Cooking 
?
Southwestern Sliders
If you’re a fan of my Juicy Steakhouse Burgers, you’ll love these drip-down-your-chin 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.
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!
Southwestern Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 piece white sandwich bread, crust removed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 2-1/2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/2 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
- 2/3 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. They can also be frozen (raw) for up to 3 months.
- Note: When handling jalapeño peppers, avoid touching your eyes and wash your hands well afterwards.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- 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.
Reviews & Comments
Add a Review or Question
Hungry for 
?
Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter — where I share new recipes and seasonal menus for every occasion.
Your email address will never be used for any other purpose.
Curious? See a sample newsletter.
On
On
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 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).