morning of the day you’re serving it. Allowing it to sit in the fridge for a few hours allows the flavors to come together, making it even more delicious.
- Cream Havarti is quite soft, so leaving it on the counter too long can make it harder to shred. I remove it from the refrigerator just before grating it with a handheld grater.
- You can buy sliced Havarti from the deli to make this recipe even easier. I suggest using the Boars Head cream Havarti, which has a similar creaminess. Leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it, or it will become too soft to work with.
Variations & Substitutions
- The smoked paprika butter makes this dish, but a good salted butter would still be delicious!
- For extra crunch and flavor on top of the buns, sprinkle them with bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds.
- This recipe works with ham or turkey, so use your favorite. Shredded rotisserie chicken would also be delicious!
- Provolone would be an excellent substitution if you can’t find Havarti cheese. It has a little more flavor than mozzarella but is still mild enough to work well in this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
- After the sliders come out of the oven, add your favorite greens. Let them cool slightly so the greens don’t get wilted.
- Tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions, or pickled onions would also be delicious toppings!
- As mentioned above, I like to serve these with a quick slaw. You can enjoy it on the side or pile it into the slider. The slaw adds freshness and crunch, and its tanginess is absolutely delicious with the hearty, cheesy sliders.
- To make a quick slaw, I used a bag of coleslaw mix, a half cup of honey mustard, a heaping tablespoon of Greek yogurt, a splash of apple cider vinegar, thinly sliced scallions, and a little black pepper. If I had just mixed the slaw and honey mustard, the dish would have been flat and one-note. Taking the time to build flavors transforms your cooking from bland and boring to delicious!
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Turkey Slider Recipe With Honey Mustard
Ingredients
- 24 slices turkey deli meat
- 12 slider buns
- 8 ounces shredded Havarti cheese
- 1 cup honey mustard
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
Things To Do First
- Shred the havarti and keep refrigerated.
- If making homemade honey mustard, do that now.
- Add the butter and seasoning into a small bowl.
- Cover and microwave for 20 seconds or until the butter melts. Mix well
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
For The Sliders
- Separate the slider buns.
- Arrange the bottom of the slider buns on the baking sheet.
- Spread one tablespoon of honey mustard on each slider bun.
- Place two slices of turkey on top of the honey mustard for each slider.
- Sprinkle the shredded Havarti on top of the turkey.
- Place the top slider bun on each sandwich.
- Brush the top of the buns with the seasoned butter.
- Cover the sliders with foil and place on the middle rack of the oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
- (Parsley on top is optional, but I like a little for color!)
Notes
- Don't go too heavy-handed when brushing on the butter, or you won't have enough. It's easier to go back and add more than to run out and make more. Also, I stir it with the pastry brush each time I dip back into it to ensure the butter and seasoning are combined. Otherwise, the seasonings will fall to the bottom quickly, preventing some of the sandwiches from having enough.
- Havarti is very creamy and melted. It's perfectly normal for some of the cheese to melt onto the pan. It will firm up quickly as it cools. Although I like arranging these with a bit of space between each sandwich, you can push the sandwiches together and sprinkle the cheese over all of them at once. I hope that makes sense.
- I like arranging the sandwiches with a bit of space between each one. The cheese will melt and ooze onto the pan—perfectly normal. You can press the sandwiches together to avoid this, but I prefer them a little more spaced out.
Nutrition
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