Perfect Party Appetizer: How to Make Mini Cheeseburgers
Move over sliders, there’s a new- even-tinier – burger in town! It’s really shocking that I haven’t already turned this favorite food into the perfect party bite but alas, here we have the ultimate mini cheeseburgers.
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My favorite part about these little cheeseburgers are the itty bitty burger buns.
They’re so easy to make and you can control just how small you make them.
I should host a contest to see how tiny you can make a burger bun. For real though, tiny burgers mean you get to eat 10 because they’re so itty bitty. Score!
So how exactly did I make these itty bitty burger buns?
Here’s my easy way (because life with a toddler and a puppy the size of a horse is a very unique blend of chaos and noise). It involves store bought dinner rolls!
Now, all my purists, stay with me. You can easily pick up the steps starting at #3 here with my brother’s homemade hamburger buns. Just shape them into itty bitty buns and follow along with my steps from there!
The brand I buy is Rhodes Dinner Rolls because they still need to rise so you’re able to form them into tiny buns.
Some tips for making the tiny hamburger buns:
- Thaw the store-bought dinner rolls. Divide each thawed roll into four and roll each piece into a round ball/disc shape.
- Place each mini roll on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- Remove plastic wrap, and brush each ball of dough with a bit of melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F or until golden brown.
- Allow the mini hamburger buns to cool before slicing in half.
- Top with cheese and all your favorite cheeseburger toppings!
I like to serve these mini cheeseburgers on a simple white tray with a toothpick to keep everything easy to “grab and eat”.
If you want to be sure they don’t topple over, carefully slice off a tiny bit of the bottom of the burger bun to ensure they sit up perfectly!
Top these mini cheeseburgers with all your favorite burger toppings!
- Sliced cherry tomatoes fit perfectly on these mini burgers!
- Cut up slices of cheese to fit your burger
- Cut larger lettuce leaves to fit
More Appetizer Recipes
Cheers to cute mini party food! Check out more appetizer ideas here and even more on my appetizer site here!
A few of my faves include this healthier buffalo chicken dip, shrimp and tomato pastry tartlets, sweet ‘n spicy meatballs, and layered BBQ in mini martini glasses!
Even more Party Appetizers!
- Beef Wellington Bites
- Pimento Cheese Sausage Balls
- Mini Ground Beef Tacos
- Tailgate Football Charcuterie Board
- Ricotta Cheese Appetizers
Mini Cheeseburgers
Ingredients
- 5 frozen Parker House - I used Rhodes brand rolls, thawed
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 8-10 slices of bacon - cooked
- 10 cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
- 5 lettuce leaves
- 5 deli slices sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
For the Buns:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Divide each thawed roll into four and roll into a round ball/disc shape. Place each mini roll on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- Remove plastic wrap, and brush each ball of dough with a bit of melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool before slicing in half.
For the Burger:
- Combine ground beef, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and divide into 20 patties.
- Preheat grill to medium and cook each burger for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
- Top each burger bun with a small piece of lettuce, cheese, small piece of bacon, and tomato!
These are just the cutest little burgers! They are going to be perfect for tailgating!
Thank you, Robyn!!!
. You say to cover the buns w/ plastic wrap, let it rise, and then brush it with butter and sprinkle w/sesame seeds and then REMOVE the plastic wrap. Confusing! Do I brush it w/butter and top it with the seeds before it rises or after? And, is it ground beef, ground round, lean ground beef, etc, in your list of ingredients? It just states ‘1 pound ground’. Thanks!
For the ground beef, the percentage of fat is up to you. I use a lean ground beef but others might want a higher fat percentage. I adjusted the directions for the plastic wrap confusion, sorry about that!
Oh my gosh… too cute!!! <3
Thank you!
These are the cutest little burgers EVER!
Thank you!! :)
These are adorable! I’ve used mini profiteroles for tiny sliders in the past but the texture wasn’t 100%. These look absolutely perfect. Pinned!
