Love White Castle sliders but want to make them at home? This recipe is the perfect copycat! Juicy beef patties steam-cooked on onions, topped with cheese, and served on soft slider buns. It’s quick, easy, and gives you all the flavor of the fast-food classic right in your own kitchen—no drive-thru required!
Copycat White Castle Sliders
Our homemade White Castle Sliders recipe makes it easy to replicate the same tasty flavor of the signature slider found at the famous White Castle restaurant. These small sandwiches may be miniature in size, but they pack a powerful protein punch to satisfy your hunger without hitting the drive-through!
These were delicious, easy to make, and absolutely tasted like the real thing!
With their signature soft buns, perfectly seasoned beef patties, and melted cheese, this slider recipe tastes just like the real deal! What’s best is that you can make multiple mini-meals all at once, so there’s more to food to feed your crowd.
What Are White Castle Sliders
White Castle sliders are small, square-shaped hamburgers served on their signature soft buns. They are usually topped with a thin beef patty, steam-grilled onions, and a slice of cheese or pickles. Known for their small size and savory flavor, they are often called “sliders” due to their easy-to-eat quality.
White Castle gained fame for its innovative practices, including cooking beef patties on a bed of onions and placing buns on top during steaming, which infused the bread with flavor. These iconic burgers are sold by the dozen, a tradition that began with introducing the “Crave Case.”
Ingredients for Homemade White Castle Sliders
- Dinner rolls: For a slightly sweet and tangy taste, try Hawaiian rolls instead of the regular dinner rolls or use regular slider rolls.
- Lean ground beef: For this recipe, I used lean ground beef. However, you can use extra lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken for a healthier option. For a vegetarian version, feel free to use your favorite meat alternative.
- Better Than Bouillon Beef: If you can’t find the Better Than Bouillon Beef, you can use granulated beef bouillon in its place. Don’t make the sliders without this; they will lack flavor and taste bland.
- Garlic powder
- Yellow onion
- Kraft American cheese slices: American cheese provides the classic White Castle flavor, but feel free to use cheddar, Swiss cheese, pepper jack, Colby Jack, or your favorite flavor.
- Dill pickle chips: If you aren’t a fan of dill pickle slices, there are a few things you can add in its place. You could try gherkin, cornichon (French pickled gherkin), or lime pickles, all of which will add a little something unique to the slider.
- Water
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make White Castle Sliders
- Make The Meat Mixture: Combine the ground beef, Better Than Bouillon Beef, and garlic powder.
- Prepare The Patties: Spread the meat in a flat layer to the sides of a lined baking pan. Cut into 12 equal squares and then use the end of a spoon to poke 5 holes in each patty. Freeze for 3 hours.
- Break Apart The Beef: Break the patties apart and discard the parchment paper. Spread the onions in the bottom of the baking sheet, add the water, and place the frozen beef patties directly on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake: Allow the beef to steam cook at 450 degrees Fahenheit for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the bottom of each bun on top of a hamburger patty. then place the top of the slider buns in a staggered pattern over the bottom pieces. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Assemble The Slider: Use a spatula to scoop a patty and onions with the bottom bun attached. Top with cheese, pickle chips, ketchup, and mustard, and cover with the top bun.
- Serve: Serve immediately and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Small-sized sandwiches are great for game day, parties, a quick snack, or an easy weeknight dinner. They pair perfectly with a side of onion rings, Air Fryer Home Fries, French Fries, or Sweet Potato Fries to round out any meal.
And don’t forget the condiments! You can’t go wrong with the classics — ketchup and mustard. But since you’re making these at home, you can serve additional toppings like mayonnaise, hot sauce, or Fireball BBQ sauce on the side for those who like a modern twist.
Tips for Perfect White Castle Sliders
- Be Careful With The Bun: Make sure not to let the bottom of your buns touch the water, or they’ll soak up the liquid.
- Cook Burgers On An Onion Bed: Finely chop the onions, spread them evenly on the pan, and then cook the patties on top of the onions. This will allow the steam to infuse the beef and buns with the signature slider flavor.
- Don’t Skip the Steaming: Place the buns directly on top of the cooking patties. The steam from the onions and beef keeps the buns soft and moist while absorbing the flavor.
