Easy Pulled Pork Sliders Recipe
This easy recipe for pulled pork sliders is exactly what you need when you want to feed a big hungry crowd who’s not going to be satisfied with a salad. These tasty pork sandwiches are the epitome of comfort food! Soft Hawaiian rolls are stuffed with the most moist and tender pulled pork. I top the pulled pork with barbecue sauce and then sweet-and-tangy coleslaw for the best texture contrast! I use my own homemade recipe for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork although you can use store bought pulled pork if that’s more your speed. And I whip up a quick homemade coleslaw too but you can always buy it, too. One thing is for sure though, whether you want to serve these at a get-together like a game day party or event, a backyard barbecue, graduation or Father’s Day parties, or even a family friendly weeknight dinner recipe, these juicy pulled pork sliders are finger lickin’ good.
Ingredients in Pulled Pork Sliders
To make these fast, easy, but oh-so-tasty pulled pork Hawaiian roll sliders, you’ll only need a handful of easy to find fridge and pantry ingredients, including the following items:
King’s Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls Pulled pork (my Homemade Pulled Pork OR store bought) Barbecue sauce Coleslaw (store bought OR make your own with the following remaining ingredients listed below) Shredded cabbage Shredded carrots Mayonnaise Apple cider vinegar Granulated sugar Salt Celery seeds Black pepper Dill pickles, optional for serving
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Pulled Pork Sliders with Coleslaw
Making sliders of any kind is generally pretty darn easy. After all, sliders are just smaller sandwiches – at least that’s how I think of them. And making sandwiches isn’t rocket science. Follow these easy and straightforward instructions for the best Crockpot pulled pork sliders! Step 1: Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork. Or use store bought. Step 2: Slice the Hawaiian roll slider buns in half horizontally. However, it requires planning ahead since it’s a slow cooker recipe and it takes a good 4 to 8 hours, depending on if you’re cooking on low or high heat. Something to keep in mind if you want to do it from scratch rather than buying your pulled pork. Step 3: Add pulled pork on the bottom side of each roll. Step 4: Mix the pulled pork and barbecue sauce together or just add a heaping tablespoon over the top of the pulled pork on each roll. Step 5: Mix together the cabbage, carrots, mayo, ACV, sugar, salt, celery seeds, and pepper to create the coleslaw if you’re not using store bought. Step 6: Add a mound of cole slaw over the top of each mound of pork and BBQ sauce. Step 7: Place the tops on the pulled pork sliders and serve!
What Kind of Pulled Pork Is Best for Sliders?
It’s totally up to you whether you want to make your own pulled pork or use store bought. However, as I mentioned, there’s nothing like homemade pulled pork and I recommend using my easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe! If you’re using store bought, I suggest getting it from the deli counter inside your grocery store where they make it fresh in-store daily. The other option is buying it prepackaged, also likely from the deli area of the grocery store. In my grocery stores, I’ve noticed they tend to keep prepared meats like this near where they keep the more expensive cheese, salami, hummus, and olives in refrigerated coolers. I’ve never gone this route so can’t suggest any particular brand names. I personally think that the deli would be a better option than this if you’re not going the scratch version.
Toppings for Pulled Pork Sliders
I kept this easy pulled pork sandwich recipe pretty basic because, frankly, the homemade pulled pork is so good, it really doesn’t need anything else or any jazzing up! My favorite pulled pork topping is homemade coleslaw (recipe can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post). However, if you want to take things a step further, I’ve got a few ideas including:
Add a slice of cheese into each sandwich such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Provolone, cheddar, or your favorite. If you do add cheese, you may as well bake them so the cheese melts (see below). Add a small wedge of freshly sliced pineapple or canned pineapple tidbits (drain the pineapple juice) into the center of each sandwich for Hawaiian pulled pork sandwiches or Hawaiian pulled pork Sliders.
Pulled Pork Sliders – To Bake or Not?
Along the lines of adding cheese or pineapple, you can also bake these bbq pork sliders, or not. It’s totally up to you. As written, this is an unbaked slider recipe. However, if you want to transform it into a baked slider recipe, follow my Turkey and Cheese Sliders recipe with respect to brushing melted butter or softened butter on the top of the Hawaiian rolls, adding poppy seeds, baking covered with aluminum foil for 15 minutes, and then uncovered for 5 minutes in a 350F oven.
