Description
These Buffalo Chicken Sliders are a perfect blend of spicy buffalo sauce, tender chicken breast, and melty cheese all tucked inside sweet Hawaiian rolls. Ideal for game day or a kid-friendly dinner, these sliders are baked to bubbly perfection and topped with refreshing iceberg lettuce, red onion, tomato, and dill pickles for the ultimate flavor and texture contrast.
Ingredients
Chicken and Sauce
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1/4 lb. chicken breast cutlets, cut evenly into 12 pieces
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper, divided
- 1/2 cup buffalo-style hot sauce (such as Frank's RedHot or Moore's)
Sliders Assembly
- 12 Hawaiian sweet rolls, separated and split horizontally
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 6 (about 3/4-oz.) Colby-Jack cheese slices, quartered (24 small squares total), divided
- 1 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
Toppings
- Iceberg lettuce
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Sliced tomato
- Sliced dill pickles
Instructions
- Cook Chicken: Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken pieces evenly with kosher salt and half of the lemon pepper. Add chicken to skillet and cook, turning frequently, until chicken is lightly golden and nearly cooked through, about 4 minutes.
- Add Buffalo Sauce: Pour buffalo-style hot sauce into the skillet and toss the chicken to coat well. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, approximately 1 minute. Remove the skillet from heat and set aside.
- Prepare the Rolls: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the bottom halves of the split Hawaiian rolls evenly on the baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter with the remaining lemon pepper and brush half of this butter mixture onto the roll bottoms.
- Add Cheese and Chicken: Place one quartered piece of Colby-Jack cheese on each roll bottom. Top each with one piece of cooked buffalo chicken, spooning any extra sauce from the skillet over the chicken. Sprinkle crumbled blue cheese evenly over the chicken, then top with the remaining Colby-Jack cheese squares.
- Assemble and Bake: Place the top halves of the rolls on the sliders and brush them with the remaining butter mixture. Bake the assembled sliders in the preheated oven until the cheeses melt and the tops are lightly browned, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Add Toppings and Serve: Remove sliders from oven and immediately stuff with iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, sliced tomato, and dill pickles. Serve warm for a delicious, flavorful slider experience.
Notes
- To keep the sliders from becoming soggy, add the toppings just before serving.
- For extra heat, add a dash of cayenne pepper to the buffalo sauce mixture.
- Can substitute chicken thighs for breast cutlets for a juicier slider.
- Make ahead: Cook chicken and assemble sliders, then refrigerate before baking; add toppings fresh when serving.
- Use gluten-free rolls to make this recipe gluten-free.
