These turkey cranberry sliders are made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey, cranberry sauce and cheese sandwiched between Hawaiian rolls topped with a buttery sauce!
Want more leftover turkey recipes? Try turkey tetrazzini, this leftover turkey soup or swap chicken for turkey in chicken and stuffing casserole!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy sandwiches: Thanksgiving leftovers like oven roasted turkey or smoked turkey are transformed into turkey sliders with cranberry sauce and Hawaiian rolls.
- Flavorful: Turkey and cranberry sliders combine sweet and savory flavors and have layers of turkey, cheese and cranberry sauce then are topped with a buttery drizzle.
Cranberry Turkey Sliders Ingredients
- Turkey: Leftover turkey is best but deli turkey works as wel!
- Hawaiian rolls: Hawaiian rolls are my preference in turkey sliders, but dinner rolls can be used.
- Cheese: I used Swiss cheese because I love the sharp bite it adds. Havarti cheese is another favorite.
- Mayonnaise: Adds a tangy taste and keeps the bread soft and moist. Omit if you don’t care for mayo.
- Cranberry sauce: I prefer to use leftover cranberry sauce, when I make these for game day I just use whole cranberry sauce in a can.
- Buttery topping: Just like with my ham and cheese sliders, you’ll need butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire and poppy seeds. Everything bagel seasoning is a great swap for poppy seeds.
How to Make Turkey Cranberry Sliders
Slice Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally. Place bottom half of rolls in a baking pan. Spread with mayo, turkey and cheese then spread cranberry sauce over top of the buns then layer it in the dish matching up the rolls.
In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and poppy seeds. Pour poppy seed butter mixture evenly over all of the rolls. Let sauce sink into the rolls for 10 minutes.
Cover turkey slider recipe with foil and bake at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 2 minutes to brown the top of the rolls. Serve immediately.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Meat options: Adding slices of cooked bacon to these turkey sliders would also be an amazing addition! For a twist on turkey sliders, make buffalo chicken sliders or pizza sliders.
- Cheese: No need to limit yourselves to just Swiss cheese. Try brie cheese, smoked gouda, provolone, cheddar cheese or your favorite.
- Sauce: Cranberry turkey sliders are great for Thanksgiving but you can use your favorite jam or jelly if preferred.
- No poppy seeds: While these add a nice crunch they can be omitted or try everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds.
Leftover Turkey Slider Tips
- Deli turkey: You can still make these Hawaiian roll turkey sliders even if you don’t have leftovers available! Just use your favorite deli meat.
- Cover with foil. To prevent the tops of rolls from burning cover your oven baked turkey cranberry sliders while they are in the oven. Remove foil only for last 2 minutes.
- Make ahead: You can make these sliders up to four hours in advance of serving. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake and enjoy.
- Storage: While these taste best fresh, leftover turkey sliders can be stored for up to 3 days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven for best results.
More sliders we love include cheeseburger sliders, breakfast sliders and meatball sliders!
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Turkey Cranberry Sliders
Video
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian dinner rolls
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- 12 slices deli turkey slices , or leftover turkey
- 6 slices swiss cheese
- 4-6 Tablespoons butter , melted
- ½ Tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder , or minced onions
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Using a large bread knife, slice Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally to create a top and bottom half of rolls, being sure sure to keep the rolls connected. Place the top section on a cutting board.
- In the baking dish, place the bottom section, cut-side up. Spread mayo on the bottom. Spread cranberry sauce over the top section. Add a slice of turkey and cheese to each roll. Place top section over the bottom section, evenly matching up the rolls.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and poppy seeds. Pour evenly over all of the rolls. Let sit 10 minutes for sauce to soak in.
- Cover sliders with foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 2 minutes to brown the top of the rolls. Best served while warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, American, Appetizers, Dinner, Mini appetizers, Nut-Free, Snacks, Thanksgiving
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Just wonderfully tasty, savoury and great for lunch, snack or appetizer.
Leftover turkey is best and moist for these sliders! Don’t skimp and Sargento’s Baby Swiss is the best!
Kids love these because of their size and appearance! ENJOY!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the turkey cranberry sliders! Thanks Susan!
We have made these over and over again, i think it is s family favorite. We have added leftover dressing (stuffing) and topped with everything bagel seasoning on top. Delicious
These were a huge hit with my family! I only wish I made more- they didn’t last long!
The rolls, the cranberry sauce, and the turkey all tasted so good together and I will definitely be making these some more with Thanksgiving leftovers.
So glad you enjoyed the turkey sliders!
Made these for Friendsgiving and they were a huge hit! They were super easy to make too.