- Don’t Forget The Five Holes: Those five holes are not for decoration! They allow the burger to be cooked without flipping.
Variations of White Castle Sliders to Try
Add A Tender Twist: Many recipes recommend a trick to recreate the iconic White Castle texture: mixing creamy peanut butter with milk. While not an official ingredient, this combination is believed to mimic the richness and moisture of the original sliders. In my opinion, the true texture comes from cooking the patties over a bed of onions, which steams both the beef and the buns–the true secret to achieving the signature soft and savory bite.
Make It More Oniony: Add a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix into the beef mixture for a more onion-forward flavor in your White Castle sliders. The soup mix enhances the onion flavor and adds a savory depth that complements the sliders’ iconic taste. You can also season the beef with some onion powder.
Storing and Reheating Homemade White Castle Sliders
- In The Refrigerator: Store leftover sliders in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If you are preparing in advance, make sure to store everything separately in the fridge until you are ready to cook the cheeseburgers.
- In The Freezer: For longer storage, wrap the cooled and assembled sliders in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Thaw the in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To Reheat: To reheat your sliders, place them in the microwave with a damp sheet of paper towel and cook on half power for around 1 minute and 20 seconds for 2 sliders or until hot. You can also wrap them in foil and heat in a 350°F oven for 10–12 minutes.
For The Ultimate Slider Bar
For the ultimate slider spread, set your White Castle sliders on a party table beside my Big Mac Sliders, Philly Cheesesteak Sliders, Buffalo Chicken Sliders, Hot Roast Beef Sliders, and Pizza Sliders. Or you can skip the sandwiches and prepare your patties like my Big Mac Salad (Cheeseburger Salad) for a flavorful, low-carb, keto-friendly dish for dieters and non-dieters alike.
If you tried this White Castle Sliders Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
White Castle Sliders
Ingredients
- 12 dinner rolls cut in half
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Beef
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped
- 10-12 Kraft American Cheese Slices cut each slice into 4 squares
- 20-24 dill pickle chips
- ¼ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Optional: ketchup, mustard
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the ground beef, Better Than Bouillon Beef, and garlic powder. Mix together with a large spoon, or your hands until combined.
- Line a 9×13 baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the ground beef mixture and spread to the sides until it forms a flat even layer. Using a knife, cut into 12 equal squares (3×4: about the same size as the dinner rolls). Using the end of the spoon, create 5 holes in each patty.
- Place the ground beef baking sheet in the freezer for 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove ground beef baking sheet from the freezer and break patties apart. Throw away the parchment paper.
- Add the onions to the bottom of the baking sheet and spread evenly. Add ¼ cup water to the onions. Place the frozen beef patties directly on top of the onions and water. Sprinkle the ground beef with salt and pepper and then place in the oven and allow beef to steam cook for 10 minutes.
- Take the baking sheet out of the oven and place the bottom of each dinner roll on a hamburger patty. Place the tops of the dinner rolls in a staggered pattern over the bottom pieces of the dinner rolls.
- Place the baking sheet back in the oven and let cook for 3 minutes.
- Take the baking sheet back out of the oven and use a spatula to scoop up each meat patty with onions and bottom bun attached, and add 3 cheese slices to each slider.
- Add optional condiments: dill pickle chips, ketchup, mustard.
- Place the top bun on the condiments and serve sliders immediately.
Jenn’s Notes
- In The Refrigerator: Store leftover sliders in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If you are preparing in advance, make sure to store everything separately in the fridge until you are ready to cook the cheeseburgers.
- In The Freezer: For longer storage, wrap the cooled and assembled sliders in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Thaw the in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To Reheat: To reheat your sliders place them in the microwave with a damp sheet of paper towel and cook on half power for around 1 minute 20 seconds for 2 sliders or until hot. You can also wrap them in foil and heat in a 350°F oven for 10–12 minutes.
- Make sure not to let the bottom of your buns touch the water or they’ll soak up the liquid.
- Finely chop the onions, spread them evenly on the pan, and then cook the patties on top of the onions. This will allow the steam to infuse the beef and buns with the signature slider flavor.
- Place the buns directly on top of the cooking patties. The steam from the onions and beef keeps the buns soft and moist while absorbing the flavor.
- Those five holes are not for decoration! They allow the burger to be cooked without flipping.
So good