How to make the best Philly cheesesteak sliders on Hawaiian Rolls brushed with garlic butter and baked in the oven. Easy recipe perfect for a crowd!
Whether you need a really delicious appetizer or an actual meal, these Philly cheese sliders are the bomb.
They're ooey gooey with melted cheese, the steak is packed with flavor from ingredients like smoked paprika (my new favorite seasoning), and the onions and green peppers have a slightly crispy texture.
Not to mention the tops of the rolls are brushed with garlic butter and Italian parsley. Philly cheese steak on Hawaiian Rolls is good all by itself; but when you add the garlic butter… I wish I could put into words how delicious these little sandwiches really are.
The meat mixture is the same as my regular homemade Philly cheesesteak, except I've added in the smoked paprika. It gives a little kick to the sliders, and I'll never make cheesesteaks without it, ever again.
If you love a good cheesesteak, you're going to absolutely love these cheese steak sliders. Just like a Crock Pot Philly cheesesteak, they're perfect for a Game Day crowd, holiday guests, or a party spread.
And if it's a slightly healthier alternative you want, cheesesteak stuffed peppers are the recipe for you.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my recipe tips, important info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the Philly cheesesteak sliders recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card with a longer how to video.
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED:
- Sirloin steak, thinly sliced – I'll show you how to slice Philly cheesesteak meat a little farther down.
- Bacon grease or olive oil
- Garlic cloves
- Yellow onion
- Fresh mushrooms – Or you can use canned mushrooms, if you prefer.
- Green bell pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Worcestershire sauce
- Hawaiian Rolls – I buy mine at Aldi.
- Mayo
- Provolone cheese
- Cheez Whiz – I buy this at Aldi too, Aldi's brand.
- Salted butter
- Roasted garlic powder
- Fresh Italian parsley
Remember, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Ninja Food Chopper Express or Cutting Board and Chef’s Knife
Large Skillet and Wooden Spatula – We use our cast iron skillets for pretty much everything.
Tongs – they really help with assembling the sliders.
Whisk and Glass Measuring Cup – Great for mixing up the garlic butter.
Pastry Brush – Used for brushing the tops of the rolls with garlic butter before baking.
HOW TO MAKE PHILLY CHEESESTEAK SLIDERS
Your first steps are to thinly slice the steak and prepare the garlic, onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Garlic and mushrooms need to be minced; onion and peppers need to be sliced.
Then you're ready to slice the meat and start the cooking process…
- Slice the steak as thin as possible, slicing it against the grain (to retain tenderness) into thin strips for cooking. Be sure to leave as much of the fat as possible on the meat. Fat gives meat flavor, especially during the cooking process.
- Heat bacon grease or olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté the garlic, onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper for about 10 minutes, or 'til softened. Then set aside.
- Add the steak, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Cook until the meat is almost done.
- At this point, add the veggies back in with the meat, stir, and simmer 'til fully cooked.
HOW TO LAYER CHEESE STEAK SLIDERS
Now for the fun part… Layering your sandwiches and baking them.
Before you get started, slice the Hawaiian Rolls in half, as a whole. You'll have the top layer of the rolls, and then a bottom layer.
- Place the bottom layer of the rolls in a greased baking dish or baking sheet, and spread the bottoms of the rolls with mayo.
- Add a layer of provolone cheese.
- Now add a layer of meat and vegetables. Tongs work great for this. Go ahead and pile up the meat and veggies, no skimping allowed.
- Add a dollop of Cheez Whiz to every single slider.
- Now add the top layer of the rolls.
- Mix together the melted butter, roasted garlic powder, and minced parsley then brush the tops of the rolls with the garlic butter mixture, and sprinkle with extra Italian parsley if desired.
Cover with aluminum foil to keep your rolls from browning too quickly, and bake according to the instructions in the recipe card below, at 350° F for about 10 to 15 minutes, or 'til the cheese is melted. Then uncover and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or so.
And that's it. Oh my gosh, they are so good! My mouth is watering just thinking about them.
BEST MEAT FOR PHILLY STEAK SLIDERS
Most people will recommend ribeye for cheesesteaks at home, but ribeye is usually really expensive. Others recommend top round steak.
My butcher has always recommended sirloin steak, sliced thinly, for a more affordable option. It has just enough fat to give the meat a lot of flavor and to make the meat quite tender when cooked.
Two things to look for when buying Philly cheese steak meat…
- You need to be able to slice it thinly.
- It needs to be tender, not tough; and fat is a good thing for both flavor and tenderness.
BEST TYPE OF BREAD TO USE FOR PHILLY CHEESE SLIDERS
While I prefer to use Hawaiian Rolls, you have plenty of options here.
- Regular dinner rolls
- Brioche slider buns – which you can also find at Aldi.
- Regular slider buns – with or without sesame seeds.
- Potato slider buns
- Gluten-free dinner rolls
WHAT CHEESE IS BEST ON CHEESESTEAK SLIDERS
Simply put… Provolone and Cheez Whiz.
Opinion really varies on what cheese to use for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. It really is a debate if you research it.
The traditional consensus says either Cheez Whiz or provolone. Some even say American cheese pairs well with the provolone.
While I love the provolone, the Cheez Whiz won my taste buds over. However, it's up for debate in our house too because a couple of my guys really love the provolone.
So I live on the wild side and use both. I add the provolone on the bottom layer of the rolls, and then add Cheez Whiz to the top of the meat mixture.
CAN I MAKE THIS RECIPE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes and no.
