Copycat White Castle Sliders
Recreate classic Copycat White Castle sliders at home with this easy baked method for juicy, flavourful results perfect for feeding a crowd.
Craving Copycat White Castle sliders but don’t have a location nearby? These easy homemade sliders deliver that signature flavour with thin, tender beef, soft buns, and perfectly seasoned onions. They’re baked all at once for a simple, fuss-free method that’s perfect for feeding a crowd or recreating a fast-food favourite at home.
Recipe Highlights – Why This Recipe Works
- Classic fast-food flavour at home – These sliders capture that signature White Castle taste without leaving your kitchen.
- Easy baked method – No standing over the stove, everything cooks together in the oven.
- Perfect for a crowd – Makes 16 sliders at once, ideal for parties, game day, or family dinners.
- Thin, tender beef patties – The signature texture comes from spreading the beef thin and steaming it over onions.
- Simple ingredients – Made with pantry staples and easy-to-find items.
- Customisable – Add cheese, adjust toppings, or tweak flavours to suit your taste.
Tips for Best Results
- Spread the beef thinly and evenly – This is key to getting that classic slider texture. Press it firmly into the pan so it cooks uniformly.
- Don’t skip the holes in the patties – These allow steam to circulate while cooking, giving the burgers their signature texture.
- Freeze before baking – Chilling the meat helps it hold its shape and makes it easier to handle.
- Let the onions soak in the broth – This step creates that iconic steamed onion flavour that makes these sliders stand out.
- Use soft dinner rolls – Light, fluffy rolls mimic the original buns best and absorb the juices perfectly.
- Serve immediately – These sliders are best hot, straight from the oven when the buns are soft and the cheese is melted.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ground chuck – Ideal for flavour and fat content, but you can substitute with ground beef if needed.
- Beef broth – Adds moisture and flavour; chicken broth can be used in a pinch.
- Dried minced onions – Essential for that authentic taste; finely diced fresh onions can work as an alternative.
- Dinner rolls – Soft, pull-apart rolls are best; slider buns or brioche buns also work well.
- American cheese slices – Optional, but recommended for a classic cheesy version; swap with cheddar or leave off if preferred.
- Dill pickles – Traditional topping that adds tang and crunch; bread and butter pickles can be used for a slightly sweeter flavour.
- Salt and pepper – Simple seasoning to enhance the beef.
Copycat White Castle Sliders
Yields: 16 sliders | Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 1 hour freezing time) | Cook Time: 13 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 packages dinner rolls (16 rolls)
- 1 lb ground chuck
- 2 1/3 cups beef broth, divided
- 1 cup dried minced onions
- 8 slices American cheese (optional)
- 16 dill pickle slices
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a 10×15-inch pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine ground chuck, 2/3 cup beef broth, salt, and pepper. Mix until the mixture is soft and spreadable.
- Press the beef mixture evenly into the prepared pan, creating a thin layer.
- Score the meat into 16 equal rectangles. Use your finger to poke 5 small holes into each section.
- Place the pan in the freezer for at least 1 hour, until firm.
- In a separate baking sheet, pour the remaining beef broth and spread the dried minced onions evenly over the bottom. Let sit for 5–10 minutes.
- Slice the dinner rolls in half horizontally to create tops and bottoms.
- Place the frozen beef slab directly on top of the onion mixture. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the burgers are cooked through.
- Remove from oven and place cheese slices on top of each patty if using. Add the tops of the buns and return to the oven for 3 minutes, until warmed.
- Place a pickle slice on each bottom bun. Use a spatula to lift each slider and transfer onto the prepared buns.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
Copycat White Castle Sliders
Ingredients
- 2 pkgs Dinner Rolls, 16 rolls
- 1 lb Ground Chuck
- 2 1/3 cup Beef Broth
- 1 cup Dried Minced Onions
- 8 American Cheese Slices, optional
- 16 Hamburger Dills
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
Instructions
- Line a 10x15 pan with parchment paper.
- Mix ground chuck, 2/3 cup beef broth and salt and pepper together until mixture is easily spreadable.
- Gently press and spread meat mixture into prepared pan until you form a thin even layer.
- Using a knife, score each into 16 equal rectangles.
- Use your finger to make 5 holes in each patty.
- Place in freezer for at least 1 hour.
- Remove frozen patties on parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Pour remaining beef broth (1 2/3 cup) into a baking sheet and spread minced onions over entire bottom of pan.
- Allow to sit for 5 - 10 minutes.
- Cut all dinner rolls in half to make buns.
- Place frozen beef on top of onion mixture.
- Place in oven for 10 minutes to allow burgers to steam cook (until they turn brown).
- Remove and place cheese on each patty (if you are making cheese sliders).
- Top each with a bun top and return to oven for 3 minutes.
- Top each bun bottom with a dill pickle
- Use a spatula to pick up each slider half and place on bun bottom.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Liz Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys cooking and baking, food photography, and reading.
The whole family enjoyed these! I had ciabatta rolls, so I divided the meat mixture into eight portions and proceeded with the recipe. I used part fresh onions, and think I will use all fresh onions next time (not sure if extra beef broth would be necessary in that instance). Thanks for the inspiration! Oh, and if you do
I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe!
fresh onions: these sound ok to use if that is what your family enjoys. however, white castle DOES use the dehydrated onions, which is what gives them their unique flavor.
