Farmhouse Ham, Swiss and Ranch Party Sliders

Ham and cheese on Hawaiian rolls with a sweet glaze makes an amazing meal. These Farmhouse Ham, Swiss and Ranch Party Sliders make a popular and easy family meal! 

Our family likes these ham and cheese sliders with brown sugar so much we couldn’t stop eating them.  

This recipe also inspired Ham & Cheese Roll-Ups, Ham & Turkey Melt Sliders, and Turkey, Cheddar and Bacon Sliders.

Ham & Cheese Sliders with Brown Sugar

Honey ham with melted cheese sitting on delicious ranch dressing on a sweet Hawaiian roll makes the best sliders. A sweet glaze with brown sugar, melted butter, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard really make these sliders stand out.

Ham and Swiss is one of my favorite meat and cheese combinations. Adding a few other easy ingredients makes this slider recipe extra special! Baked for about 20 minutes the warm slider makes you want to eat more than one.

These sliders are perfect party food, but make great easy family meals too! Our family loves sliders because they are easier for kids to eat and even our picky eater enjoys these little sandwiches!

Hawaiian Ham & Swiss Sliders with Brown Sugar

I appreciate that Courtney Nelson shared this recipe with me! Courtney’s family connected with a friend who shared this recipe that the Nelson family customized for Cornhusker tailgate parties.  Farmhouse Ham, Swiss and Ranch Party Sliders are a staple at parties and tailgates.

The sweet touch to these sliders from the brown sugar is just unforgettable!

After making and eating these easy sliders I can tell you why they’re a staple with the Nelson family.  Because these sliders are AMAZING! 

We didn’t have a tailgate planned, so we ate these for dinner….again and again.  The whole family enjoys these ham and cheese sliders and they’re more fun to eat than a regular sandwich.  We’ll also make these for parties.

Ham & Cheese Sliders with Brown Sugar Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×13 baking pan with foil.
2. Slice Hawaiian sliders in half.  Place bottom half in pan and spread a thin layer of ranch dressing on the bottom roll.
3. Add a thin, even layer of ham, then add a layer of Swiss cheese.  Repeat with a second layer of ham and cheese.  Place the top half on the sliders.
4. Make brown sugar topping or glaze by melting butter and then stirring in remaining ingredients together.  Use a pastry brush or spoon glaze over the top of the rolls.
5. Bake uncovered for 12 – 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tops of the rolls are lightly browned.

How to Keep Pork From Getting Dry

Courtney has learned in her time with the Nebraska Pork Association Mentorship Program that properly cooking pork is KEY to enjoying pork.  She learned that using a meat thermometer like this one is critical to success.  You can’t just guess when pork is done.

She reminded me that In 2011, the USDA lowered the minimum cooking temperature for pork to 145⁰ with a three-minute rest.

While ham is typically pre-cooked (read the label to be sure) keep that in mind when making a recipe like this.  This recipe doesn’t require cooking the meat, we’re simply warming the meat and melting the cheese.

How to Make Sweet Hawaiian Ham Sliders

Cut slider rolls in half and spread a thin layer of ranch dressing on the bottom roll.  If you really like ranch then add a thin layer on the top of the rolls too.

Add a thin layer of ham on top of the ranch dressing.

Add a layer of Swiss cheese.

I find that sitting the ham and cheese out on the counter for about 20 minutes to knock the chill off before assembling the sliders helps the cheese melt better in the center during baking.

Add another layer of ham.  Alternating the ham and cheese makes these little sandwiches even more delicious!

Add the final layer of cheese.  We love the ham and Swiss combination!

Mix up the glaze ingredients and brush on top of the rolls.  This glaze has a lot of brown sugar which makes it really sweet.  Feel free to cut the glaze in half if sweet isn’t your favorite flavor sensation.

Bake at 375°F for about 15 minutes.  I usually check around the 12-minute mark to make sure the rolls aren’t browning too quickly.

Use a sharp knife to cut the sliders apart being careful not to cut foil or just moving the sandwiches to a cutting board first.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Other Easy Slider Ideas

Our family likes to add turkey and make Turkey, Cheddar and Bacon Sliders.  More recently we made Roast Beef Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls and Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe Sliders.

Another favorite slider is taking tender Instant Pot pulled pork and adding barbecue sauce, Havarti cheese and bacon bits or our BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders.

Thanks to the Nelson family for sharing these experiences about life on the farm as well as this great recipe!

Here are links to other easy appetizers that our family enjoys:

• Fiesta Sausage Dip
• Easy Cinnamon Fruit Dip
• Easy BBQ Pulled Pork Crescents
• Chili Cheese Ball
• Farmhouse Ham Balls
• Open Faced Italian BLT
• Italian Chicken Bacon Ranch Subs

We hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do!

This post was created by a partnership with the Nebraska Pork Producers Association, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Printable Farmhouse Ham, Swiss and Ranch Party Sliders Recipe

Meet Courtney Nelson A Nebraska Farm Girl

Courtney Nelson was born into a corn, soybean, alfalfa, and wheat farming family in east-central Nebraska.  Courtney has done quite a bit of work on the farm with her younger brother Andrew.  Here they are in a tractor with a close family friend helping harvest wheat.

One thing leads to another and as many kids do Courtney craved responsibilities of her own.  She diversified her family’s grain farm to include pigs.  As a member of the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) program through her local high school, Courtney decided to make her capstone project taking care of pigs.

The easiest way for Courtney to get started in pigs was to purchase weaned pigs (that had already transitioned from milk to solid food made of corn).  She raised them until market weight when they were ready to be butchered for pork.

Throughout this process, Courtney has learned many important things like time management.  For example, she likes to be active and keep a full calendar.  Well, she had to learn to leave space in her schedule to feed the pigs every day while still accomplishing other tasks.

Courtney also enjoyed FFA because she learned how important connecting and collaborating with other people is.  She said, “You can’t be an expert in everything.”  But you can find other people who are and connect with them.

Originally published 1/21/19 and updated on 1/27/21.