One of my favorite party foods is BBQ Meatball Sliders. They are so easy to make. Everyone loves them. And they also happen to be one of the most inexpensive ways to satisfy big appetites.
Secret Tips for Perfect BBQ Meatball Sliders
The trick to putting them together easily is to use Hawaiian rolls and leave them attached while you assemble the sliders. If you separate them first, you’ll have to delicately place the remaining ingredients on each roll to contain them.
Keeping the rolls together makes it easy to slather all the ingredients on without making a mess. After you broil them, then you slice them into individual sliders. The melted cheese holds everything together.
To save time, you can use frozen meatballs. This eliminates more than half of your prep time compared to making them from scratch.
You might be tempted to skimp on the cheese and use American singles instead of real cheddar. Don’t! The cheese will be too runny and you’ll lose a lot of flavor. Stick with real cheddar cheese.
Another place you don’t want to skimp is on the bacon. Store-bought bacon bits aren’t as flavorful. Freshly cooked bacon is so much tastier and doesn’t take long to make.
How to Serve BBQ Meatball Sliders
BBQ Meatball Sliders make great appetizers, especially for parties that overlap mealtimes and you don’t want to prepare a sit-down meal. If you’re serving them as appetizers, simply separate the rolls into individual sliders and arrange them on a large platter.
Since kids love them, BBQ Meatball Sliders also work well as a hearty lunch or easy dinner. Sides that go well with them are: coleslaw, carrot sticks, french fries, green bean salad, and fruit salad.
Recipe for BBQ Meatball Slider
- 1/2 28 oz Bag Frozen Meatballs
- 2 18 oz Bottles Hickory BBQ Sauce
- 5 Strips of Bacon cut into pieces
- 1/2 Small onion chopped
- 4-5 Slices of Mild Cheddar Cheese
- 12 Kings Hawaiian Rolls
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Preheat oven to 425.
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In a medium sized pot, place meatballs and 1 bottle of BBQ sauce.
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Cook over medium heat until heated through (about 10 - 15 minutes).
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While meatballs are cooking, cook your bacon until crunchy then add onions. Cook for about 4 mins more (just until they start to get tender) and set aside.
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Cut Hawaiian Rolls in one sheet (DO NOT SEPARATE).
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Cover rolls with a generous amount BBQ sauce then place meatballs (use a slotted spoon to spoon meatballs from pan to avoid accidentally adding to much BBQ sauce).
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Top meatballs with cheese slices.
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Add bacon and onions.
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Cook in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until tops are golden.
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Serve immediately.
More Appetizer Ideas
If you liked this recipe, check out 20 Football Tailgating Appetizers. It contains 20 easy gameday recipes with step-by-step instructions.
If you love bacon, you’ll love Tailgate Greats! It’s filled with over 50 bacon based appetizers.
Or you might like some of my other appetizer recipes.
These Twice Baked Potato Skins are another hit at our football parties.
Another fan favorite in our house is my Crockpot Queso Blanco Dip.
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