PS – Oops, sorry about the unfinished sentence in the previous comment! I started to say if you have frozen beef, you can grind it in your food processor, which is what I did.
These are extremely close to “real” White Castles. Very tasty, in fact, my husband and son said they were better!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Do you take the hamburgers off the parchment paper before placing them on top of the onions to bake in oven?
Yes!
My first job, many years ago, was in the White Castle home office, so I do know a bit about how what they now call “sliders” are made (we just called them “castles” back then). Your recipe looks and sounds awesome! Since we no longer live near a White Castle, you can be sure that I’ll be trying the recipe very soon. So glad I found this!
I clicked to get the whole recipe then did a simple copy & paste onto my Pages. I didn’t want the pics but the c&p worked just fine. Just like the recipe. Great with a beer, eh? v
How can this recipe be printed. Would love to try it, but it’s too hard to follow as is.
At the bottom of the post is a recipe card with a print button. It will print with only the recipe, not the full post and images.
Living on the west coast I miss fresh White Castles from my home town in Ohio. (I remember, as a kid, going to the 1st and original White Castle in Columbus). I’ve tried the frozen ones from the grocery store, but they don’t taste the same.
Will definitely try this recipe. Thanks.
What I’ve found, if you don’t want to make them from scratch ( I plan on trying this recipe anyway!) is to steam the frozed white castles. It’s extra time but they taste better than just putting them in the microwave.
Are they similar to Krystal’s burgers? I know I’d have to add a little dollop of mustard for them to be like the typical Krystal burger and the entire bun (both parts) needs to be steamed, I think in the onion mixture somehow because I remember the inner part of the bun, just a thin layer next to the onions, cheese, and burger, etc… that thin layer of the upper and lower buns are a little moist and nummy. I usually LOATHE wet/moist/squishy bread…. but this is just a teeny bit and it’s so flavorful due to being steamed in the onion and beef mixture… and the bun lids are so soft!
I always loved Krystal;s more than White Castle. I’d never actually heard of W.C. til I moved up here to Maine. I so love it up here but they need to bring my beloved Krystal’s up here!! *laugh*
I’ve never had Krystal’s burgers!
Krystal burgers are nasty….. Lol
I grew up on white castle in Chicago, moved down south and tried a Krystal burger and they are no where near the same.
I am going to try this recipe….. I Miss White Castle……
They taste alike stop the hype
because they are one in the same matter fact Dairy Queen mini burgers was the same thing!! So stop it!!
Now you have me running to get the buns. Thanks
How lean should the ground chuck be?
Lean
Ground chuck is 80/20
70/30 if you can find it.
This is a perfect recipe it really does have the White Castle taste and texture. I did some with the extra bun and burger and they were the bomb.I added some mustard. Thank you for sharing . I will make these often!!!
Sounds delicious. My son loves those sliders. Do you think I can make a batch and freeze them to use later?
I love love love this recipe! It was as if I pulled through the drive thru and brought them home! I made them the day the Cubs won the World Series!!! Recipe is perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing!
My family loves when i make these sliders. They are so good. Easy to make and so good
Just finished making these. Super delicious, pretty close to the real thing!
Findings:
Regular dinner rolls tasted better than the Hawaiian savory butter rolls(we live in Hawaii).
The holes in the meat seem nessecary for steaming.
It seemed to work better with a 12 pack of rolls for the cookie sheet called for in this recipe. Also, throwing the cheese and bun tops on top of the meat as well as the bottoms no another sheet(mine already had broth and onions from the first batch) in the oven and the same time and them pulling them all after 3 minutes and then cutting to the bun size. Made the bottoms warm and a tad soggy like it came out of a cardboard carton(restaurant classic)
Thanks for the recipe!!
thank you for the recipe.
O…M.. G!!!! I was born & raised on Central Ohio, the birthplace of White Castles!! I left Ohio in 2010 and haven’t had a “rattburger” as we Ohio folks affectionately call them, since! I’d tried the frozen variety, but it lacked something! Seeing your recipe a couple days ago, I thought, “Yeah right!” bit opted to give it a try anyway!I had to sub out ground chicken for the beef ‘ hubby can no longer eat beef – and it STILL CAME OUT FANTASTIC!!! My hubby and I are now sitting here in food cona’s because we ate SO MUCH!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
Did you mean 2/3 cup beef broth with the meat (and S/P)? or did you mean 1/3 cup? Just worried about consistency if I add more beef broth….
2/3 cup beef broth with the meat is correct, but you can use your best judgment and add less. The mixture should be easy to spread but still hold together.
BOOMER (LOUD&PROUD)
Come down off the porch when you have the steamed version puppy
White Castle never fried their hamburgers
Ok Boomer. They are steamed in this recipe, not fried.
I’m so confused, they’re was so much liquid and onions, I had to use a different tray… did I do simmering wrong, do you put the buns on top of that??
Did you use dried onions or fresh? The liquid should all get cooked off/absorbed.