Chicken Meatball Sliders {With Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Sauce}

These chicken meatball sliders make a great appetizer, party food or dinner. Make a delicious oven roasted red pepper and tomato sauce to go with these cheesy sliders.
Both the meatballs and sauce can be frozen for later too, so make a large batch!

Love burgers but don’t want the guilt of indulging in a quarter pounder every time? Then, sliders are just the thing for you. These mini burgers pack all the punch of a regular burger in just one mouthful. But of course, the downside is that these are so irresistible that you simply cannot stop at just one, or two…

I love making sliders, especially meatball sliders. This particular recipe has baked chicken meatballs dunked in a toothsome roasted red pepper-tomato sauce and of course, lots of melted cheese. Drooling yet?!!

Let’s talk sauce first. One thing you do not want is a dry slider. Nuh-uh… not particularly appetizing. So let’s throw some red onions, garlic, peppers and tomatoes into the oven, and blitz them with some lime juice, cilantro and oregano. That makes the sauce. It is so good, you will then have it on everything – burgers, tacos, pasta, salad, anything and everything.

Once that is sorted, let’s get to the star of these sliders – juicy little morsels of oven baked meat. I’ve used chicken here, but you can also do beef or pork, totally up to you. Give them a nice hot soak in that red sauce you just made. Let the flavors meld together before we assemble the sliders.

Lettuce, saucy meatball, more sauce and lots of cheese. You can eat it right away or go one step further and put the sliders under the broiler to melt that cheese. Yum!

Once you have the sauce and meatballs done, the assembly of the sliders is pretty straight-forward and fast, like a little slider assembly line. This is the perfect party food. You can assemble the buns and melt the cheese right before serving.

Raise your glasses to these wonderful morsels of delight. Get the full recipe below.

Chicken Meatball Sliders {With Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Sauce}

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

These chicken meatball sliders make a great appetizer, party food or dinner. Make a delicious oven roasted red pepper and tomato sauce to go with these cheesy sliders. Both the meatballs and sauce can be frozen for later too, so make a large batch!

Author: Anjana Devasahayam

Recipe type: Appetizer, Main

Cuisine: American

Serves: 12

You will need:

For the red pepper-tomato sauce:

• Red pepper - 1, deseeded and thickly sliced
• Tomato - 1, thickly sliced
• Red onion - 1 small, thickly sliced
• Garlic - 3-4 cloves, crushed
• Cracked black pepper - 1 tsp
• Lime - 1, juiced
• Fresh cilantro leaves - 1 cup, lightly packed
• Dried oregano - ½ tsp
• Cumin powder - ½ tsp
• Salt - to taste

For the chicken meatballs:

• Ground chicken - 1 lb
• Red onion - ½ cup, finely chopped
• Garlic - 1 tbsp, minced
• Grated cheese - ¼ cup (use a soft cheese like feta or ricotta preferably)
• Egg - 1, large
• Bread crumbs - ¼ – ½ cup (as required to bind the mixture)
• Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
• Salt - ½ tsp or to taste
• Oil - to brush on top

For the sliders:

• Slider buns - 12
• Lettuce leaves - 12
• Chicken meatballs - 12
• Red pepper sauce - 2 cups
• Grated cheddar cheese - ½ cup
• Grated Swiss cheese or other white cheese - ½ cup

How to:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 deg.F. Line a small and large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and set aside.
2. Red Pepper Sauce: Spread the peppers, tomato, onion, and garlic in a small baking pan. Season with cracked black pepper and salt and bake for 20 minutes.
3. Cool slightly and blend with the other ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Once cooled, this sauce can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for a few days, making this an easy make-ahead step.
5. Baked Chicken Meatballs: Combine the chicken, onion, garlic, cheese, egg, black pepper and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs, a little at a time, till it comes together and you are able to make little balls out of it.
6. Divide into 12 portions and roll each portion into a ball. Arrange the meatballs in a large baking pan, brush the tops with oil, and bake for 25 minutes or till done. Turn the meatballs over once midway through the baking time.
7. Heat the red pepper sauce in a saucepan. Add the meatballs to it and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Chicken Meatball Sliders: Lightly toast the sliders on a hot skillet. Place a lettuce leaf and meatball on one half of the bun. Add a spoon of sauce. Top with the grated cheeses liberally.
9. Repeat till all the sliders are done. Serve immediately or broil in the oven for 1 minute to melt the cheese before serving.

Notes:

1. Make a large batch of the red pepper sauce. It can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. Freeze it in an airtight container for long term storage.
2. The chicken meatballs can also be frozen, either raw or baked. To use, defrost and proceed as needed.

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Make a platter of these delicious chicken meatball sliders the next time you have guests over and wow them with a flavor explosion! Don’t you think this is the perfect game day recipe? It’s gonna be a winner, I guarantee you.

So, tell me, do you like sliders? Have you made any at home? Do share your recipes.

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I am sharing this over at Fiesta Friday, FoodieFriDIY & Saucy Saturday.