Turkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders
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These Turkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders are a great way to use up leftovers after Thanksgiving, but can also be made anytime of the year with deli turkey slices. They’re easy to make, fantastic for feeding a crowd, and the savory-sweet flavor combo is guaranteed to delight your tastebuds with each bite!
Savory, sweet, cheesy, and sooo darn yummy!
Guys, these Turkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders are the BOMB. The flavor combo is irresistible, and they’re great for an easy and tasty lunch or a party appetizer!
We have:
- A quick and easy simple chicken salad made with leftover shredded chicken (or you can use turkey), mayo, and a few seasonings.
- Sweet cranberry sauce.
- Savory oven roasted turkey slices (or you can use ham slices if using shredded turkey)
- Honey Dijon mustard – which pairs SO WELL with the turkey slices! 😍
- Baby spinach leaves to balance out all the flavors.
- Light and melty Swiss cheese.
- And all of it is piled into buttery dinner rolls!
Why This Recipe Works
- The savory-sweet combo of turkey, chicken and cranberry sauce goes well together and will delight your tastebuds with each bite!
- It’s a fantastic way to use leftover turkey slices after the Thanksgiving (or Christmas, or Easter!) feast. But you can really make it anytime of the year by using turkey deli slices.
- They’re great for feeding a crowd, and perfect as an appetizer, party snack, or for lunch!
- You can easily double or triple the recipe if needed.
Grab them rolls and leftovers, and let’s make some delicious sliders! 💃
Ingredients
- Chicken Salad: I used some leftover baked salt and pepper seasoned chicken breasts that I made using the method for this Juicy Baked Chicken Breasts recipe. However, you can use shredded rotisserie or roasted chicken for a shortcut, or leftover shredded turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas. I tossed the chicken with mayonnaise, cajun seasoning, and a pinch of ground cayenne. You can also add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
- Slider Dinner Rolls: If you’re based in the States, King Hawaiian Dinner Rolls (original sweet, savory butter, honey wheat, or jalapeño rolls) would work great. Or you can use any type of dinner rolls or slider buns from your local supermarket/bakery.
- Honey Dijon Mustard: You’re welcome to use Dijon mustard or wholegrain mustard if you prefer. But I love the taste of honey Dijon mustard with the turkey slices.
- Cranberry Sauce: I used the bottled type, but leftover whole berry cranberry sauce would be brilliant.
- Turkey Slices: You can use leftover turkey slices from Thanksgiving or deli turkey slices. I used oven roasted deli slices here. If using leftover shredded turkey, you may want to use ham slices (deli honey ham or leftover roast ham slices would taste fabulous) instead of turkey slices. Or you could skip the turkey slices and just use shredded turkey. It’s all good, and flexible based on what you have on hand. 👌
- Swiss Cheese Slices: Other great options would be provolone, gouda, or Havarti cheese slices.
Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.
How to Make Turkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders
Prep: Preheat oven to 365°F/185°C. Lightly brush a 9×13-inch baking dish with oil (or spray with cooking spray).
1. Make the chicken/turkey salad: Toss together the leftover shredded chicken or turkey with mayonnaise, Cajun seasoning, ground cayenne, and kosher salt and freshly black pepper (if needed) in a large bowl.
2. Assemble the sliders: Start with the bottom halves of the bread rolls, then spread the honey Dijon mustard on top, and top with baby spinach leaves, chicken (or turkey) salad, cranberry sauce, turkey slices, swiss cheese slices, and the top part of the dinner rolls.
3. Brush: Brush melted butter on top of the tops of the dinner rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
4. Bake: Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for a couple more minutes, until the tops of the dinner rolls have browned.
Serve! Allow the sliders to cool for 5 minutes, then slice, plate, and serve!
Full detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook’s Tips and Variations
- Pat-dry the turkey slices. If using store-bought deli turkey slices that came in boxes with added water, gently pat them dry with some paper towels before assembling the sliders. This will prevent the sliders from becoming soggy.
- Keep an eye on the sliders when baking without the foil. During the second bake, it’s best to watch the oven to ensure that the buns don’t brown too much.
- Use different cheese. Havarti, provolone, or gouda would all taste delicious in these sliders.
- Use poppy seeds instead of sesame seeds: Mix one tablespoon of poppy seeds into the melted butter before brushing onto the buns for a different, but delicious flavor!
FAQs
No, not for this recipe. You can separate them if you wish. But I left some of them attached to each other. (Mine came in packs of 4 rolls that were attached to each other.) If using King Hawaiian rolls, it may be easier to slice the whole 12-count dinner rolls through the middle so that you have a bottom half and top half. But it doesn’t make much of a difference whether if you leave them intact or separate them for this recipe as long as the buns fit snugly in your baking dish.
You can assemble these sliders 2-3 hours in advance. Then cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Then bake for 17 minutes with the foil on, and 5 minutes more without the foil to brown the tops of the rolls.
