The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
It was a Friday, and my family wanted Arby’s. The closest one is a twenty-minute drive each way. Nobody volunteered.
What I did have: a pack of Hawaiian rolls, a pound of roast beef from the deli counter, a can of nacho cheese from the back of the pantry, and a bottle of Arby’s sauce that had been living in the fridge door since summer. That night turned into these Arby’s beef and cheddar sliders, and they’ve been on repeat since.
They’re not the drive-thru Beef ‘n Cheddar. Close, though. Thin folded beef, cheese sauce that actually drips, that tangy-sweet red sauce, and a buttery top with toasted onion that does a decent impression of the onion roll. Twelve sliders, one 9×13 pan, about 35 minutes start to finish.
The first pan had a problem. I’ll get to it.
Why These Arby’s Beef and Cheddar Sliders Work
The sauce amount matters more than anything else. It goes straight onto the bread, so the bread absorbs whatever you give it. My first pan I used about a cup and a quarter, because more Arby’s sauce sounded like a good idea. The middle four bottoms came out pasty. Peeled-off-the-pan pasty. At ¾ cup, spread thin, you taste the sauce in every bite and the bread still holds up after 20 minutes in the oven.
Folded beef heats through. Flat beef doesn’t. Lay deli slices flat and stacked and they press into one dense slab, and the center of the pan stays lukewarm while the edges are done. Loose folds leave small gaps. Heat gets in there, and so does the cheese.
Warm cheese pours. Cold cheese tears. Nacho cheese straight from the can is thick enough to drag the beef along with your spoon. Warmed up, it spreads itself and sinks into the folds.
Foil first, then uncover. Hawaiian rolls carry a lot of sugar, so the tops brown fast. Bake them uncovered the whole time and they go past golden before the middle is hot. Under foil for 10 minutes, the trapped steam warms the filling. The uncovered part is just for color.
The dried onion is doing the onion roll’s job. Hawaiian rolls are sweeter than the bun Arby’s uses. Toasted minced onion in the butter pulls the whole thing back toward savory. Skip it and the sliders taste more like dessert than they should.
Ingredients
For the sliders
- 1 package (12-count) Hawaiian sweet rolls
- 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
- ¾ cup Arby’s sauce, plus extra for dipping
- 1 can (about 15 ounces) nacho cheese sauce
For the butter topping
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
How to Make Arby’s Beef and Cheddar Sliders
- Heat the oven. Preheat to 350°F and lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Split the rolls. Keep the rolls connected as one sheet. Use a serrated knife to slice them horizontally, separating the tops from the bottoms.
- Set the base. Place the bottom half of the rolls in the prepared dish.
- Sauce. Spread the ¾ cup Arby’s sauce evenly over the bottoms. Thin layer, all the way to the edges.
- Beef. Arrange the roast beef over the sauce, folding or loosely layering the slices instead of laying them flat.
- Cheese. Warm the nacho cheese according to the package directions, just until it pours easily. Spoon it evenly over the beef.
- Top. Set the top half of the rolls over the filling and press gently.
- Butter. Stir together the melted butter, poppy seeds, and dried minced onion. Brush it evenly over the tops.
- Bake covered. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
- Bake uncovered. Remove the foil and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until the tops are golden and the cheese is hot in the center.
- Rest and cut. Let the sliders rest about 5 minutes. Cut along the roll seams and serve warm with extra Arby’s sauce on the side.
Prep Time, Cook Time & Servings
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Bake time: 15 to 20 minutes
- Total time: about 35 minutes (rest included)
- Servings: 12 sliders
- Pan: 9-by-13-inch baking dish
Dinner • American
Arby's Beef & Cheddar Sliders
Copycat Arby's beef and cheddar sliders on Hawaiian rolls with thin roast beef, warm nacho cheese, Arby's sauce, and a buttery poppy seed onion topping. Makes 12 sliders.
Ingredients 7 items
- Sliders
- Butter Topping
Instructions 11 steps
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1
Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
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2
Split the rolls
Keep the Hawaiian rolls connected. Use a serrated knife to slice them horizontally, separating the tops from the bottoms.
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3
Set the bottoms
Place the bottom half of the rolls in the prepared baking dish.
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4
Add the sauce
Spread the Arby's sauce in a thin, even layer over the bottom rolls, all the way to the edges.
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5
Layer the beef
Arrange the roast beef over the sauce, folding or loosely layering the slices instead of laying them flat.
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6
Add the cheese
Warm the nacho cheese sauce according to the package directions, just until it pours easily. Spoon it evenly over the roast beef.
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7
Add the tops
Place the top half of the rolls over the filling and press gently.
