With gooey white cheddar and lean turkey sausage, these Ground Turkey Sliders are the perfect healthy appetizer or quick dinner. The sliders come together in 20 minutes and use creamy cottage cheese to make the filling super juicy and higher in protein! Enjoy these delicious sliders surrounded by your friends and family!
💬 Featured Comment
"Made this delicious dinner for dinner with company! Kids and adults loved it!!!! I made extra and we finished it up at lunch the next day." Thanks so much, Betsy!
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When I moved to the midwest I learned about this thing called a Juicy Lucy. It’s a burger with cheese inside of it - like who came up with this groundbreaking idea?? It’s creamy, juicy, and gooey and ever since I tried it, I expect every burger or slider to live up the same deliciousness. Whether it's a California Burger or a Flamethrower Burger, they all need to be juicy!
These turkey burger sliders use white cheddar and cottage cheese to create that juicy Lucy gooeyness and add extra protein! Stuffed in between sweet Hawaiian rolls and topped with a herby garlic butter sauce, the sliders are bursting with amazing flavor.
Jump to:
Why these ground turkey sliders will make you do the happy food dance
- No dry turkey burgers here! Turkey is notoriously dry so adding the creamy cottage cheese and white cheddar to the meat adds moisture and gooeyness!
- Like an easier juicy Lucy because everything gets mixed together instead of having to stuff the cheese inside the meat.
- Versatile because you can serve them as an appetizer or double the recipe to serve your family for a fun dinner.
recipe ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make these ground turkey sliders in the oven.
notes
- The ground turkey filling: For the burger portion of these sliders, you’ll need ground turkey, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, cottage cheese, and white cheddar.
- The garlic butter: This is just a basic, flavor-packed butter sauce with garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Hawaiian rolls & cheese: Of course, you need Hawaiian rolls for turkey sliders with Hawaiian rolls. And I top them with additional white cheddar cheese because it just goes perfectly with ground turkey (just like in my Kale and Turkey Sausage Egg Bake)!
substitutions & variations
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See the turkey burger sliders recipe card for quantities.
- White cheddar → cheddar cheese: You can definitely swap the white cheddar for another cheese like standard cheddar cheese or gruyere.
- Ground turkey → ground beef: You can use ground beef to make these into classic cheeseburger sliders.
- BBQ turkey sliders: To make this version, swap the Worcestershire sauce and Ketchup for BBQ sauce.
- Jalapeno popper sliders: For a fun take on sliders try adding diced jalapenos to the turkey mixture, top them with crispy bacon and onions, and swap the white cheddar for yellow cheddar.
- Thanksgiving leftover sliders: If you’ve got Thanksgiving leftovers, simply layer the Hawaiian rolls with shredded turkey, brie, and cranberry sauce. Bake until heated through and the cheese is gooey.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
how to make turkey sliders (with photo & video!)
Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full slider recipe!
- Brown the turkey with the salt, pepper, Ketchup, and Worcheshire sauce.
- Stir in the cottage cheese and some white cheddar until melted.
- Slice the Hawaiian rolls horizontally and put the turkey on top
- Top with onion, white cheddar, and top buns.
- Make the garlic butter and brush on top of the buns.
- Bake for 10 minutes, cover with foil, and bake for another 10 minutes.
quick recipe video
expert tips
- Add the flavor before the cheese: This ensures it’s fully mixed with the turkey before you try mixing in the cheese.
- Cover with foil: This helps to protect the garlic from burning.
- Use a larger pan: Using a pan that’s larger than sliders makes it so much easier for people to grab these pull-apart mini burgers. This could be a sheet pan large casserole dish.
- Use fresh garlic: With this garlic butter, it’s super important to use fresh garlic since the flavor is front and center.
common questions
If you want to add lettuce and tomatoes or jalapenos and avocado for a California-style burger, I wouldn’t recommend it for oven-baked sliders. No one wants warm fresh vegetables.
You don’t need to, but you can definitely saute them to caramelize the onions. This can be added on top of the turkey too.
If you’re making turkey burger patties, you should bake them for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. And if you want more information on how to cook burgers in the oven, be sure to check out our post on How Long to Cook Frozen Burgers in the Oven.
troubleshooting & testing notes
My filling is falling out.
This is somewhat inevitable and part of the beauty of this recipe. But, to keep it inside, keep the filling inside the edge of the rolls by about ½”-1”.
I tried baking the turkey and here’s what happened.
Baking the turkey is a great option but it ends up being a bit dry. You also either need to bake it in a sheet tray and try and lift the whole square out or form patties which takes time.
how to store & make it ahead
fridge
To store these in the fridge, simply cover and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They will start to get a bit soggy after day 2 but still tasty!
freezer
You can definitely freeze these! Just bake them and let them cool completely, then cover them with plastic wrap and foil (double layer). Freezer for up to 3 months and reheat directly from frozen in the oven.
make ahead
To make this dish ahead of time, it depends on how long in advance you need them. Either assemble it up to 1 day in advance and bake right before serving or make the components up to 3 days in advance and assemble and bake when ready.
reheating
To reheat these, pop them in the oven covered to reheat for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Recipe
Baked Ground Turkey Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls
Equipment
- 1 skillet
- 1 9x11 pan or sheet pan
- 1 small bowl
Ingredients
Slider
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ¼ cup cottage cheese
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ cup white onion diced (or yellow onion)
- 12 Hawaiian rolls (or brioche mini buns)
- 8 slices white cheddar (or gruyere or yellow cheddar)
Garlic Butter
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon parsley (minced or dried)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Before you start!
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to leave us a review. We love to hear from you!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Brown the 1 pound ground turkey in a medium skillet. When it's almost done, mix in the 2 tablespoon ketchup, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook till done.
- Mix in the ¼ cup cottage cheese and 2 of the 8 slices white cheddar until melted.
- Slice the 12 Hawaiian rolls (while still intact) horizontally. Pour the turkey mixture over the bottom buns, top with ⅛ cup white onion diced and the remaining 6 of the 8 slices white cheddar. Top with the top buns.
- Make the garlic butter mixture by combining 1 tablespoon butter melted, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon parsley, and Salt and pepper to taste (about a pinch). Brush this over the top of the buns.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Then enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Add the flavor before the cheese: This ensures it’s fully mixed with the turkey before you try mixing in the cheese.
- Cover with foil: This helps to protect the garlic from burning.
- Use a larger pan: Using a pan that’s larger than sliders makes it so much easier for people to grab these pull-apart mini burgers. This could be a sheet pan large casserole dish.
- Use fresh garlic: With this garlic butter, it’s super important to use fresh garlic since the flavor is front and center.
- To keep the filling in the bun: This is somewhat inevitable and part of the beauty of this recipe. But, to keep it inside, keep the filling inside the edge of the rolls by about ½”-1”.
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Taryn Sears says
So delicious! Similar to a meatloaf, but also on a yummy Hawaiian roll! Definitely making this again! Five stars!
Mika Kinney says
Ya, so glad you enjoyed them!
Betsy says
Made this delicious dinner for dinner with company! Kids and adults loved it!!!! I made extra and we finished it up at lunch the next day.
Shared the recipe with my company! Will definitely be making this again!!!!
Mika Kinney says
So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing the recipe!