BBQ Deli Chicken Sliders
When you need an easy, crowd pleasing recipe for busy weeknights or game days, these BBQ Deli Chicken Sliders are the perfect fit. With simple ingredients like deli chicken, cheddar cheese, and your favorite BBQ sauce, you can have these flavorful mini sandwiches ready in about 35 minutes. They’re warm, cheesy, and packed with that irresistible smoky-sweet barbecue flavor everyone loves. Serve them with side salads, potato salad, or a baked potato for a complete meal that’s sure to disappear fast.
Yes! Assemble them, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bake just before serving for the best flavor and texture.
After baking, keep them covered in foil in a slow cooker on the “warm” setting. It’s the best way to serve a large group without drying them out.
Absolutely. While the melty cheese adds richness, you can skip it or use dairy-free cheese if needed.
Protein: Swap deli chicken with rotisserie chicken, shredded chicken, or pulled chicken made from chicken thighs or skinless chicken breasts.
Cheese: Cheddar cheese is classic, but mozzarella, pepper jack, or Colby Jack also melt beautifully.
Sauce: Any barbecue sauce works—try smoky, spicy, or sweet variations to match your taste.
Rolls: Fluffy Hawaiian rolls are the favorite, but slider buns, dinner rolls, or even split sandwich rolls make a good option if that’s what your grocery store has.
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Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Hawaiian rolls: Their fluffy texture and light sweetness make the perfect base for slider recipes.
- Deli chicken: A good option for quick meals when you don’t have time to cook skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or rotisserie chicken.
- Cheddar cheese: Melts beautifully for that gooey, lots of cheese effect in every bite.
- BBQ sauce: Choose your favorite BBQ sauce or even a smoky homemade version—it’s the flavor star of these barbecue chicken sliders.
- French fried onions: Add crunch and a hint of sweetness that pairs perfectly with the BBQ flavor.
- Unsalted butter: Combined with maple syrup and spices, it creates a flavorful garlic butter-style butter mixture for brushing over the tops of the buns.
- Maple syrup: Brings a touch of caramelized sweetness that balances the tangy sauce.
- Dried onion and smoked paprika: Add depth and warmth to the topping.
- Poppy seeds: Give the top buns a little texture and that classic slider look.
- Fresh parsley: Adds a bright pop of color for garnish.
BBQ Deli Chicken Sliders
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Slice your sheet of Hawaiian rolls in half lengthwise and place the bottom half into your baking dish.
- Next, add a layer of the sliced deli chicken, followed by the cheddar cheese.
- Add fried onions on top of the cheese, followed by the BBQ sauce.
- Place the top bun layer back onto the sliders.
- Mix together the melted butter, maple syrup, dried onion, paprika and poppy seeds.
- Generously brush across the tops of the slider buns.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the sliders are warmed through and the cheese is melted.
- Remove foil and bake sliders for another 5 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Garnish the tops of the warm sliders with the fresh minced parsley and serve immediately, enjoy!
BBQ Deli Chicken Sliders
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Ingredients
- 16 oz package Hawaiian rolls
- 1 lb deli chicken thinly sliced
- 6 slices sharp cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup french fried onions
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons minced dried onion
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- ½ tablespoon fresh minced parsley for garnish
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Slice your sheet of Hawaiian rolls in half lengthwise and place the bottom half into your baking dish.
- Next, add a layer of the sliced deli chicken, followed by the cheddar cheese.
- Add fried onions on top of the cheese, followed by the BBQ sauce.
- Place the top bun layer back onto the sliders.
- Mix together the melted butter, maple syrup, dried onion, paprika and poppy seeds. Generously brush across the tops of the slider buns.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the sliders are warmed through and the cheese is melted.
- Remove foil and bake sliders for another 5 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
- Garnish the tops of the warm sliders with the fresh minced parsley and serve immediately, enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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