Southwestern Cheeseburger Sliders
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These drip-down-your-chin sliders are jazzed up with Southwestern spices, jalapeños, and Jack cheese. Huge crowd-pleaser!
If you’re a fan of my Juicy Steakhouse Burgers, you’ll love these drip-down-your-chin cheeseburger sliders jazzed up with smoky Southwestern spices, jalapeño pepper and Jack cheese. They are phenomenal topped with my Roasted Tomato Peach Jam, which is more of a tangy-sweet relish than a true jam — but if you don’t want to bother, they’re also good with ketchup or salsa. If you’d like to make standard-size burgers, go right ahead; the recipe makes 5 generous patties. To feed a crowd, the recipe can be doubled or tripled without any adjustments.
How To Make Southwestern Cheeseburger Sliders
To begin, combine the bread, milk, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl.
Using a fork, mash into a paste.
Add the ground beef, jalapeño, scallions, and cheese.
Using your hands, mix until well combined.
Shape the beef mixture into 8 patties slightly wider than the diameter of the buns. The key with sliders is to make them thick so that they get a nice char without overcooking. Form a slight depression in the center of each patty to prevent the burgers from puffing up on the grill. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Grill the burgers, covered, until nicely browned on the first side, about 3 minutes. Flip burgers and add cheese (if desired); then continue cooking for about 2 minutes more for medium rare. Lightly toast the buns on the grill, then mound the arugula (if using) on the bottom halves of the buns. Top each bottom half with a patty, followed by a generous amount of the tomato peach jam (or ketchup or salsa) and the upper half of the bun. Serve hot and enjoy!
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Southwestern Cheeseburger Sliders
These drip-down-your-chin sliders are jazzed up with Southwestern spices, jalapeños, and Jack cheese. Huge crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
- 1 piece white sandwich bread, crust removed and cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 2½ tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1.5 lb 80-85% lean ground beef
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (see note)
- 2 scallions, dark and light green parts, thinly sliced
- ⅔ cup grated Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese, plus more for topping the burgers, if desired
- 8 slider buns
- Vegetable oil, for brushing the buns
- 1 batch Roasted Tomato Peach Jam, ketchup or salsa, for serving (optional)
- Arugula, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the bread, milk, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Using a fork, mash into a paste.
- Add the ground beef, jalapeno, scallions, and cheese. Using your hands, mix until well combined. Shape the beef mixture into 8 patties slightly wider than the diameter of the buns. Form a slight depression in the center of each patty to prevent the burgers from puffing up on the grill. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and oil the grates. Brush the cut sides of the buns lightly with oil and set aside.
- Grill the burgers, covered, until nicely browned on the first side, about 3 minutes. Flip burgers and add cheese (if desired); continue cooking for about 2 minutes more for medium rare. Remove the patties from the grill and let rest on a plate. Add the buns to the grill, oiled side down, and grill for about 1 minute, or until lightly toasted with grill marks. Remove from the grill. Mound the arugula (if using) on the bottom halves of the buns. Top each bottom half with a patty, followed by a generous amount of the Roasted Tomato Peach Jam (or ketchup or salsa) and the upper half of the bun. Serve hot.
- Make Ahead: The burger patties can be formed, covered, and refrigerated 2 days ahead of time.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The uncooked burgers can be frozen for up to three months. (Freeze the burgers on a baking sheet or plate so their shape sets, then transfer them to a sealable plastic bag for easy storage.). Defrost the burgers overnight in the refrigerator prior to serving and then cook as directed.
- Note: When handling jalapeño peppers, avoid touching your eyes and wash your hands well afterward.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slider (does not include toppings)
- Calories: 330
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Sodium: 335 mg
- Cholesterol: 68 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made these last night exactly as directed and they didn’t disappoint. So tasty and the jam took them to a whole different level. I can’t wait to make them again!! Your weekly emails are very inspiring. Thanks, Jenn!!
Can sour cream or yogurt be substituted for the milk if you don’t have milk?
Hi Carlene, you can just replace the milk with water here. Enjoy!
These look delicious but wonder if they can be cooked in an air fryer as I don’t have a grill.
Hi Shelagh, I don’t have any air fryer so I don’t know enough about them to say whether or not they would work in one, but you can cook them indoors using a grill pan (or cast iron pan) on the stove or broil them in the oven. (If you broil them, just place them on a broiler pan or rack so the juices can drip down.) Cook time should be about the same. Hope that helps!
