Preheat the oven to 400°, prep a muffin tin by spraying with non-stick spray.
In a small bowl combine the panko crumbs and milk, stir and set aside.
½ cup panko bread crumbs, ¼ cup milk
In a small skillet over medium heat sauté the onions in the oil, about 5 minutes.Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic, tomato paste and Worcestershire. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 cup yellow or white onion, 2 plump garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
In a large bowl combine the panko mixture, egg, onion mixture, salt, black pepper and onion powder. Add the ground beef and with a fork or clean hands, mix just until it is combined.
1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1.5 lbs. ground beef
Divide the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, scooping about ¼ cup of meatloaf mixture into each cup. Press down lightly on each cup.Top each cup with 1 tablespoon ketchup.
1 cup ketchup
Bake at 400, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Place the muffin tin on a large rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills in the oven.You can check that they are cooked through with an instant read thermometer, they should register at least 165 degrees. If your meat was extra cold it may take 30-35 minutes to cook through.
Let the meatloaf cool for about 5 minutes.
Assembly
If your slider buns came as one piece, like the Kings Hawaiian Savory Butter Buns, just slice the top buns from the bottom buns in one layer, keeping the 12 buns attached.
12 slider buns
Place the bottom buns on a large rimmed baking sheet. Top each one with a meatloaf muffin. Add more ketchup or BBQ sauce if desired. Evenly distribute the cheese slices across the meatloaf.
6 provolone slices
Place the top buns on, brush the tops of the buns with melted butter.
2 tablespoon butter
Place in the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese starts to melt.
Serving
Slice the sliders apart with a serrated knife.
Serve 1-2 sliders per kid, and 2-3 sliders per adult.
They make a great addition to an appetizer party (perfect football game food)!! For dinner serve with chips or fries and raw veggies with dip.
Reheating
To reheat a lot of meatloaf slider sandwiches place them on a rimmed baking sheet, cover with foil and bake at 350 until warmed through, about 15 minutes.
To reheat one or two sliders, cover with a damp paper towel and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Make Ahead
To make these ahead, simply prepare and bake the meatloaf muffin cups. Then cool and pop in the fridge.
When it is time to serve preheat the oven to 350. Heat the meatloaf cups in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds up to 2 minutes.Place the meatloaf and cheese on the slider buns, brush the top buns with butter. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melty and the meatloaf muffins are warmed through.
Notes
Slider Buns: Try to purchase slider buns that come attached in one piece, like the Savory Butter King's Hawaiian Buns. The Pepperidge Farm Slider Buns will work too!Turkey: You can also use ground turkey for this recipe, just make sure you purchase 93/7 ground turkey for the best flavor.