Baked Reuben Sliders
These Reuben Sliders are a must-make for St. Patrick’s Day, football Sundays, or any party when you’re craving that classic deli sandwich in an easy, bite-sized form. I’ve been making them for years, and they disappear fast. No one can resist warm, melty, and way too easy to keep picking up “just one more.”
They’ve got everything you love about a Reuben sandwich: corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island, all tucked into soft, hot slider rolls and finished with a buttery baked top.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients: Tips and Substitutions
It’s a simple list of ingredients that you would normally find in a classic sandwich but altered for these easy party sliders:
- Slider Rolls (one connected sheet) – Hawaiian is classic, sweet and soft. Brioche or potato rolls are less sweet and feel more “deli.” Keep them attached for easy layering.
- Corned beef – deli-sliced and preferably thin sliced. You can use leftover from oven baked corned beef or Instant pot corned beef. Swap pastrami for a smokier, peppery version.
- Swiss cheese – Swiss is classic in a Reuben sandwich. If needed, swap provolone (milder) or Gruyère (richer). Tip: place cheese against the bread to help prevent sogginess.
- Sauerkraut – canned or jarred and drained and squeezed dry. Swap with fried cabbage if needed.
- Thousand Island dressing – Thousand Island is preferred for creamier/sweeter and true Reuben flavor. Russian dressing is tangier with more bite.
- Seasonings: caraway seeds adds to the rye bread classic flavor, it’s my secret to increase the Reuben inspired taste. For the topping, dried minced garlic and onion will add maximum flavor.
How to Make Reuben Sliders
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease a 13×9 baking dish.
- Take the pack of rolls out of the bag and do NOT separate them. Cut them in half width-wise. Place the bottom half in the baking pan.
- This is the best order to get the most flavorful but not soggy sliders:
- Top the buns with 6 slices of Swiss cheese (more or less depending on the size of cheese slices). The buns should be covered evenly. Having cheese touch the buns on top and bottom will act as a moisture prevention barrier to keep them from getting soggy.
- Add the corned beef. Divide corned beef evenly over the cheese.
- Follow with the squeezed sauerkraut and sprinkle the caraway seeds evenly.
- Add dressing. Drizzle thousand island dressing evenly all over.
- Top off with remaining Swiss cheese just like you did on the bottom, overlapping slightly.
- Add the topping. Cover with the top buns. Melt butter and mix it with dried minced garlic and onions. Brush the top of the rolls with the butter mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. PRO Tip: if the top is browning too fast, loosely tent it with a sheet of aluminum foil!
Tips for the Best Baked Reuben Sliders
After years of making these (and many other corned beef sliders), I’ve made some mistakes and learned how to fix them:
- Squeeze the sauerkraut dry. Drain it well, then press/squeeze with your hands. Paper towel is not necessary or too much flavor will come out! This is the #1 way to prevent soggy sliders.
- Use cheese as a moisture barrier. Place Swiss against the rolls (bottom and/or top) so the bread stays soft-but-not-wet while baking.
- Cover gently with foil for the first part so everything heats and melts evenly, then uncover briefly at the end for a golden, buttery top. If you forgot to cover, simply tent the baking fish with foil for the seconds half of bake time.
- Don’t slice before baking. Assemble as one sheet, bake, then cut. This keeps the filling from sliding out and helps them stay juicy.
- Rest before cutting. Let the pan sit 3-5 minutes after baking so the cheese sets slightly and you get cleaner slices.
- Serving for a crowd: Keep them warm by leaving them in the pan, loosely tented with foil, and set out extra dressing for dipping.
- Size up for the crowd: for 24 sliders, make two separate 12-roll sheets and bake in two pans or one large pan. Leave a little space between sliders sheets if possible, and rotate pans halfway through, if baking two at once.
Make Ahead, Storing and Reheating Instructions
- Make Ahead: you can absolutely assemble the sliders up to 24 hours ahead of time, right in the baking dish. Don’t add topping! Just assemble and cover the dish air-tight and refrigerate. When ready to bake, add the butter toping and bake as instructed.
- Storing: Store the leftover sliders in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. Store them for a 2-3 days but note that the buns may start to get soggy from the dressing and sauerkraut.
- Reheating: To reheat leftover Reuben sliders, I recommend doing it in the oven or an air-fryer. The microwave tends to make the bread soft and soggy. In the oven, reheat them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet at 350℉ just until heated through.
- Reheating in the air-fryer, I recommend lining it with a perforated parchment paper sheet as well and reheat at 360℉ for a couple of minutes.
How to Serve Reuben Sliders
- Reuben sliders always impress guests at parties! You can always celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with more appetizer and snack recipes like Shamrock Cucumber Sandwiches, Beer Cheese Dip and Irish Beer Burgers.
- Pair it all with something spirited like the best Irish Lemonade.
- Lunch is another wonderful time to enjoy some Reuben sliders! Plate them with sides like a simple Cucumber Tomato Salad or Creamy Corn Salad. Of course, a bag of your favorite potato chips always pairs perfectly with Reuben sliders.
Recipe FAQs
Either works. Corned beef is the classic Reuben flavor, and pastrami gives a smokier, peppery twist.
Absolutely! You can substitute the sauerkraut with coleslaw and omit the thousand island dressing as well.
You can also make sautéed onions and mushrooms and spread that over the corned beef instead of sauerkraut.
If you have some extra time to play with, try adding Caramelized Onions. They add great flavor and a little sweetness to the corned beef.
Another tasty option is Fried Cabbage! Just make it without the bacon.
You can freeze them, but texture is best when fresh. If freezing, wrap unbaked assembled sliders (not the pan) tightly in plastic wrap and in foil.
Reheating from frozen (Oven): take off plastic wrap but keep in foil and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, then uncover for 5-10 minutes to crisp the tops.
Thawed (Oven): Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, tented with foil for half the bake time.
More Slider Recipes To Try
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Reuben Sliders Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 Hawaiian rolls or Brioche style butter rolls
- 8 oz thinly sliced corned beef
- 8-10 oz sliced Swiss cheese 12 slices, depending on size
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut squeezed, pressed
- 1/2 tsp caraway seed
- 1/3 cup thousand island dressing
Topping:
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp dried minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried minced onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a 13×9 baking dish.
- Take the pack of rolls out of the bag, do NOT separate them, and cut them in half, width-wise. Place the bottom half in the baking pan. (I like to separate the rolls but it's a personal preference.)
- Top the buns with 6 slices of Swiss cheese, depending on the size of cheese slices, the buns should be covered evenly! You can slightly overlap the slices of needed.
- Divide corned beef evenly over the cheese. Follow with the squeezed sauerkraut and sprinkle the caraway seeds evenly. Drizzle thousand island dressing evenly all over.
- Top off with remaining Swiss cheese just like you did on the bottom and cover with the top buns.
- Melt butter and mix it with dried minced garlic and onions. Brush the top of the rolls with the butter mixture.
- Loosely tent the baking dish with the sheet of aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, slice, and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Appetizer Recipes, Beef Recipes, Brunch Recipes, Snack Ideas, St. Patrick's Day Recipes, Super Bowl Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