3-4 days in sealed airtight containers in the refrigerator. This makes them perfect for meal prep too.
The best way to reheat these sliders is in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Place the sliders in an ovenproof dish and cover with aluminum foil. Place the dish in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the sliders have heated through. While you can also heat them on high in the microwave for 25 seconds, the buns will soften and become slightly soggy. Also, the filling in the center may not heat all the way through in the microwave. Hence, the oven method is best for reheating these Turkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders.
Sure! Just use gluten free dinner rolls or slider buns.
More Easy Sandwiches and Sandwich Salads
- Coronation Chicken Salad
- Mango Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Spicy Asian-Cajun Chicken Salad Croissandwich
- Sweet & Spicy Thai Chicken Salad
- Herby Egg Salad Tartines
More Fall and Holiday Favorites
- Spicy Pumpkin Chicken Tortilla Soup (can be made with leftover cooked chicken or turkey)
- Spicy Loaded Sweet Potato Casserole
- Pumpkin Pecan Bread
- Sausage Scalloped Potatoes (with Truffle Sausage)
- Pumpkin Spice Granola
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PrintTurkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders
These Turkey and Chicken Cranberry Sliders are a great way to use up leftovers after Thanksgiving. They’re easy to make, fantastic for feeding a crowd, and the savory-sweet flavor combo is guaranteed to delight your tastebuds with each bite!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ TBLS Olive Oil (or other cooking oil of your choice, or cooking spray)
- 400 grams (14 ounces/ about 2.5 cups) cooked leftover Shredded Chicken (or turkey – see notes)
- ½ cup Mayonnaise (full-fat, low-fat if you prefer)
- ¾ TSP Cajun Seasoning
- ¼ TSP Ground Cayenne
- ½–1 TSP Kosher Salt (if needed)
- ½ TSP freshly cracked Black Pepper (if needed)
- 12 Dinner Rolls or Slider Buns – halved across the middle
- ¼ cup Honey Dijon Mustard
- ½ cup Baby Spinach Leaves
- 1/3 cup Cranberry Sauce (whole berry cranberry sauce or bottled)
- 12 Oven Roasted Turkey Slices (see notes)
- 12 thin Swiss Cheese Slices (or provolone, gouda, or Havarti cheese slices)
- 1 TBLS Unsalted Butter – melted
- 1.5–2 TSP Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 365°F/185°C. Lightly brush a 9×13-inch baking dish with oil (or spray with cooking spray).
- Make the chicken/turkey salad: In a large bowl, toss the leftover shredded chicken or turkey with mayonnaise, Cajun seasoning, ground cayenne, and kosher salt and freshly black pepper if needed until combined well.
- Assemble: Separate (if you wish, or leave them attached to each other) and slice the bread rolls in half, then place the bottom parts in the prepared pan. Spread honey Dijon mustard on all of the bottom roll parts. Then top with the baby spinach leaves, chicken (or turkey) salad, cranberry sauce, turkey slices, Swiss cheese slices, and the top part of the dinner rolls.
- Brush: Melt the unsalted butter in a small microwave safe bowl for 20-30 seconds, or until melted. Brush on top of the tops of the dinner rolls and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake: Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the tops of the dinner rolls have browned.
- Serve: Transfer the baking dish to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then slice and plate individual sliders and serve immediately!
Notes
Ingredient Notes, Cook’s Tips, and FAQs
- Chicken/turkey options: I used some leftover baked salt and pepper seasoned chicken breasts that I made using the method for this Juicy Baked Chicken Breasts recipe. However, you can use shredded rotisserie or roasted chicken for a shortcut, or leftover shredded turkey from Thanksgiving dinner. If using leftover shredded turkey, you may want to use ham slices (deli honey ham or leftover ham slices would taste fabulous) instead of turkey slices. Or you could skip the turkey slices and just use shredded turkey.
- To make gluten-free sliders: Use gluten-free dinner rolls or slider buns.
- Can I make this ahead? You can assemble these sliders 2-3 hours in advance. Then cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Then bake for 17 minutes with the foil on, and 5 minutes more without the foil to brown the tops of the rolls.
- How long will these sliders keep? 3-4 days in sealed airtight containers in the refrigerator. This makes them perfect for meal prep to.
- What’s the best way to reheat sliders? The best way to reheat these sliders is in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Place the sliders in an ovenproof dish and cover with aluminum foil. Place the dish in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the sliders have heated through. You can also heat them on high in the microwave for 25 seconds, but note that the buns will soften and become slightly soggy. Also, the filling in the center may not heat all the way through in the microwave. Hence, the oven method is best.
- Quantities for the ingredients are for reference. You may need to adjust depending on how large your turkey/ham and cheese slices are. You’re also welcome to use more cranberry sauce if you prefer a sweeter taste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slider
- Calories: 275
- Sugar: 6.5g
- Sodium: 576.2mg
- Fat: 15.8g
- Saturated Fat: 5.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17.6g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Protein: 12.3g
- Cholesterol: 60.7mg
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