Turkey and Cheese Sliders with Apple
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Most turkey and cheese sliders lean on Swiss or another mild cheese. These trade it for sharp cheddar and thin slices of apple, and they’re the tray I’d set out from game day through Thanksgiving week. Cheddar has a lot more flavor than Swiss, and it’s the cheese I want with fruit.
I got hooked on apple and sharp cheddar while writing an AP piece on weird American food combinations, and apple pie with a slice of cheddar was one of them (cinnamon rolls served over a bowl of chili was another, if you’re wondering). I’ve been intrigued ever since, and it makes sense to me because fruit and cheese on a charcuterie board has been a longtime favorite. Blue cheese and red grapes are one of the best things ever.
The same balance is why there’s no mustard or mayo on these. The apple and hot honey bring the sweet, and the turkey, cheddar, and garlic butter carry the savory.
How It Comes Together
This is the same one-slab build as my ham and cheese sliders on Hawaiian rolls. Slice the whole package of rolls in half horizontally without pulling them apart, set the bottom half in a sprayed 9×13-inch dish, and build on that one sheet of bread. Turkey goes down first, then the cheddar, then the apple rounds. The hot honey gets drizzled over the apples before the top half goes back on.
Brush the garlic, onion, and poppy seed butter over the tops, cover the dish loosely with foil, and bake. The foil comes off for the last five minutes, and that’s when the tops turn golden.
You’re done when the tops are golden brown and the cheddar has melted at the edges. You can’t see the cheese in the middle without lifting a bun, so the edges are your check. Give the sliders five minutes in the dish, then cut along the roll seams.
The full ingredient list, amounts, and steps are in the printable recipe card below.
Slice the apples across, not into wedges. Cut each Honeycrisp crosswise into very thin rounds with the skin on, and only cut the core out of the middle slices, where it’s thickest. Thin rounds lie flat over the cheddar and soften a little in the oven. A thicker slice won’t soften the same way, so it stays crisp.
Ingredient Notes
Honeycrisp apples. Honeycrisp is my pick for the sweet, tart balance against sharp cheddar. Gala or Pink Lady will do the job if that’s what you have. Leave the peel on, since it gives every slider a red edge.
Sharp cheddar. Go sharp, because that’s the cheddar with enough flavor to hold its own next to the apple and honey. Six deli slices cover the 12-roll slab, since each slice spans about one and a half rolls.
Hot honey. It goes inside, right over the apples. Plain honey works if you want these sweet without the kick.
The topping. The orange specks on the finished tops are the garlic and onion powder from the butter. Nothing burned.
Making Them Ahead
You can get most of the work done the day before. Slice the slab, layer the turkey and cheddar, set the top half back on, then cover the dish and refrigerate it for up to a day. The apples, hot honey, and butter wait until right before baking, since cut apples brown as they sit. Lift the top half, add the apple rounds and honey, put it back, brush on the butter, and bake. Straight from the fridge they may need a few extra minutes, so go by the golden tops and melted edges rather than the clock.
How to Serve Turkey and Cheese Sliders
Sliders are what I like for a crowd. They’re casual and filling, and building twelve at once feels a little like batch prep until the kitchen smells like warm garlic butter. Cut them apart and stack them on a platter. For game day they share the table well with a warm slow cooker spinach artichoke dip, and there’s more for that spread in my game day recipes.
Thanksgiving week gives them two more jobs. Set them out the night before, when family is coming in from out of town, or make them the day after as a casual lunch with a bowl of creamy potato and leek soup.
Hot Honey Apple Turkey and Cheese Sliders
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Foil
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray for the baking dish
- 12 pieces Hawaiian rolls 1 package
- 1 pound sliced deli turkey
- 6 slices sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 medium honeycrisp apples unpeeled and thinly sliced into rounds
- ¼ cup hot honey
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and tear off a sheet of foil big enough to cover it.
- Keep the rolls in one piece and slice the whole package in half horizontally. Set the bottom half in the baking dish.
- Layer the turkey evenly over the bottom half. I fold each slice in half and overlap tightly.
- Then the cheddar slices, then the apple rounds. Drizzle the hot honey over the apples. Set the top half of the rolls in place.
- Whisk the melted butter, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder, and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Brush it generously over the tops of the rolls.
- Cover the dish loosely with the foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes more, until the tops are golden brown and the cheddar has melted at the edges.
- Let the sliders rest for 5 minutes, then cut them apart.
Notes
- Thin apple rounds with the peel left on soften slightly as the sliders bake. Only the middle slices need coring.
- Gala or Pink Lady can stand in for Honeycrisp.
- Regular honey makes a milder slider with no heat.
- For a day-ahead start, refrigerate the turkey and cheddar layers in the covered dish. Add the apples, honey, and butter just before baking.
