Cranberry Turkey Sliders
Cranberry turkey sliders with havarti cheese on a sweet Hawaiian bun are brushed with melted butter and poppy seeds and make a delicious party sandwich.
While everyone else is looking for leftover turkey recipes after Thanksgiving, I'm over here looking for all the fresh cranberry recipes to use my favorite homemade cranberry sauce!
This cranberry turkey slider recipe is simply awesome because it actually uses up BOTH!
I baked a pan of these for enjoying when we decorated our Christmas tree, but they would make a fun and festive party sandwich any time during the holiday season.
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Why This is the Best Recipe
Our family loves baking different slider recipes! I think this is the best cranberry turkey slider recipe because:
- No Soggy Buns: Layering the cranberry sauce between the sliced turkey and a bit of havarti cheese helps keep the sliders from getting soggy when you bake them.
- Perfect Melted Cheese: Havarti melts beautifully in the oven. If you can't find it, no worries. I have several substitutions listed below.
- Budget-Friendly: This recipe often calls for brie cheese but that can be pricey if you're just looking to use up some leftovers you already have on hand. My version uses the inexpensive sliced cheese that comes in bags in the refrigerated section and it works great.
Ingredients
This easy turkey slider recipe only needs a few simple ingredients:
- Sliced Turkey: I used thin sliced deli meat but this would make an amazing leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipe, too.
- Hawaiian Dinner Rolls: You can use any small slider bun you love.
- Cranberry Sauce: I used leftover homemade cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving. You could also use the leftover cranberry sauce from my cranberry cream cheese dip or a can of whole berry cranberry sauce.
- Sliced Havarti Cheese: I think havarti melts amazing but a brick of it can be quite expensive. You can find much more budget-friendly pre-sliced havarti cheese in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. Otherwise, you can substitute Swiss cheese, provolone, or brie.
- Butter
- Dijon Mustard
- Onion Powder
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Poppy Seeds
Assemble the Sliders
Set out a large baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil.
Slice the slider buns in half, leaving a connecting hinge piece of bread so they open like a book.
Tuck a slice of turkey meat into each bun and line them up in neat rows on the baking pan.
Add a spoonful of cranberry sauce on top of each piece of turkey.
Tear each piece of havarti cheese into quarters and put two square quarters over each bit of cranberry sauce. Close the slider buns.
Mix together the melted butter, Dijon mustard, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl.
Brush the butter mixture evenly over the top of the sliders, drizzle any remaining butter over the top.
Sprinkle the turkey sliders with poppy seeds.
Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the sliders for 10 - 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Make Ahead Tips
If you plan to make the cranberry turkey sliders ahead of time, you'll definitely want to bake them and then let them cool before storing them in an airtight container in the fridge.
By layering the cranberry sauce between the turkey and the cheese, you can keep the baked sliders from getting soggy in the fridge but this only works if the cheese has melted from baking.
Bring them to room temperature and then reheat them in the oven covered loosely with aluminum foil so the tops don't burn.
Serving Suggestions
I made this batch of cranberry turkey sliders shortly after Thanksgiving when I had lots of leftover cranberry sauce.
Our turkey was long gone, so I used deli meat and it was still a fun weekend snack to serve my family during the holiday weekend.
I could definitely see serving these delicious sliders at a football party during the winter or as a Christmas appetizer during the holiday season.
More Slider Recipes
These teeny tiny sandwiches are such a fun surprise to serve the family during the weekend. We find all kinds of excuses to enjoy them for an easy dinner.
If you love sliders like we do, you'll also enjoy:
More Turkey Sandwich Recipes
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Turkey Sliders
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian dinner rolls
- 12 slices of turkey
- 3 thick slices of Havarti cheese
- 3/4 cup cranberry sauce
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Poppy seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set out a large baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil.
- Slice the slider buns in half, leaving a connecting hinge piece of bread so they open like a book.
- Tuck a slice of turkey meat into each bun and line them up in neat rows on the baking pan.
- Add a spoonful of cranberry sauce on top of each piece of turkey.
- Tear each piece of havarti cheese into quarters and put two square quarters over each bit of cranberry sauce. Close the slider buns.
- Mix together the melted butter, Dijon mustard, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Brush the butter mixture evenly over the top of the sliders, drizzle any remaining butter over the top. Sprinkle the tops with poppy seeds.
- Bake the sliders for 10 - 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the cheese has melted.
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