Hawaiian Roll Baked Mini Grilled Cheese Appetizers
The only thing in life better than melted cheese on on Hawaiian rolls is mini grilled cheese appetizers! These mini grilled cheese sandwiches will become your new favorite party appetizer. They are full of cheesy goodness, sweet toasted slices of bread, and a buttery seasoned crust that will have you hooked at the first bite. The only problem is who gets the very last one! Let me show you how to make the perfect appetizer for holiday entertaining, Super Bowl parties, and happy hours. Full recipe card below.
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Why I love this recipe
I have a few die hard comfort foods and grilled cheese is definitely at the top of the list! Aside from being melt in your mouth delicious, this is an easy recipe with only a few ingredients and you can make a bunch at the same time on a sheet pan. They are bite sized making them the perfect appetizer for large gatherings or parties.
Mini Grilled Cheese Ingredients
This easy hors d’oeuvre recipe uses only a few basic ingredients and yields a lot of mini grilled cheeses. I have made these multiple ways so I will give you my notes on what worked the best.
Kings Hawaiian Rolls – Hawaiian rolls have to be one of my absolute favorite store bought bread options! And if you get them at Costco, you can buy a two pack of rolls for less than $7! I have also made these with a French loaf of bread from the bakery. And while they were still good, they didn’t have that sweet and savory component I love about Hawaiian rolls. But you definitely can make them with regular white bread.
Cheese Slices – The easiest way to make these is with pre-cut cheese slices. I picked up this multi pack of cheese on sale at, you guessed it, Costco! It gave me a nice variety of cheese combinations for not a lot of money. I simply added a slice of cheese to each side of the bread.
I prefer a cheese mixture on each sandwich so this was perfect and I didn’t have to cut anything. I used a combo of sharp cheddar cheese, Jarlsberg (tastes like Swiss), Havarti, and Gouda. But feel free to slice your own cheese and use whatever combo you like. I have not tried this with cream cheese or cheese sticks.
Butter – I used melted unsalted butter in this recipe. I have tested it with margarine and it did not turn out the same. The bread was rather soggy with the margarine, so use at your own risk.
Onion – I personally love onions on my grilled cheese so this was a no brainer to me. But they are completely optional. I used a yellow onion diced small.
Garlic Powder – I mix garlic powder with the melted butter and the rosemary to cover the outside of the bread slices. It makes the best grilled cheese crust! I use garlic powder over garlic salt to keep the sodium content to a minimum and ensure more of the garlic flavor than saltiness.
Rosemary – I know this might seem like an odd choice, but trust me here! I mix the rosemary spice in with the garlic powder and the butter and creates a flavorful crust on the bread that is simply SO good!
Dipping – Nothing goes better with grilled cheese than tomato soup and it makes a tasty dipper for these mini sandwiches. This homemade version is my favorite tomato soup recipe!
Prepping the Mini Grilled Cheeses
First you will need to slice each Hawaiian roll into four pieces. This will yield 32 mini grilled cheese sandwiches.
Once the bread is sliced, lay the pieces of bread on a sheet pan and coat the first side of the bread with the melted butter and seasoning mix. This works best with a silicone basting brush.
Then flip over the first slice of bread and add a single layer of cheese, some onions, and then top it with a second slice of cheese. I do two slices of cheese per sandwich because you can never have too much cheese 😉
Finally, top the mini sandwich with the second side of bread. Using the basting brush, add the remaining butter mixture to the top of the bread.
How to Cook Mini Grilled Cheeses
One of the best parts about these bite sized mini sandwiches is the ease of cooking! When you are busy entertaining or setting up for a party, the last thing you have time for is to individually grill 32 sandwiches in a frying pan! Simply lay out all the cheese sandwiches on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 10-15 minutes and viola! 32 individual appetizers.
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Hawaiian Roll Baked Mini Grilled Cheese Appetizers
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 32 sandwiches
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
If you love Hawaiian rolls and grilled cheese sandwiches, you will love this simple cheese recipe appetizer! Nothing beats the sweet and savory combination of gooey cheese and sweet Hawaiian bread. This easy comfort food is a great choice for a party appetizer and can be made in bulk on a sheet pan so you can enjoy the party. No game day or holiday celebration will ever be the same without mini Hawaiian roll grilled cheese appetizers!
Ingredients
- 1 pkg (16 rolls) Kings Hawaiian Rolls
- 64 Small Slices of Cheese (see notes above)
- 1/2 Yellow Onion diced
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter melted
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Rosemary
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with a baking mat or aluminum foil.
- Dice 1/2 a yellow onion into small pieces and set aside.
- On a cutting board, slice each Hawaiian roll into four small squares. See above for details. This will yield 32 mini grilled cheese sandwiches.
- In a small glass bowl melt one stick of butter in the microwave. This works best if you cut the butter into small cubes (about 1/2 tablespoon) first. Then use the melt butter button on the microwave or in 15 second intervals on half power.
- Once the butter is melted, stir in the garlic powder and rosemary.
- Lay the sliced pieces of bread on a sheet pan and coat the first side of the bread with the melted butter and seasoning mix. This works best with a basting brush.
- Then flip over the first slice of bread so the buttered side is down and add a single layer of cheese, some onions, and then top it with a second slice of cheese.
- Top the mini sandwich with the second side of bread. Using the basting brush again, add the remaining butter mixture to the top of the bread.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- Serve with your favorite tomato soup.
Notes
I buy my Hawaiian Rolls at Costco in a 16 roll pack. You may have more or less sandwiches based on the package size.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Looking for more great party appetizer recipes for your next big gathering or game day? Check out my easy pepperoni cheese pizza cups appetizer, salami and goat cheese crostini appetizer, sausage and cream cheese stuffed mushrooms, old fashioned meat and cheese Polish mistakes, or my sausage onion goat cheese puff pastry.
Looking for an easy football dip? Try my copycat Torchy’s Tacos queso dip, cheese and bell pepper green goddess dip, copycat Hidden Valley fiesta ranch dip, smoked salmon cream cheese spread, or my copycat Chuy’s jalapeno ranch dip.
Storage
Leftover cheese sandwiches can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for up to 5 days. But I doubt you end up with leftovers, haha!
When to Make Mini Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Mini Hawaiian roll grilled cheeses are the perfect bite sized snack for large gatherings, holiday parties, or Super bowl Sunday. I have even made them as a fun family dinner with tomato soup.
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