Name: Grilled Philly Cheesesteak Sliders
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: ½ cup mayonnaise; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; couple pinches kosher salt; ½ tsp garlic powder; 2 pkgs Hawaiian original sweet rolls (12 rolls each); 1 lb shaved rare roast beef deli meat; 1 small green bell pepper (seeded, ribs removed, and sliced thin); ½ white onion (sliced thin); couple pinches fresh cracked pepper; 12 slices white American cheese; 12 slices provolone; 1 stick unsalted butter (melted)

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Grilled Philly Cheesesteak Sliders are gooey, cheesy, buttery grilled party sandwiches with roast beef, peppers, onions, Dijon mayonnaise, and two cheeses. Take your Hawaiian rolls sliders with beef to the next level by cooking them on the Big Green Egg or grill and capturing all that amazing smoky flavor.

one slider stacked on another, side view to show roast beef, bell pepper, and cheese filling

Why cook philly cheesesteak sliders on the grill?

If you have gone half a mile around the internet, then you have seen recipes for sliders made on Hawaiian sweet rolls. These party nibbles are popular for a reason – they are freaking tasty, and every time I have made them, they have been inhaled.

One thing I have learned since we got our Big Green Egg a few weeks ago, is that random things – dishes I would never think to cook on the grill – is SO much tastier and completely doable on the grill.

And so here we are with party sandwiches.

More recipes for the Big Green Egg or grill

smoked sausage balls topped with jalapenos on metal pan — Smoked Sausage Balls

smoked chicken quarters on a bake sheet — Smoked Sausage Balls

A grill, and especially a charcoal grill or Big Green Egg kamodo-style cooker, imparts ridiculously rich delicious flavor. The bread of these sliders in particular takes up that flavor like a sponge and just Soaks It In.

This is why I made Hawaiian roll sliders with beef too, because the roast beef especially would marry up with that grill flavor and become suh awesome it’s insane. The result is little grilled philly cheesesteak sliders that are MORE delicious, MORE tasty, than ever before.

hand holding a slider — This view shows the slider layers perfectly, especially that buttery crispy bottom.

The ingredients you need

The necessary ingredients for our grilled party sandwiches are all super easy and approachable. Here, I group them by where they fall in this process.

Dijon mayonnaise: mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce (also known as English sauce), kosher salt, and garlic powder.
Hawaiian original sweet rolls. The original recipe rolls, not the “buttery” ones.
Slider fixings. Roast beef deli meat, green bell pepper, onion, and some fresh cracked pepper. Get rare roast beef since the beef will cook more on the grill.
Cheese: white American cheese and provolone.
Unsalted butter. Similar to other slider recipes, we pour melted butter over the assembled philly cheesesteak sliders to allow that yumminess to soak into the bread.

I am generally not a fan of American cheese whatsoever, but I LOVE it here because it is so melty perfect and goes right with the provolone. It’s the “whiz” in these philly cheesesteak sliders. That said, if you just can’t do it, then Swiss would be an appropriate substitute.

top down view on a half assembled recipe showing the roast beef, onion, and green bell pepper

The steps you take

My grilled philly cheesesteak sliders are prepared just the same as oven sliders with the exception that I adjusted the cook times a bit so they are cooking with the foil open (and, thus, able to soak up grill flavor) longer than if cooked in the oven.

Set up your grill

Set the grill to heat to 350°F and to grill by indirect heat. We want to cook by indirect heat so as not to burn the undersides of our sliders, which would burn rapidly over direct flame.

Every grill is different, so go by your expertise and experience with your own grill. If you are new to grilling, simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

In the Big Green Egg, we fill the firebox and light. Add the convEGGtor with the legs pointing up, or, alternatively, use bake stones, under the grill grate to disperse the heat. Heat to a steady 350°F.

In a charcoal grill, once coals are going and grill is heated to 350°F, move them over to one side so the sliders will not be directly over them.

In a gas grill, once 350°F is reached, shut off two burners and cook over those. The remaining two active burners should be sufficient to maintain temperature.

collage of 2 photos: left, foil packet ion big green egg surrounded by smoke; right, opened foil on grill showing sliders cooking — Start with the foil pack closed to heat through, then open to allow the sandwiches to take up the grill flavor and get toasty.

Assemble the sliders

First, we make our Dijon mayonnaise by stirring together those ingredients.

It is important, for reasons given below, to assemble the philly cheesesteak sliders on a double layer of foil with the pieces large enough to then wrap them up.

Hawaiian sweet rolls do not come sliced, so we have to do that, and the easiest way is to use a large serrated knife and just run it along horizontally along the center creating a bottom bread layer and a top.

We spread the Dijon mayonnaise over the cut side of the bottom bread layer, then layer the sandwich fillings: roast beef, green bell pepper, onion, and a sprinkling of pepper. Top with the cheeses and the top bread layer.

At this point, comes the butter. Yummm. We brush melted, sweet unsalted butter over the top and around the outside of our sliders, then pour the rest over top.

The butter then soaks into the bread and ultimately also makes the bottom bread layer crispy. This is why it is particularly important to assemble on foil, because once the butter is on, it would be impossible to wrap in foil after the fact.

Once the sliders are assembled and wrapped in foil, this is a good stopping point if needed. Generally, it is preferable to allow some time for the bread to soak up the butter, but this is not required.

Grill and enjoy

At this point we just cook, and these lovelies cook quickly. Simply, put them on the preheated Big Green Egg or grill to cook with indirect heat. Cook 10 minutes fully wrapped in foil to get them heated through.

Next, we open the grill, and open the foil. Aluminum foil does not conduct heat, so you can do this right with your fingers. Or use thongs, whatever.

Then we cook with the bread open in its “pan” of foil until hot and nicely toasty party sandwiches all around. This takes about 15 minutes.

TIPS and FAQs

The sliders can be assembled even hours in advance.

If indirect heat is not possible (for example, small grill or cooking other foods at the same time), put the sliders to cook on a raised rack to keep more away from direct heat. Cooking over direct flame will burn the bottom.

This recipe can easily be cut in half to serve fewer people. It can also easily be scaled up to serve more people, and it is especially nice that these party sandwiches can be assembled in advance for that.

After cooking, use a super sharp knife to run along the lines and separate the sliders. If you try to just pull them apart, you will end up with a mess.

These are Hawaiian roll sliders with beef, but you can substitute deli chicken or turkey, if desired.

If a grill is not available, this recipe can be prepared in the oven. Follow all directions as written, except bake for 15 minute completely wrapped in foil and and additional ~5 minutes with the foil open, or until bread is toasty.