I make my hamburgers in the air fryer all the time. Better & juicer than a bar b q
I made these last night and they were delicious! My son really liked them and he is suspicious of anything with more spice than salt and pepper. I can’t wait to make them again with the tomato peach jam when peaches are in season.
These were sooo good. Next time I’ll try them with the chutmey.
I made these tonight as five larger burgers instead of sliders (only because I already had regular size buns) but otherwise followed the recipe exactly, and they were AMAZING!! I served them with homemade guacamole on the toasted buns (again only because I had it previously made) but I am excited to try the tomato jam on these next time, because the burgers were absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe 😊
We have family dinners on Sundays – my grown daughters and their husbands and granddaughter all come over. I made these last Sunday and paired them with your avocado, tomato salsa (from the spicy grilled shrimp tacos) and there wasn’t a bite of anything left. Delicious! I can’t wait to make them again –
As non-meat eaters we made them with impossible beef and added a couple of very finely chopped mushrooms and used a bit less bread. Grilled on an iron skillet brushed with avocado oil – very repeatable
We made this last weekend. The van broke down and we couldn’t go anywhere. I had plenty of meat in the freezer, so I thawed enough to make a triple batch and make normal sized patties, I was just missing the jalapeno. Anyway, they grilled up beautifully and the family has unanimously agreed this is our “new” burger recipe. I had been making Jenn’s “juicy steakhouse burgers” up to now, but these even beat those!
This has become THE burger to grill in our home! Only change is that I make these “regular” size instead of as a slider. I get asked to make this a LOT! As a matter-of-fact I was asked to make this as a going away dinner for my son (his request) that is leaving for basic training in a few days! :0)
I haven’t tried this one yet, but can’t wait to try it.
Does refrigerating prior to grilling help keep the burgers intact? When I made the steakhouse burgers they fell apart on the grill but they had been sitting out at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Maybe that had something to do with it? I don’t think that recipe mentioned refrigeration. The flavor was great though!
Hi Chad, refrigerating the burgers prior to grilling may help a little bit, but more importantly, you’ll increase the likelihood that the burgers will remain intact if you grease the grill really well once it’s preheated. Hope that helps!
I have been making burgers for a while, switching up the spices, trying to find something truly tasty. Well, this is it. My whole family loved them. Thank you!
I needed to do something with somewhat suspect ground beef my husband bought & froze a while back. I knew it was not as lean as I would like but hoped this recipe could redeem it. We grilled the burgers and they released a lot of fat (ugh) and smoked like crazy. We needed to cook them pretty well done to de-fat them. Regardless they were delicious. They were still moist and flavorful. I can’t wait to make them again with some decent ground chuck. This recipe is a winner. Looking forward to trying some of your other burgers and meatballs. Thanks for a great recipe.
Excellent flavor and incredibly juicy! I paired it with the roasted tomato-peach jam, but substituted the peaches with mango, which is terrific! Another fantastic recipe!
These burgers were absolutely delicious! We are already planning to make them again for friends next week! We made them full size with small cubes of sharp cheddar mixed in rather than the monterey jack since that is what we had. Love the “cheese skirt” feel that the cubes of cheese gave in the cooked patty. My husband was very skeptical of the burger mix-ins and the tomato peach jam…. but one bite made him a believer 🙂 Thanks for another great recipe! I know that I will never go wrong choosing one of yours! PS-we had the No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream for dessert and it was phenomenal! Thanks so much!
These were delicious! Because I am a busy mom of a three year old and one year old I did not make the salsa but substituted Peach Mango Salsa ( Archer Farms brand from Target) which paired very nicely. Also left out jalapeños for the kids 😉
Hey Jenn!
As usual, thank you for all the lovely recipes you share with us. A quick question for these, I know grilling is obviously best or broiling in an oven. My gas oven is old and doesn’t broil so I’m wondering would pan frying these work? Or baking them in a regular way? And how can I do either without losing moisture? Would I still need to shape the middle when pan frying or baking? Any tips will be super helpful!
Many thanks!
Hi Sarah, I would pan-fry them over medium-high heat. And, yes, you would still shape the middle. Hope that helps!
Hi Jen,
Thanks! Completely. I did just that for the same time and they were PERFECT! Juicy, delicious and didn’t shrink 🙂 Lovely addition to the ones in the cookbook! Many thanks!
Great recipe!! I like to top w/ avocado slices or guacamole. Delish!
