BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders — Moist and tender pulled pork topped with barbecue sauce and coleslaw, and sandwiched between soft Hawaiian rolls! Everyone LOVES these EASY juicy sliders that are finger lickin’ good! PERFECT for game days, casual entertaining, backyard barbecues, graduation and Father’s Day celebrations.
Table of contents
- Easy Pulled Pork Sliders Recipe
- Ingredients in Pulled Pork Sliders
- How to Make Pulled Pork Sliders with Coleslaw
- What Kind of Pulled Pork Is Best for Sliders?
- Toppings for Pulled Pork Sliders
- What to Serve with Pulled Pork Sliders
- Make-Ahead Instructions
- Storing Leftover Sliders
- Recipe FAQs
- Tips for the Best Pulled Pork Sliders
- More Easy Slider Recipes:
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.
Just Love Pulled Pork?
Make sure to check out my Pulled Pork Tacos recipe complete with a variety of homemade toppings and salsas!
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.
Pulled Pork Tips
If you want to shortcut this process and use store bought pulled pork rather than making your own, by all means go for it. Although in my opinion, there’s nothing like making your own for the best tasting pulled pork sandwiches and sliders!
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 2: Slice the Hawaiian roll slider buns in half horizontally.
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.
Recipe FAQs
When making pulled pork sliders, I highly suggest soft Hawaiian rolls. They’re slightly sweet, which pairs perfectly with the savory pulled pork and tangy coleslaw
I am a big fan of King’s Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls. In my opinion, there’s really no substitutions for that brand. I’ve never tried a generic or store brand.
I am a big fan of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce for these pulled pork sandwiches. However, you can use whatever your favorite BBQ sauce is or what you have on hand. If you have extra Sweet Baby Ray’s, these Pork Belly Burnt Ends are delish.
I do know a few people who aren’t big coleslaw fans and it’s not absolutely essential if you don’t want to add it. However, it does add some really great light crunch and texture, as well as tangy-sweet flavor.
But if you want plain sliders with just the pulled pork and barbecue sauce, it’s fine to prepare them that way.
If you want to make them in advance of a get-together or event where you want to have them be part of a buffet and your guests can help themselves, you can assemble the sandwiches a few hours in advance.
And depending on your climate and exact time frame, you can decide if you want to store them well-wrapped in the fridge or at room temp until your party.
Tips for the Best Pulled Pork Sliders
Read my FAQs above as well as these final tips to be sure that your pork sliders are the best.
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.
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Easy Pulled Pork Sliders
Ingredients
Sliders
- one 12-count package King’s Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls, halved and separated
- 3 cups pulled pork, my Homemade Pulled Pork OR store bought*
- ½ cup barbecue sauce, or as desired
- 2 cups coleslaw, store bought OR make your own – see below
Coleslaw Topping
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- ¼ cup shredded carrots
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon celery seeds, optional but recommended
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- Pickles, optional for serving
Instructions
- Separate the buns and place them on a large cutting board or serving platter. Baking Tips – If you plan on baking the sliders which is optional, preheat the oven to 350F, line a and spray a 9 x 13" baking dish or metal baking pan with cooking spray. If you're using a metal baking pan, I like to line my pan with nonstick foil for easier cleanup. Slice the slab of Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally and place the bottom half in the baking pan.
- Evenly divide the 3 cups of pulled pork between the 12 rolls, placing a small mound on the bottom half of the rolls.
- Evenly top with barbecue sauce; set aside.
- Make the coleslaw by combining all the remaining ingredients (except pickles) in a medium bowl, stir well to combine, taste, and make any necessary flavor or seasoning adjustments. Tips – Buy a bag of "coleslaw mix" from the bagged salad mix area of your grocery store to save time. The coleslaw will get juicier as it sits as the salt draw the natural water and moisture from the cabbage. So if it's a bit dry at first, let it sit 10 minutes and it'll be juicier. Add more mayo at that point if it's not quite juicy enough for your liking. Alternatively, you can buy premade coleslaw and use that instead of making your own.
- Evenly add the coleslaw over the top of the barbecue sauce and pork.
- Add the bun tops and serve immediately, optionally with pickles or the sides of your choice (see blog post for ideas). Baking Tips – If you want to bake the sliders, brush about 2 to 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter evenly over the tops of the buns, cover the pan with foil, bake covered for 15 minutes at 350F, uncover and bake for 5 minutes, or until as golden browned as desired before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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