Unless you are somewhere warm, grilling cheeseburgers outside is probably not high on your list. But what are you to do when you want a delicious cheeseburger? You certainly can fry a hamburger patty indoors, but let’s try something easier and without the grease splatter.
The first time I made these cheeseburger sliders was for a Super Bowl party. I think I tripled the recipe and we had plenty without a lot of effort. This recipe makes a great party food. But I now make these all the time for my family with just a pound of ground beef. Sometimes I include chopped onions, sometimes I don’t. I don’t use lean beef because it tends to dry out in my opinion, but you certainly can use 93% instead of the 80% beef I use. You can also use ground turkey instead.
Grab a bowl. Mix up beef, bread crumbs, finely chopped onion, and salt. Don’t over mix or your burger will turn out tough. You just want to mix just enough so everything’s combined. Are the chopped onion bits all over the place so each bite has a piece of onion? Stop. You’re good.
Press the meat into an 8 x 8-inch pan.
You can use any sized pan, but the thickness will vary and so will your cooking times. Next, use a fork to poke a bunch of holes in the meat to help evenly cook the meat. Bake for 20 minutes. When you pull them out of the oven, you’ll notice that the meat shrunk and is in a pool of liquid. Completely normal.
Carefully pour the liquid out into a soda can or jar. Don’t pour it down the drain unless you want clogged pipes and your plumber on speed dial.
Top the burgers with slices of your favorite cheese. American cheese melts nicely, but we’ve used cheddar, pepper jack, or even blue cheese.
Stick the pan back in the oven until the cheese melts. Cut into squares the same size as your rolls, place them on Hawaiian rolls (or any sized roll or bun), add your favorite toppings, and tada! A cheeseburger!
I like to fry up some bacon while the the burgers are cooking in the oven for bacon cheeseburgers, but bacon bits will do in a pinch. Here we serve them with celery and pickles. That and the ketchup counts as a vegetable.
Do these have grill marks? No. They are oven-baked, people! And they are completely wonderful and delicious. Another easy meal.
Oven-Baked Cheeseburger Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/8 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 pinch salt
- 9 Hawaiian rolls or slider buns
- Cheese slices
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine beef, bread crumbs, onion, and salt. Gently press mixture into a 8 x 8-inch pan so that it makes one large patty of even thickness. Using a fork, poke holes throughout the meat so the meat will cook evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. As it bakes, the meat will shrink away from the sides and liquid will accumulate around the edges of pan. When fully cooked, remove the pan from oven (keep oven turned on) and carefully drain off the liquid.
- Top the meat with an even layer of sliced cheese. Return pan to oven for about 2 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares (or the size of the buns used) about 9 mini-hamburgers.
