Want an easy game day or weeknight dinner idea with meatballs? My Hawaiian roll meatball sliders are perfect for serving a group on a busy day. Slow cook or bake the homemade beef meatballs. Then serve them with toasted slider-sized mini Hawaiian buns. Let’s cook!
Wait til you try this Italian style family dinner. It’s super easy to make in the oven or slow cooked.
Table of Contents
Here’s why everyone loves it…
- It’s a great slow cooker meal for busy nights.
- You’ll see tips for baking meatball sliders in oven for faster meatballs, too.
- Leftovers are delicious the next day with homemade pasta.
- Make easy meatball sliders for party appetizers, game day main dishes, and Sunday dinners.
- Tips on how to toast Hawaiian buns in the air fryer or oven.
Ingredients for this recipe
Here’s what you need to make the slow cooker Hawaiian roll meatball sandwiches.
Ingredients for homemade meatball sliders
You can also substitute frozen meatballs instead of making them from scratch.
- Ground beef (80/20 ratio preferred) – 2 pounds of ground beef makes about 25 meatballs
- Yellow onion
- Breadcrumbs
- Garlic
- Salt + pepper
- 1 tbsp basil, fresh chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil (for searing meatballs before slow cooking)
Ingredients for simple crockpot sauce
You can also substitute store bought marinara sauce instead of making this sauce.
- 16 oz diced tomatoes (canned)
- ½ onion, yellow (diced)
- 1 garlic clove, (minced)
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup basil, fresh diced
For serving meatball sliders
- 2 packages Hawaiian buns
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 cup marinara sauce, warmed
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated or (substitute shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese)
How to shape meatballs for sliders
- Add ground beef to a large bowl with the diced onion, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix all ingredients by hand, flipping them in the bowl and squishing them together, until combined.
- Make each meatball with about ¼ cup ground beef. I use a large serving spoon to eyeball the amount of meatball ingredients so they are all consistent in size. Roll the meat around in the palms of your hands while gently pressing together until they form a circle shape. Two pounds of ground beef makes about 25 meatballs.
How to slow cook Hawaiian roll meatball sliders
Now I’ll share the step by step directions for the recipe in the video for meatball sliders with ground beef.
- Turn a large burner on the stove to medium-high heat and add a very large frying pan on top (or fry meatballs in batches if using a smaller pan). Add olive to the frying pan. When the oil is hot and a slight smoke starts to appear, add in the meatballs carefully – the oil may splatter.
- Sear meatballs, rotating frequently with tongs, until all sides of the meatballs are seared and brown in color. The insides will not be fully cooked which is fine. During this time, add all simple crockpot sauce ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Once meatballs are seared, add meatballs to the slow cooker. Set your slow cooker to cook for desired time (the meatballs in the photos cooked for 6 hours) until done.
How to make baked meatball sliders in oven
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Add raw meatballs to a large baking dish or parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet without searing them first.
- Bake meatballs for sliders, turning them every 10 minutes, for 20-30 minutes until brown on the outside and fully cooked inside. The internal temperature for fully cooked meatballs is 165°F which you can measure with a meat thermometer.
How to toast Hawaiian buns in air fryer
You don’t need melted butter. Just pop them in the air fryer (it doesn’t matter which side is up) and toast them for 3-5 minutes at 400°F until golden brown to your liking.
How to toast Hawaiian buns in the oven
Preheat oven to 350 – 400°F. Toast Hawaiian buns in the oven with the inside of the rolls facing up, with a spread of melted butter on them for 5-10 minutes, until golden brown to your liking.
How to assemble Hawaiian roll meatball sliders
Add one meatball on top of the bottom half of the Hawaiian bun. Add a spoonful of marinara sauce on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese or add provolone or mozzarella cheese. Top with the other half of the roll and secure with a toothpick if desired.
FAQs for making an easy meatball dinner
You can buy frozen store bought meatballs, my Trader Joe’s must haves list includes them. Or you can make homemade meatballs sliders from scratch with the recipe here on Sip Bite Go the day ahead. You can sear them the day ahead, too. So all you have to do is add seared meatballs to the crock pot the day of making them with the tomato sauce.
Yes, instead of the sauce using canned tomatoes, you can use your favorite marinara sauce.
Pair this meatball sliders recipe with a seasonal salad like this summer peach salad or strawberry salad. Or winter sous vide beet salad.