You can totally cook the meat and vegetables and have your meat mixture ready to go. Just store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you're ready to use it.
Then when you're ready to make your sliders, all you need to do is assemble the sandwiches and bake them.
Reason you want to wait to assemble your sandwiches, is you don't really want them sitting, soaking up all that moisture into the rolls for that long. It will make them a soggy, yucky mess.
WHAT GOES WITH PHILLY CHEESESTEAK SLIDERS?
There are quite a few delicious sides you can serve with your sliders. We usually eat cheese steaks with fresh veggies, chips, and/or fruit.
They pair really well with potato wedges or steak fries, French fries, pasta salad, broccoli cauliflower salad, this vegetable finger salad, and even corn on the cob.
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The Best Philly Cheesesteak Sliders Ever
Equipment
- Basting Brush Silicone Heat Resistant Pastry Brushes Spread Oil Butter Sauce Marinades for BBQ Grill Barbecue Baking Kitchen Cooking, Baste Pastries Cakes Meat Desserts, Dishwasher safe, Set of 4
- OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Locking Tongs with Nylon Heads, 9 Inch
- Wilton Perfect Results Premium Non-Stick Bakeware Cookie Baking Sheets Set, 2-Piece
- Helen’s Asian Kitchen Stir Fry Spatula, Natural Bamboo, 13-Inch
- Lodge 13.25 Pre Seasoned Inch Cast Iron Skillet. Large Classic Cast Iron Skillet for Family Size Meals
- Gorilla Grip Original Oversized Cutting Board, 3 Piece, BPA Free, Dishwasher Safe, Juice Grooves, Larger Thicker Boards, Easy Grip Handle, Non Porous, Extra Large, Kitchen, Set of 3, Black
Ingredients
- 1 pound sirloin steak* thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons bacon grease*
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion sliced
- 2 ounces fresh mushrooms* minced
- 1/2 large green bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 12 Hawaiian Rolls*
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 3/4 cup Cheez Whiz
Garlic Butter:
- 3 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1/4 teaspoon roasted garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley minced
Instructions
- Prepare the garlic, onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Garlic and mushrooms need to be minced; onion and peppers need to be sliced.
- Slice the steak as thin as possible, slicing it against the grain (to retain tenderness) into thin strips for cooking. Be sure to leave as much of the fat as possible on the meat. Fat gives meat flavor, especially during the cooking process.
- Heat bacon grease or olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté the garlic, onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper for about 10 minutes, or 'til softened. Then set aside.
- Add the steak, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Cook until the meat is almost done.
- At this point, add the veggies back in with the meat, stir, and simmer 'til fully cooked.
- Slice the Hawaiian Rolls in half, as a whole. You'll have the top layer of the rolls, and then a bottom layer.
- Place the bottom layer of the rolls in a greased baking dish or baking sheet.
- Spread the bottoms of the rolls with mayo.
- Add a layer of provolone cheese.
- Now add a layer of meat and vegetables. Tongs work great for this. Go ahead and pile up the meat and veggies, no skimping allowed.
- Add a dollop of Cheez Whiz to every single slider.
- Now add the top layer of the rolls.
- Mix together the melted butter, roasted garlic powder, and minced parsley.
- Brush the tops of the rolls with the garlic butter mixture, and sprinkle with extra Italian parsley if desired.
- Cover with aluminum foil to keep your rolls from browning too quickly, and bake at 350° F for about 10 to 15 minutes, or 'til the cheese is melted.
- Then uncover and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes or so. And that's it!
- Serve while warm and enjoy!
Notes
- You need to be able to slice it thinly.
- It needs to be tender, not tough, and fat is a good thing for both flavor and tenderness.
- Regular dinner rolls
- Brioche slider buns – which you can also find at Aldi.
- Regular slider buns – with or without sesame seeds.
- Potato slider buns
- Gluten-free dinner rolls
Fixing for Bunco night. Will be terrific since I’ve done it before. Thanks
Thanks, Robbie!
This was amazing and we totally fell in love with this recipe. I had a new cheese from Aldi I subistuted cheddar gruyere, So decadent! I also carmalized my onions to get that sweet jammy flavor. Thanks for the recipe !
Jamie, that sounds so good! Thanks for trying the recipe.
Fantastic recipe. I didn’t have Velveeta or chez whiz ( I don’t prefer it anyway), so I used mozzarella on the bottom and cheddar jack on the top of the meat. No mushrooms for us, but this is an easy and delicious recipe, and I love the fact that it’s so easily customizable. Thank you.
That’s awesome! Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah! I’m really not sure why anyone uses cheese wiz but fine. Why now grab real cheese from the deli. Anyway, excited to try it! Minus cheese wiz
John, a traditional Philly cheesesteak uses cheese wiz, but many people prefer real cheese. My oldest son uses cheddar or provolone.
I followed the recipe exactly, EXCEPT I used Steak-Ummms. It was great. The only other thing I added was sprinkling Lawry’s as I ate and it took it to the next level. Nice job!
That sounds great, Tori! Thanks so much for the feedback.
Made these tonight and they came out perfect. They were very filling too. My hubby loved them!
Thanks so much, Ty! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the recipe.
Made these tonight for dinner. I used ribeye steaks. These were easy to make and delicious. My whole family loved them. I will definitely be making these again.
I am so glad your family enjoyed these sliders, Amy. Thank you for the feedback!
I thought i read something about cooking this in crock-pot. But i can’t find it now. Is that right? For how long and would you put it on med temperature?
Cathy, here’s my recipe for crock pot Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.