These brown sugar glazed baked ham sandwiches are basted in a delicious mixture of butter, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce while melted Swiss cheese gently cascades off slices of oven-roasted ham underneath golden-brown sweet dinner rolls.
These baked ham and cheese sliders are a big hit at any holiday gathering or game day party. Otherwise, they are also perfect to make with leftover ham!
Ingredients You Will Need
- Baked ham - You need enough ham slices to cover the dinner rolls in two layers. In lieu of traditional baked ham, deli ham from the grocery store can be substituted, but it isn't ideal. You can even substitute different meats, such as roast beef deli meat.
- Sweet dinner rolls - Sweet Hawaiian Rolls are specifically recommended.
- Swiss cheese - Cut the pieces of cheese into squares to cover each slider. If you wish to use a different type of cheese, Gruyere, Provolone or Muenster cheese would be my top choice to substitute for Swiss.
- Butter - Melted butter is the base of your sauce that coats the rolls.
- Brown sugar - Brown sugar in the sauce is a nice contrast to the salty ham.
- Dijon mustard - Mustard adds a welcomed tanginess to the sauce. Any stone ground mustard is a good substitute. In a pinch, you can substitute yellow mustard, but Dijon works best. For sweeter sandwiches, honey mustard can be used, but I would probably cut back on the brown sugar to taste.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Onion powder - Garlic powder can also be used if desired.
How to make them
Prepare your baked ham sandwiches by first slicing the Hawaiian sweet rolls in half with a large serrated knife and placing the bottom halves in a small baking dish. Pile two slices of ham on each roll, then add slices of cheese and the top half of the rolls.
Prepare the glaze mixture by mixing together melted butter, brown sugar, Dijon, Worcestershire, and onion powder in a small bowl. Drizzle sauce evenly over the top of the mini sandwich rolls so everything is fully coated, then cover with foil and place in the refrigerator for two hours to set.
After two hours, remove from the fridge. Heat oven to 375 degrees and place the sliders in the oven for 20 minutes while still covered with foil. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Now the delicious ham and cheese sliders with brown sugar and Dijon mustard are hot, melty, and ready to serve!
Can these be made in advance?
Yes! Baked ham sliders are such a great party meal precisely because they can be made in advance so easily. The day prior to your party, start the Hawaiian roll sliders and follow the direction until the sandwiches are placed in the refrigerator. Then stop.
This is the perfect make-ahead point because the sandwiches can now be left in the refrigerator in a casserole dish covered with plastic wrap or foil until shortly before you wish to serve them. Simply remove from the fridge and bake.
Tips & Tricks
- Customize these sandwiches by adding crispy bacon slices over the ham!
- Adding a dill pickle slice under the top half of the rolls is a huge hit with the kids!
- I like using spiral ham for these sandwiches because the pre-cut slices are the perfect thickness for stacking the hot ham on Hawaiian rolls.
- For adding texture, sprinkle one or two tablespoons of poppy seeds over the tops of the sandwiches.
FAQs
Swiss cheese and Cheddar cheese are the two most popular kinds of cheese for ham sandwiches. For this easy recipe, Swiss plays best with all of the ingredients used.
Place the sandwiches in a baking dish covered with foil and set them in the oven at 180 degrees. Remove them from the oven and uncover when you are ready to serve the individual sandwiches.
Sliders are smaller than traditional sandwiches and therefore require fewer fillings. Two ounces of meat is typical per slider.
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Baked Ham Sandwiches with a Brown Sugar Glaze
Equipment
- Baking dish
Ingredients
- 24 slices baked ham
- 12 sweet dinner rolls sliced
- 3 slices Swiss cheese cut into quarters
Sauce
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
Instructions
- Place two slices of ham on each roll, or more if desired and top with a square of Swiss cheese and the top half of the roll.
- Place the sliders into a small baking pan, ungreased.
- Combine all ingredients of the sauce in a small bowl, then pour the butter mixture on top of the rolls and spread it evenly with a pastry brush, letting the excess pool at the bottom of the pan.
- Cover the baking pan with foil and refrigerate for 2 hours, or up to the next day.
- In a 375 degree pre-heated oven bake the covered pan for 20 minutes, then uncover and continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the tops of the sandwiches begin to brown.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutritional Information
This recipe was originally published on FoxValleyFoodie.com on November 23, 2015.
Laura
Hoping to try this for Easter! Is the ham baked before making the sandwiches, or is the bake time for the sandwiches enough? It’s already precooked ham so.. just wondering.
Gary
I made it per the recipe. My wife and I thought it was too sweet and too much butter.
Purple Cook
Delicious, but 5 minutes uncovered was for me already too long. Next time I would do 3 minutes. This can be my oven, of course. Thanks for the recipe.
Jen
Delicious!
Katherine
Cant wait to try these!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!!!
SO VERY SORRY to hear of Basil's passing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cassandra Barton
Thank you so..... much for this recipe. I've made it several times now, using croissants. My husband and 21 year old son absolutely love them. Quick and delicious!
Kimberly M
This recipe is a winner! It’s quick, easy, ingredients are already in my pantry and my family loved it! It’s delicious without refrigerating for 2 hrs, because I didn’t read that part of the recipe until I was making it for a hungry family, so I skipped it and I thought it was still great! Will definitely make again and again!
Alice H Vinson
Have never tried this recipe before, but you can be sure I will use it often now!!! My husband does not eat any kind of cheese, but he loved these even minus the cheese.
Ali
Hello! This recipe sounds delicious! Do the buns get soggy at all? Thank You!
Kelly Galyon
This will be my Christmas Eve dinner with our families tonite. Thank you for the inspiring recipe. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser. Merry Christmas 2019.
Susan Hagen
Great also for game days or appetizers
Cathy adams
Haven't tried the ham sandwiches yet but they look amazing. Will definitely try as ham is my favorite.
Linda
Love this recipe, thanks for sharing.
kristi@ishouldbemoppingthefloor
That photo of ham is PERFECTION! I'm loving how you turned it into the most amazing sandwiches. We have a Friday Thanksgiving after-party, too, that I prefer over the actual holiday, too! #client
Fox Valley Foodie
Post-holiday parties are the best! Enjoy it!