What to Serve with Pulled Pork Sliders
Crockpot pulled pork sliders are so great on their own I bet no one will notice if you don’t serve them with anything else, or maybe just a few pickles! However, some of my favorite casual side dishes pair nicely with these barbecue pulled pork sliders include the following:
Bacon Potato Salad – This no mayo Potato Salad with Bacon is ready in just 30 minutes! It’s a vinegar potato salad the whole family will love! German Potato Salad – A classic potato salad made with tender red potatoes, bacon, onions, and a tangy vinegar dressing! This no-mayo potato salad is a family favorite side dish that’s perfect for parties, picnics, and potlucks! Borracho “Drunken” Baked Beans – These “drunken beans” are simmered with a can of BEER and can be made in your SLOW COOKER OR INSTANT POT! The bacon, sausage or chorizo, jalapenos, tomato, onion, garlic, herbs, and beer make these the BEST beans ever! Bourbon Maple Slow Cooker Baked Beans — The BEST baked beans ever! The flavors of bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, and BBQ sauce intensify and concentrate over time, and the resulting beans have incredible depth of flavor. Sweet with a bit of heat, robust yet smooth, and extremely satisfying! Skinny Mexican Bean and Corn Salad – Two kinds of beans, juicy corn, tomatoes, peppers, and more tossed in a light chili-lime-cumin vinaigrette! Healthy, easy, ready in 5 minutes, and loaded with flavor! Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad – An EASY and HEALTHY salad that’s ready in 10 minutes and you won’t be able to stop eating it! Juicy corn, creamy avocado, cilantro, and fresh lime juice is a FIESTA in your mouth! Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad – An EASY corn salad with black beans, zucchini, red onions, cilantro, lime juice, and more!
Make-Ahead Instructions
I mentioned previously that bbq sliders really are an at-the-moment type of recipe. However, if you want to make them in advance for a party or event so they’re ready to go for your guests, you can probably get away with making them about 2-3 hours in advance. Any more than that and I fear they will get soggy.
Storing Leftover Sliders
Sandwiches of any kind are best made and eaten fresh. These pulled pork slider sandwiches come together in minutes so I don’t see any point to making more than you need at one time, especially if you’re going to bake them.
Tips for the Best Pulled Pork Sliders
Coleslaw:
I prefer to make my own homemade coleslaw rather than buying it. Store bought coleslaw tends to be too mushy, watery, and simply not flavorful enough for my liking. And making your own is literally a 2 minute task – well worth it! But it’s two minutes if you use a bag of shredded green cabbage and carrots, sold as “coleslaw mix” where other bagged salad mixes are sold in the produce department of your local grocery store. You could of course, slice and chop a head of green cabbage and grate carrots but bagged mixes are the way to go for me.
Check the Flavor Balance:
Coleslaw is a highly personal recipe I have found. I like mine both very tangy, and pretty sweet. So I add more apple cider vinegar and more sugar than I call for in the recipe. Play with it a bit to get it exactly how you like it. Also, if it’s on the dry side after you add the 1/4 cup of mayo, don’t worry. As it sits, the salt will draw out the natural moisture in the cabbage and carrots and so it’ll become more moist with time. Wait about 10 to 15 minutes before adding more mayo even if it’s dry just so it doesn’t get overly juicy and soggy.
Baking the Sliders:
If you want to bake the pulled pork Hawaiian roll sliders, I provide baking instructions in the recipe card below as well as talked about it above.
More Easy Slider Recipes:
Ham and Cheese Sliders — Baked juicy ham and Swiss nestled in soft Hawaiian rolls and brushed with a buttery Dijon, onion, and poppy seed topping!! Fast, EASY, and a party FAVORITE! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Pineapple Ham and Cheese Sliders – Grilled pineapple slices brushed with a soy and ginger marinade add a Hawaiian-inspired twist to these irresistible sandwiches! Hawaiian Roll Turkey and Cheese Sliders — Juicy turkey, Swiss cheese, and cranberry sauce all nestled in soft Hawaiian rolls that are brushed with butter and topped with poppy seeds for the BEST turkey sliders! FAST, EASY, and takes advantage of leftover turkey! Deli turkey also works. Chicken Enchilada Sliders — Juicy shredded chicken is tossed in spicy enchilada sauce and is layered in soft Hawaiian rolls along with plenty of melted cheese! Brush them with a melted garlic butter and oregano mixture and garnish with cilantro and avocado! PERFECT for entertaining, game days, Superbowl, or a FAST and EASY weeknight dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes! Pepperoni Pizza Sliders — Pizza by way of supremely cheesy sliders!! EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and perfect for parties because everyone LOVES them! Totally IRRESISTIBLE!! Big Mac Sliders — For anyone who likes the restaurant version, you’re going to LOVE this copycat Big Mac recipe in handheld slider form! Complete with a COPYCAT Big Mac special sauce, melted cheese, pickles, and tender beef all nestled between soft buttery buns. These EASY sandwiches are a family favorite FAST dinner recipe or make them for events, holidays, or game day parties! Beer and Bourbon BBQ Chicken Sliders — Chicken is cooked with beer and bourbon before being soaked in bbq sauce! So juicy, flavorful, easy, and ready in 25 minutes! Caramelized Onion and Portobello Mushroom Sliders with Fry Sauce – Meatless comfort food at its finest! Hearty, satisfying and so good! Ranch Chicken and Swiss Sliders — Tender chicken is coasted in tangy ranch dressing and topped with Swiss cheese. It’s all nestled in soft, sweet Hawaiian rolls with a buttery Dijon, onion, and poppy seed topping.
