When it comes to party food, nothing beats these Baked Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sliders. Easy to make and so tasty! They’re like a jalapeno popper on a bun!
Easy to make food is essential around our house during football season. Between hosting some friends at our house and taking food to a game day potluck, I make a lot of appetizers and dips. While snacks are great, I kind of hate not having an actual meal-ish dish in the food spread. I like to actually feel satisfied instead of grazing all day. And there’s no game day flavor combination I like better than jalapeno and bacon.
You won’t find a game day dish more craveable than these Baked Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sliders! Okay, they tie these Baked Club Sliders according to my husband and my kids love Crock Pot Crack Chicken. But you can totally fit both types on one baking sheet and have it all!
BAKED JALAPENO POPPER CHICKEN SLIDERS
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These baked sliders are a great way to feed the game day crowd without a lot of effort, and make sure everyone’s tummy is satisfied! Jalapeno poppers are one of our favorite flavor combinations. So I took all those flavors, threw them in a bowl, and ran with it! These sliders are crispy on the top from baking, slightly spicy, and creamy, warm, and cheesy on the inside.
Baked up a batch of these sliders and watch them disappear before your eyes!
What is a slider?
Sliders are basically mini sandwiches. They’re usually about 2-inches across and were traditional “steam grilled.” Think White Castle burgers. These days the term applies to all kinds of mini sandwiches. You can serve them hot or cold and top them with an endless combination of meats, cheese, veggies, and sauces.
Ingredients for Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sliders
- Sliders rolls
- Bacon
- Cream cheese
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Shredded chicken
- Jalapenos
- Butter
- Garlic powder
You can use whichever type of slider roll you like. I went with potato rolls this time, but I’ve made this recipe with Hawaiian rolls and regular old dinner rolls too. They’ll come out great with any bread style you choose. But I will say Hawaiian roll chicken sliders are pretty amazing.
If you want to cut down on your prep time, you can grab a rotisserie chicken from the store. Then remove the skin, take it off the bone, and shred it. You’ll want about 2 cups of chicken total. A little more won’t hurt though!
If you want you sliders extra spicy, you can leave the jalapeno seeds in. I leave them out because I’m a heat whimp.
How to Make Sliders
- You’re going to start off by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F. Grab a baking sheet and set it to the side so you have it ready.
- To cook the bacon, you want to place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon strip while the pan is still cool, and then cook until crispy. Use some tongs to flip the bacon as needed to get even cooking. Then put your bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- After that, you’ll cut the slider rolls in half. They’re usually in one big pull-apart piece. Leave the rolls attached to each other, and cut through the middle to make a top and bottom layer. Place the bottom layer onto your baking sheet.
- Then, grab a medium mixing bowl. To the bowl, you’re going to add the softened cream cheese and 1 cup of Jack cheese. Smush that together with a spoon or rubber spatula.
- Next, chop up the cooled bacon. Add the bacon along with the chicken and jalapenos to the cheese mixture and mix it all together until ti’s completely combined.
- Assemble the sliders by spreading the chicken mixture all over the slider bottom layer. Then sprinkle the remaining Jack cheese over the chicken mixture. Place the slider tops onto the filling.
- Once that’s done, put the butter and garlic powder in a small bowl. Heat this in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds until the butter melts. Stir the garlic butter and then brush the butter over the tops of the rolls.
- Then all you need to do is bake your sliders for 20 minutes until the tops or golden and the cheese is melty. After cooking, take the pan out of the oven and cut the sliders into individual sandwiches after they’ve cooled for 5 minutes.
How do you shred chicken?
To shred your cooked chicken for this recipe you have a couple options.
#1 – Place the chicken on a plate and grab two forks. Hold the forks to the backs face up and use then to pull apart the chicken until it’s in little pieces. Stop and pull off any chicken stuck in between the fork tines as you work.
#2 – Place the cooked chicken in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Turn the mixture on medium-low to medium speed and it will shred apart the chicken for you.
I promise you friends, one bite of these jalapeno chicken sliders and you are going to be hooked! They’re like any easier version of bacon wrapped chicken jalapeno poppers, but on bread. Because carbs are my favorite.
Other great slider recipes
BBQ Pork Loin Sliders – I love making two pork loins when I make this recipe. I serve one for dinner, and then save the other for sliders the next day!
Philly Cheese Steak Sliders – Everyone in my family loves steak, cheese, mushrooms, and peppers all melted together on a toasty roll!
Chicken Parmesan Sliders – This recipe has a short cut that’ll save you time and make these the easier sliders around!
Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders – This derby day favorite gets a mini makeover that’ll make you weak in the knees!
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders – Let your slow cooker do the work, and then assemble when you’re ready to eat!
Tools used to make this Baked Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sliders recipe
Mixing bowls: These mixing bowls are perfect for mixing and serving. I love the varied sizes so I always have to right size bowl for all my mixing needs.
Baking Sheet: A nice big baking sheet is a must-have for any kitchen. This half pan sheet is large than a regular cookie and works great for anything you’re baking.
*This post originally published on 09/27/2015.
Ingredients
- 12 slider rolls
- 5 strips bacon
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 cups Monterrey jack cheese shredded
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 2 small jalapenos seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Leave rolls attached to each other and cut in half to create a top and bottom section. Place the bottom of the rolls onto a baking sheet. Set aside the tops for now.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Once cool enough to handle, finely chop the bacon.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of jack cheese. Add the bacon, chicken, and jalapeno. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
- Spread the chicken mixture over the roll bottoms in an even layer. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup jack cheese evenly over the chicken mixture. Place the roll tops onto the sliders.
- Put butter and garlic powder into a small bowl and melt in the microwave. Stir and then brush the garlic butter over the roll tops.
- Bake for 20 minutes until tops are golden and cheese is melted.
- Carefully remove from the oven. Use a knife or spatula to cut between the sliders. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Jason buick says
Am I reading the bake time wrong?? Wouldn’t the rolls burn or get too well done if baked at 20 minutes at 400 degrees? I wonder if mixture is suppose to be partially baked alone first, then added on to bread to bake more
Aubrey Cota says
It should work out ok, keep it on the middle rack to help more evenly distribute the heat. The end result is expected to be a little crispy on the outside, but you are certainly welcome to reduce the heat especially because you know your oven better than we do! I highly recommend you try it and let us know how it worked out for you.
Gayatri Mantra says
This looks amazing…
Betty P says
Made these tonight for dinner, and my husband just loved them. He ate four! That’s a lot! I only left them in the oven about 7 minutes, and that was perfect timing. The tops were brown, cheese melted. Everything else was cooked, so no need for more oven time. Really tasty. I’ll be making these again!
Me says
I made this with hawaiian rolls and they got burned i had to take them out around 8 min. I would suggest just using the potato ones. Even tho they got a lil burnt they were still good- I’ll def try making them again.
Julie @Real Housemoms says
If you want to try Hawaiian Rolls, place some foil loosey over the top of the pan and this should help prevent them from browning too quickly/burning. 🙂