Southwestern Cheeseburger Sliders

Tested & Perfected Recipes
Southwestern Sliders

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These drip-down-your-chin sliders are jazzed up with Southwestern spices, jalapeños, and Jack cheese. Huge crowd-pleaser!

Southwestern sliders on a plate.

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

ingredients for cheeseburger sliders

To begin, combine the bread, milk, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl.

bread, milk, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce in a mixing bowl

Using a fork, mash into a paste.

bread and seasoning mashed into a paste

Add the ground beef, jalapeño, scallions, and cheese.

Mixing bowl with ground beef, jalapeño, scallions, and cheese added to the paste.

Using your hands, mix until well combined.

cheeseburger slider mixture ready to form into patties

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.

forming cheeseburger patties

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!

Southwestern cheeseburger sliders on serving platter with peach-tomato jam

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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!

Servings: 8 sliders
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and oil the grates. Brush the cut sides of the buns lightly with oil and set aside.
  4. 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.
  5. Make Ahead: The burger patties can be formed, covered, and refrigerated 2 days ahead of time.
  6. 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.
  7. Note: When handling jalapeño peppers, avoid touching your eyes and wash your hands well afterward.

Pair with

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • 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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Comments

  • This turned out awesome. We served it with the tomato peach jam which was also amazing. Love your recipes!!

    • — Angela on July 23, 2024
    • Reply
  • Absolutely, Amazing burger recipe. I literally just made this for my husband and I and he kissed my hand. The tomato jam is extremely delicious. I’m not sure there is anything that could make this recipe better. Jen, you’re a food God in my house. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these recipes. Thank you for back-to-back winning recipes.

    • — Gina M on July 9, 2024
    • Reply
    • 💜

      • — Jenn on July 10, 2024
      • Reply
  • We tried this recipe tonight for the first time and the burgers were amazing! We topped it with jalapeño ketchup! The entire family agreed that this was a definite make again recipe! You have done it again Jenn! Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful recipes!!

    • — Deb on May 30, 2024
    • Reply

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