Can these be cooked in the oven? If so, at what temp and for how long?
Hi Karen, Yes, you can use the oven to broil them–place them on a broiler pan or rack so the juices can drip down and flip them halfway through. Timing should be about the same as the grilling method. Hope you enjoy!
We loved these burgers! I made exactly as written. We also made the tomato peach jam & served with Arugula. Very juicy burgers with good flavour. I was worried it would taste more like a taco flavoured burger but it didn’t – very much a burger with really good seasoning! The jalapeño was not spicy for the kids. We also preferred these to your juicy steakhouse burgers.
These sliders were amazing! The Tomato-Peach jam was outstanding and I had plenty leftover and it lasted for a long time, like a chutney, and I used it with some grilled chicken later in the week. Thank you!
These burgers are to die for! So full of flavor – thank you for another wonderful recipe. Definitely making these again and again 😊
Jenn these were fantastic! Thank you for the recipe. I have made them twice already on the bbq and they are incredibly juicy and flavourful; even if you cook them a little longer than necessary. I digress I did add a little mayo in the burger mix but only because that’s my personal go-to ingredient in any burger. Can’t wait to make the tomato peach jam which I know will be great as are all of your recipes.
Made these in large burger size rather than sliders, and they were a huge hit ! So tasty and popping with flavor, they were gobbled up that night, no leftovers 😧
Definitely on my “make these again “list.
We liked this recipe, but the spices/heat didn’t come through as strongly as we hoped to complement the sweetness of the jam. I will try some other bread (one that dissolves more completely) next time to make the mash of spices/milk at the start, and maybe use pepperjack cheese instead of Monterrey jack. The jalapeño was surprisingly undetectable to my family!
Made this tonight with the tomato peach jam and brussels sprouts and kale salad. All were fantastic! I halved the slider recipe but they were still pretty robust and not small. Very juicy and flavorful. My husband was skeptical of the relish instead of ketchup and mustard but given the different flavor profile it worked really well.
My son, who is on the spectrum (Autistic) and a VERY picky eater actually said to me “those were really good Mom, make them again!” Husband loved them as well. I’m a vegetarian so I can’t give you my opinion but I’d say if it passed those two we have a winner! This is your second recipe I’ve tried, so far two for two so I’ll be trying more. Thank you!!!
LOVED this recipe! Easy to follow & make. It was a hit with my husband. Will make it again. Thank you for sharing.
These were a hit! I made them with turkey and baked them at 375 for 20 minutes. I probably made them a little small — I had more like 14 sliders.
Hi! Would regular chili powder work for this recipe?
Sure, Ciara, that’ll work. Hope you enjoy!
Loved this recipe. Honestly liked the burger better without the tomato peach jam (although the jam was very good.) Just topped with some extra cheese melted over the top and that was it. Delicious. Even my sister ate these, without ketchup! That’s unheard of.
Loved this recipe! Love your website!
I made 5 large burgers with the jam and they were by far the best burgers we have ever had! We love your recipes Jenn – they always turn out!
Made these last night and they were AWESOME! We topped with guacamole and some garlic aioli – this is definitely a call-back recipe!
These are delicious! I overcooked them yet they were still very juicy. I wish I had the tomato peach jam but alas, ketchup it was. Thank you!
These were absolutely amazing! Made the jam, and I’m so glad I did…perfect combination of flavors. Froze the leftover patties for an easy weeknight meal. Thanks for another wonderful recipe! Oh – I served these with your corn basil salad – delicious!
Made these sliders for a cookout last night and the whole family LOVED them. I was short on time and tempted to skip the tomato jam but am so glad I didn’t…the flavors all together were seriously delish. I can’t wait to make them again!
OH my – sounds delicious. Do you think ground turkey would work with this? Going to make it for dinner tonight – will let you know how it turns out! I have sooo much fun with your recipes – thank you!
Hi Alison, I haven’t tried these with ground turkey but I think it’d work. Please lmk how it turns out if you try it :).
Alison
How did this turn out with turkey?
Thanks
Janie
I don’t keep white bread in the house.. I substitute for another type (sprouted?)
Hi Vanisha, Any bread will work here. Enjoy!
This sounds like it could make a great meatloaf as well! Can you suggest modifications?
Hi Karen, I’d normally use more filler with meatloaf so that the loaf could be cooked well-done w/o being tough — but I think in this case I’d just leave the recipe as is and make mini loaves (that way you can leave them a little less cooked in the center, like a burger).