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8
Brush with butter
Stir together the melted butter, poppy seeds, and dried minced onion. Brush the mixture evenly over the tops of the rolls.
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9
Bake covered
Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
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10
Bake uncovered
Remove the foil and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until the tops are golden and the cheese is hot in the center.
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11
Rest and serve
Let the sliders rest for about 5 minutes. Cut along the roll seams and serve warm with extra Arby's sauce.
Tips & Substitutions
Use thinly sliced deli roast beef and fold it loosely so the center heats through.
Warm the nacho cheese before spooning it on so it spreads without tearing the beef.
Keep the Arby's sauce to 3/4 cup, spread thin, to prevent soggy bottoms.
Bake covered first to heat the filling, then uncover to brown the tops.
Assemble right before baking. Do not assemble the night before.
Let rest 5 minutes, then cut along the roll seams with a sharp knife.
Nutrition Facts
240 kcal / serving
Protein12g
Carbs23g
Fat11g
Fiber1g
Tips
Test the middle, not the edges. The edge rolls always look done first. In my oven, 10 minutes covered plus 7 uncovered got the center hot all the way through. At 5 uncovered, the cheese in the middle was still thick and barely warm.
Rest them. Cut straight out of the oven and the cheese runs out the sides and stays in the pan. Five minutes. It sets just enough.
Two knives. Serrated for splitting the raw rolls. A sharp chef’s knife for cutting servings after baking. The serrated one saws back and forth and squashes the soft tops.
Brush the butter, don’t pour it. Poured butter pools in the seams between rolls and takes the poppy seeds with it. You end up with bald tops and greasy seams.
Grease the dish even though there’s butter everywhere. Whatever cheese drips down glues itself to the pan otherwise.
Variations
Spicy. Use jalapeño nacho cheese, or tuck a few pickled jalapeño slices under the top buns. This is the version I make most now. The heat cuts the sweetness of the rolls.
No Arby’s sauce in the house. Simmer ½ cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and a few shakes of black pepper and hot sauce for about 5 minutes. Let it cool. It makes roughly ¾ cup, which is exactly what the pan needs. Not identical. Close enough that nobody at my table noticed.
Everything bagel topping. Swap the poppy seeds and dried onion for 1½ teaspoons everything bagel seasoning. Works fine. A little saltier.
Sliced cheddar instead of cheese sauce. I tried it once and wouldn’t do it again. The slices melt into a flat sheet that slides off the beef in one piece when you bite. No drip, no sauce. It’s just a different sandwich. If you want real cheddar, make a quick stovetop cheese sauce and use that instead of the can.
Make-Ahead & Leftovers
You can split the rolls and mix the butter topping a few hours ahead. Keep the rolls in their bag so the cut sides don’t dry out.
Don’t assemble the sliders the night before. The sauce soaks into the bottoms overnight and there’s no fixing it in the oven. Build them right before they go in.
Leftovers keep in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 325°F oven under foil for 10 to 12 minutes. The microwave works for one slider in a pinch, but the roll goes chewy within a minute of coming out. I don’t freeze these. The cheese sauce turns grainy once it thaws.
FAQ
Can I make Arby’s beef and cheddar sliders without Arby’s sauce?
Yes. The homemade version in the Variations section gets you very close, and it takes five minutes on the stove. Plain barbecue sauce is the next-best swap, but it’s smokier and sweeter, so use a little less of it.
What kind of roast beef is best for sliders?
Thin-sliced deli roast beef. Shaved is even better than sandwich-thin, because it folds into loose layers and bites clean.
How do you keep Hawaiian roll sliders from getting soggy?
Use less sauce than you think. For 12 rolls, ¾ cup is the limit, spread in a thin, even layer. Assemble right before baking, never hours ahead. And warm the cheese first, so you aren’t pressing down on the filling to spread it. That pressure squeezes sauce into the bread.
Is nacho cheese the same as Arby’s cheddar sauce?
Not quite. Arby’s cheese sauce is milder and a little thinner. Canned nacho cheese has more tang and a bit of spice. Honestly, I like the nacho cheese better here. It stands up to the sweet rolls instead of disappearing into them.
How many sliders per person?
Two for an adult as a meal. One as a snack.
Can I make these in a slow cooker?
No. The rolls steam and go soft all over. The oven is the right tool for this one.
Closing Thoughts
These sliders are rich and on the sweet side, so whatever goes next to them should be cold and sharp. A vinegar coleslaw, or just a plate of dill pickle spears. And if your house orders Horsey Sauce at the drive-thru, stir ¼ cup mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish and a pinch of salt. Put it next to the extra Arby’s sauce and let everyone dip in both. Mine always come back for the horseradish.
Bring the whole pan to the table and cut as you go. They stay warmer that way.