Make a potato side dish for these meatballs like my easy boiled mini potatoes shown in the recipe video. They take about 20 minutes to make. You boil them until fork tender in a large pot of water on high heat. Coat them with olive oil and Italian seasonings then broil them to crisp up, or cook air fried mini potatoes on 400°F until golden brown to your liking (about 10 minutes).
I got mine from a local Portland, Oregon bread maker but you can find Hawaiian rolls in most major grocery stores. I like the hint of sweetness with the meatballs. You can either spread them with regular butter, as the recipe suggests or add a garlic butter with herbs to the bread to toast it in the oven with even more flavor.
When serving them Italian-style use a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, provolone or mozzarella cheese slices on top.
Side dish ideas
- Air fryer chicken wings
- Potato recipes
- Stuffed shells
- Sautéed onions and peppers
- White sauce
- Baked chicken wings
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Spinach pesto pasta
- Make ahead Mexican salad
- Best Caprese salad
- Creamy pesto pasta salad
- Roasted cherry tomatoes
- Focaccia bread
- Sausage stuffing
- See all side dishes
Are you a foodie, too?
You’ll love these meatball sub sliders made in the crock pot for busy nights. The Hawaiian roll meatball in pasta sauce pairing is so unexpectedly tasty.
Even though these are considered “mini meatball sliders”, you can use any full size meatball recipe for the inside. If you want to make keto friendly meatballs, see this recipe for cauliflower rice meatballs.
For a tangy spin, try these Hawaiian BBQ pineapple meatballs. Those sweet and sour meatballs and Hawaiian rolls are a great combination, too.
Before you go, connect with me on Instagram @sipbitego to see my new tasty slider recipes and other delicious home cooking ideas. I always share previews before the recipes go live on the site. For more deliciousness, subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel on YouTube.
To find more delicious recipes to try on your culinary journey, scroll through the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.
Hawaiian Roll Meatball Sliders Slow Cooked Dinner Idea Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
Ingredients for homemade meatball sliders (substitute frozen store bought meatballs)
- 2 lb ground beef 80/20 ratio preferred
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp basil fresh chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil for searing meatballs before slow cooking
Ingredients for simple crockpot sauce (substitute store bought marinara sauce)
- 16 oz tomatoes diced, canned
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup basil fresh diced
For serving meatball sliders
- 2 packages Hawaiian buns
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 2 cup marinara sauce warmed
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated or substitute shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese
Instructions
How to shape meatballs for sliders
- Add ground beef to a large bowl with the diced onion, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix all ingredients by hand, flipping them in the bowl and squishing them together, until combined.
- Make each meatball with about ¼ cup ground beef. I use a large serving spoon to eyeball the amount of meatball ingredients so they are all consistent in size. Roll the meat around in the palms of your hands while gently pressing together until they form a circle shape. Two pounds of ground beef makes about 25 meatballs.
How to slow cook Hawaiian roll meatball sliders
- Turn a large burner on the stove to medium-high heat and add a very large frying pan on top (or fry meatballs in batches if using a smaller pan). Add olive to the frying pan. When the oil is hot and a slight smoke starts to appear, add in the meatballs carefully – the oil may splatter.
- Sear meatballs, rotating frequently with tongs, until all sides of the meatballs are seared and brown in color. The insides will not be fully cooked which is fine. During this time, add all simple crockpot sauce ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Once meatballs are seared, add meatballs to the slow cooker. Set your slow cooker to cook for desired time (the meatballs in the photos cooked for 6 hours) until done.
How to make baked meatball sliders in oven
- To do this, preheat the oven to 400°F. Add raw meatballs to a large baking dish or parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet without searing them first.
- Bake meatballs for sliders, turning them every 10 minutes, for 20-30 minutes until brown on the outside and fully cooked inside. The internal temperature for fully cooked meatballs is 165°F which you can measure with a meat thermometer.
How to toast Hawaiian buns in air fryer
- You don’t need melted butter. Just pop them in the air fryer (it doesn’t matter which side is up) and toast them for 3-5 minutes at 400°F until golden brown to your liking.
How to toast Hawaiian buns in the oven
- Preheat oven to 350 – 400°F. Toast Hawaiian buns in the oven with the inside of the rolls facing up, with a spread of melted butter on them for 5-10 minutes, until golden brown to your liking.
How to assemble Hawaiian roll meatball sliders
- Add one meatball on top of the bottom half of the Hawaiian bun. Add a spoonful of marinara sauce on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese or add provolone or mozzarella cheese. Top with the other half of the roll and secure with a toothpick if desired.
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