This hot dog sliders recipe tells you everything you need to know to make the CUTEST little hot dog buns - and different flavours of sliders!
This recipe for slider rolls makes tiny hot dog buns that are the perfect size for little smokies sausages.
Put them together, and you have a mini dogs - a delicious slider variation that is a fantastic finger food to serve at parties, and watch parties for the big game.
We may be talking about a small hot dog, but - en masse - they’ll keep your hungry crowd satisfied!
This easy recipe started out as my easy recipe for soft rolls, just formed into mini buns. They make a perfect neutral - but customizable base for any kind of hot dog slider you can imagine.
Eat them with a plain sausage, or dress them up as you would a regular hot dog.
Into chili dogs? Make chili dog sliders.
Enjoy a kick of heat? Finely chop some pickled jalapenos.
Saurkraut, Dijon, and onions more your bag? Just chop the saurkraut up, and you’re good to go!
Do up a few different varieties, or serve plain hot dog sliders with a mini buffet of toppings, allowing your party guests to top their own sliders.
So much fun!
Ingredients
These hot dog sliders are a really simple bread dough recipe, that uses very simple ingredients... with the addition of mini sausages.
You should be able to find the simple ingredients in almost any grocery store. I have a few notes for you:
Hot Dog Slider Buns
As-is, it’s a very basic recipe - you likely have all you need on hand:
All-purpose flour
Light Brown Sugar
Unsalted Butter
Olive Oil
Large egg
Active Dry Yeast
Salt
Optionally, you can add a little Garlic Powder and/or Onion Powder to the dough if you’d like - ½ teaspoon each or so.
Additionally, consider sprinkling some Sesame Seeds or Poppy Seeds on top of the buns.
After you brush the tops of the buns with egg wash, sprinkle your choice of seasonings on top, before baking.
Mini Smoked Sausages
You’ll need about 30 sausages to make one batch of hot dog sliders.
These are known by different names - we bought them as “Lil Smokies”, but they’re also known as cocktail sausages, cocktail sausage smokies, little smokies, mini smoked sausages, smoked cocktail wieners, Cocktail Smoked Sausage, smoked cocktail sausages, etc.
Usually made with pork and/or beef, you can usually find them in the processed meats section, alongside prepacked deli meats and wieners.
If you can’t find them, Vienna Sausages would probably work - I’d probably heat them in a fry pan first.
Toppings
Whatever you like on a hot dog, you can put on a hot dog slider... To an extent. There are a few caveats and tips to keep in mind:
Condiments
Sauces can be really hard to get on the sliders from their original bottles, especially if you want them to look cute. I like to Disposable Piping Bag for each condiment.
I don’t bother using a coupler and tip, I just snip the very end of the tip off the bag when I’m ready to pipe it.
This works great for things like ketchup, mustard, and mayo.
Chili
Mini chili dogs are fun, but actual chili tends to be WAY too chunky to use for hot dog sliders.
If you run chili - canned or homemade - through a mini food processor, you can pipe it out the same way you would the condiments, as mentioned above.
Think more of a “chili sauce” than chili.
Relish
If your relish is quite chunky, run it through a mini food processor before using - just like chili.
Pickles, Onions, Bacon Sauerkraut
Again, think SMALL. Finely chop these items - as small as you can get them.
You might want to blot them try with a paper towel after cutting them, as they have proportionately more surface area than they do at a larger size, and can be wetter as a result.
If you’re making caramelized onions, I’d chop them down after cooking, so you have a better idea of what size you’re ending up with.
Personally, I’m more about the raw red onion bits, can’t be arsed to caramelize!
Cheese
I like a nice basic cheddar cheese on my mini hot dog sliders. I recommend grating your own (avoids the anti-caking agents), and using the finest grating plane you have.
As you can see in the photos, even finely grated cheese looks pretty big on these sliders!
How to Make Hot Dog Sliders
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of the post, here is a pictorial walk through.