Thank you, Kristen!!
These are sooo cute. Where did you get the wooden picks with the words on it?
I got them at World Market! Thanks so much for the comment!
Seriously the cutest thing I have seen all week! Can’t wait to make these
These are adorable! What a great idea! We’ve pinned it to our “Make it with Rhodes” Pinterest board :)
Thank you so much!! :)
How creative!! I’ve always felt traditional sliders are just too big to be “appetizers” but had no idea how to scale back the bun without going totally homemade. Genius! Thank you!! We are huge burger fans, but have friends and family who are pescatarians (vegetarian + seafood). These are going to be perfect for Super Bowl! Half as burgers, half with mini crab cakes instead. Yes, please! Thanks again for such a great idea!
I was wondering if you had any ideas on the best way to keep large quantities of these that would be premade for a party warm? Thanks for your thoughts!
Hi Jessica, I’d probably cover them (so the tops don’t continue to brown) and put them on the lowest temperature possible of your oven. :)
Hey Courtney! Sorry, this is late to post, as you wrote this in 2015. But I was wondering where you can get these personalized toothpicks? I am getting married in October and am going to send the chef this page so hopefully he can make the appetizer sliders as cute as you did! :)
Hi Kathleen!! :) Those came from World Market. I googled around and looks like these are very similar: http://www.organization-store.com/wooden-meat-skewers.html?cmpid=gpa&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_qW9BRCcv-Xc5Jn-26gBEiQAM-iJhbafInxlc4ZfXz7jQE0UzrS_xz6omsZwf1N1-rqcbtAaAqSj8P8HAQ
Is there a trick to getting the sesame seeds to stick? I used the melted butter first, but when I went to slice the cooled rolls, they all fell off?
Betsy
Holy cute!!! I need something for our HOA party and I am going to attempt to make a mearless version of these. Love it!
HI Courtney,
I hope his makes it to you as I JUST found this and you on Pinterest.
I’m hosting a party in 2 weeks and I LOVE to do something people here have never seen before and this is a bullseye!
My question is can I make the buns in advance and how would you store them?
Can I just use mini metballs from the freezer section of the store scaling the buns that fit them?
My conundrum is I will have guests for the week and entertaining them doesn’t allow the on much time before the party overlaps their stay.
HOPE YOU GET THIS IN TIME
thanks
Hi Robyn!
I’ve never tried making the buns in advance, but I imagine it might work. I’d probably freeze them. Meatballs would naturally be a diff. flavor than a miniature burger, more like a mini meatball “sub” almost, still delicious. XO – Courtney
To “stabilize” the burger on the plate, just “flatten” them a little before they rise. It should help the sesame seeds stay on better too.
Did some of these several years ago for a church function. Everyone loved them.
No one has said if they tasted good! Just how cute – looks are good but flavor is everything.
also, prepping ahead is huge these days so how on earth can you make them in advance w/out the bread getting hard or soggy & yet keep them warm
Rach, thanks for your comment! They do taste great, have you made them? I prepped the mini rolls and stored them in an airtight container for about a day (it could have gone longer but I do party prep the day before). They’re delicious.
How would you keep them warm for a party? The bottoms would get hard on a warming tray. Do you think serving them in a foil pan over water warmed with stereo would work?
They look very appetizing. Thanks for saving your recipe. I’ll try to cook it sometime.
I am making them today, I prepared the bread last night because I doubled recipe for a party later today, we don’t care for Sesame seed buns came out good though and can’t wait to taste them
Thanks Alisha! You can leave the sesame seeds off.
I loved these. I didn’t have sesame, but I used a tiny amount of garlic salt when I buttered the dough and it was SO good, and SO fun. I acknowledge that it might not be everybody’s ideal setting, but I kept some leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days and they still tasted good to me. Thanks for sharing !
These look and sound perfect, I don’t have a grill, would you have instructions for the meat in the oven or air fryer please? Temperature/time?