Make the Dough
In a small bowl or a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine warm beer with brown sugar, stir until sugar is almost dissolved.
Add yeast, stirring until incorporated. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add melted butter, stirring until well distributed. Pour in yeast/beer mixture, stirring until well combined.
Turn dough out onto a clean surface, knead for a couple of minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm spot to rise for an hour or two, until doubled.
Make the Hot Dog Slider Buns
Once the dough has doubled in size:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
Divide dough into 30 equal sized chunks.
Repeat for remaining pieces.
Whisk together egg and water, brush tops of buns with this mixture. Top buns with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.
Allow to cool slightly before proceeding.
Assembly
Slice a bun in half, lengthwise. If you’d like to prevent rolling, you can slice a small strip off the opposite side, which will become the base.
Repeat with remaining buns.
Heat your sausages, whether by gently microwaving them or simmering them in a pot or frying pan of water over medium heat. Drain well.
Place a heated sausage in each bun, top as desired. Serve warm.
More Finger Food Recipes
Looking for more appetizer recipes for your next party, or the big game? Here are some fun ideas!
Air Fryer Cream Cheese Wontons
Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers
Antipasto Skewers
Armadillo Eggs
Chicken Satay
Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
Cucumber Shrimp Canapes
Easy Air Fryer Frozen Pierogi
Gluten Free Pizza Bites
Greek Salad Skewers
Homemade Bagel Bites
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzels
Keto Mozzarella Sticks
Loaded Potato Skins
Loaded Pierogi Nachos
Piroshki
Reuben Egg Rolls
Smoked French Fries
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Smoked Salmon Bagel Bites
Smoked Salmon Canapes
Smoky Dry Rub Wings
Spanakopita Triangles
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Hot Dog Sliders [Mini Hot Dogs]
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Hot Dog Slider Buns
- ¾ cup Warm - not hot - water (Can use a light tasting beer, if you like)
- 1 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
- 1 package Active Dry Yeast About 2 ¼ tsp
- 2 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 oz Unsalted Butter Melted
- Olive Oil
- 1 Large egg
- 1 tablespoon Water
Assembly
- 30 Mini Smoked Sausages We used “Lil Smokies”
- Toppings of choice ketchup, mustard, shredded cheese, finely chopped onions, chili, finely chopped pickles, etc.
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine warm water (or beer) with brown sugar, stir until sugar is almost dissolved. Add yeast, stirring until incorporated. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add melted butter, stirring until well distributed. Pour in yeast/beer mixture, stirring until well combined.
- Turn dough out onto a clean surface, knead for a couple of minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large, clean metal or glass bowl. Add freshly kneaded dough to the bowl, turning to coat with the oil.
- Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm spot to rise for an hour or two, until doubled
Make the Hot Dog Slider Buns
- Once the dough has doubled in size:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- Divide dough into 30 equal sized chunks.
- Roll a dough piece into a ball, then roll the ball gently to elongate it into a more oval shape. Repeat for remaining pieces. Let rise for another 10-15 minutes.
- Whisk together egg and water, brush this mixture across the tops of the buns.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
- Allow to cool slightly before proceeding.
Assembly
- Slice a bun in half, lengthwise. If you’d like to prevent rolling, you can slice a small strip off the opposite side, which will become the base.
- Repeat with remaining buns.
- Heat your sausages, whether by gently microwaving them or simmering them. Drain well.
- Place a heated sausage in each bun, top as desired. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Miranda Weldon
The recipe ingredients call for warm water the instructions mention warm beer instead? Which is it?
Marie Porter
You can use either.
Miranda Weldon
Thanks! I went with beer and made these for our A League of Their Own movie night! I wrote a blog post about the movie night snacks I made and shared a link to your recipe here: https://magpietayleetot.com/blogs/parties-and-movie-nights/a-league-of-their-own-movie-night-ideas-step-up-to-the-plate-with-delicious-snacks