Food

I made slider recipes from Eddie Jackson, Bobby Flay, and Ina Garten. The best had the simplest seasonings.

Ted Berg

2024-02-19T10:53:25Z

A white plate of four burgers with arugula, tomato slices, red onions, and brioche bun on a table — I made three different slider recipes to see which was the best to serve at a party. Ted Berg

I made sliders using recipes from Ina Garten, Eddie Jackson, and Bobby Flay.
Garten's version used Gruyere cheese and arugula, but reminded me more of a meatball.
Flay's sliders were my winner because they were delicious and had a homemade sauce.

When I'm in need of crowd-pleasing party food, I immediately think of reliable, delicious sliders. To find the best recipe, I made sliders from celebrity chefs Ina Garten, Eddie Jackson, and Bobby Flay.

I don't have access to an outdoor grill, so I cooked all of the sliders on a skillet.

Here's how each slider stacked up.

Garten’s sliders seemed easy enough to make.

A cutting boards with hamburger buns, ground meat, arugula, mustard, garlic, tomatoes, onion slices, and a block of cheese laid out — I gathered luxe-feeling ingredients like Dijon mustard and Gruyere cheese. Ted Berg

From the ingredients alone, I could tell Garten's recipe would be the most highbrow of the sliders.

The recipe called for 2 pounds of ground beef, Gruyere cheese, baby arugula, tomatoes, red onions, ketchup, Dijon mustard, fresh thyme, garlic, and olive oil.

Chopping the thyme and garlic took a little time, but the recipe wasn't difficult to follow.

I combined the fresh herbs and meat before forming the patties.

A metal bowl filled with ground beef, spices, and mustard. The spices sit on top of the meat and aren't mixed in yet — Ina Garten's recipe called for mixing the Dijon mustard and herbs with the beef. Ted Berg

I started by mixing the Dijon mustard, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper into the meat.

Then, I formed the beef into patties and cooked them over medium-high heat.

I topped Garten's patties with cheese while they were cooking.

Four meat patties cook on a black skillet. Shredded Gruyere cheese melts on top of each patty — The Gruyere cheese melted nicely. Ted Berg

I flipped the burgers and topped each patty with grated Gruyere, which melted nicely.

Each patty went on a toasted brioche bun with arugula, red onions, and a slice of tomato on top.

Garten's finished sliders looked picture-perfect.

A slider with arugula, a slice of tomato, and a red-onion slice sit between hamburger buns — The finished sliders were colorful and delicious. Ted Berg

Garten's sliders presented well, thanks to the colorful combination of veggies. They were also delicious, with sweetness from the tomato, the nutty, creamy taste of Gruyere, and a peppery bitterness from the arugula.

However, they didn't feel like traditional cheeseburgers. It was more like eating a delightful, herbaceous, thyme-heavy meatball.

The recipe was simple enough, and I could easily imagine myself making these again. But they're not something I'd serve at a party.

At first, Jackson’s recipe for Caribbean-jerk sliders seemed overwhelming.

A wooden cutting board with hamburger buns, ground beef, ketchup, spice mixture, a bottle of beer, two onions, and a lime — Jackson's recipe also included instructions for making red-ale onion rings and jerk ketchup. Ted Berg

At first glance, the list of ingredients for Jackson's Caribbean-jerk sliders looked overwhelming, and I could tell this recipe would undoubtedly be the most complex of the three.

The recipe, which included instructions for making red-ale onion rings and jerk ketchup to go with the sliders, called for 1 pound of ground chuck, mild cheddar, brioche buns, and a range of spices.

I noticed most of the seasonings — allspice, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red-pepper flakes, brown sugar, and thyme — were used in both the burger meat and the jerk ketchup.

To save time, I mixed 2 ½ teaspoons of each spice to make a special blend before I started.

I added a lot of seasonings to the meat.

A metal placed on a wooden cutting board filled with ground beef. The beef is sprinkled with spices — Eddie Jackson's burger patties called for several seasonings like allspice and cayenne pepper. Ted Berg

First, I mixed my spice blend with the ketchup, lime juice, and a little salt to make the jerk ketchup. It was an excellent sauce, as it was tangy, sweet, spicy, and warm.

Then, I mixed the rest of the seasonings and some salt into the ground beef.

Jackson's recipe said to press an indent into the center of each slider patty. I assumed this was so they wouldn't swell up in the center while cooking, but I didn't think it made much of a difference.

While the sliders were cooking, I also made the onion rings to go along with the burger.

To give the sliders even more flavor, I toasted the buns.

Several small brioche buns place cut-side down on a skillet — I toasted the buns until they looked crispy. Ted Berg

Jackson's recipe also called for grilling the rolls.

When they got toasty, I covered them with a dollop of jerk ketchup and added the patties with melted cheddar cheese, and an onion ring.

Jackson's finished sliders were super tasty.

A burger with melted cheddar cheese, ketchup, and a fried onion ring sit between toasted hamburger buns — I thought the ketchup and onion rings elevated the sliders. Ted Berg

Jackson's sliders were fantastic. The fried onion rings added crunch to the spicy, sweet mix of jerk seasonings and ketchup.

The laborious recipe isn't something I'd make again unless the sliders were the only thing I'd be serving. If I were to make them again, I'd try them as full-sized burgers.

Flay’s sliders with chipotle mayonnaise didn't seem too complicated to make.

A wooden cutting board filled with hamburger buns, barbecue sauce, mayo, sliced pickles, slices of red onions, a bowl of ground beef, and a lime — I grabbed ingredients for Bobby Flay's sliders and chipotle mayo. Ted Berg

Flay's slider recipe, which included instructions for a chipotle mayonnaise, was simpler and more customizable than the others.

The recipe called for mayonnaise, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, lime, black pepper, 1 to 1 ½ pounds of ground chuck, cheese slices, burger buns, pickles, and red onions.

The most complicated part of the recipe was making the chipotle mayonnaise, which wasn't difficult.

Flay's slider patties required few seasonings.

Six raw hamburger patties on a white plate on a wooden cutting board — All I added to the patties was salt and pepper. Ted Berg

I made the chipotle mayo by blending the mayonnaise, lime juice, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce in a food processor. When I tasted it, the flavor was smoky and spicy but not overpowering.

Then, I seasoned the ground beef with salt and pepper.

I cooked Flay's sliders and served them with all of the toppings.

Four browned sliders cooking on a greased black skillet — I cooked the sliders in a skillet. Ted Berg

I formed the beef patties, cooked both sides on a skillet, and laid the cheese on top. The recipe said to go with your own choice of cheese, so I went with colby jack.

The recipe also recommended serving the sliders at a burger bar with pickles, red onions, and chipotle mayonnaise, so I went with all three toppings.

Flay's finished sliders were amazing.

A slider with melted cheese, an orange sauce, sliced pickle, and onion between a bun on a white plate — I loved the combination of flavors in Bobby Flay's sliders. Ted Berg

Flay's burgers were phenomenal. The combination of beef, pickles, onions, and mayo created the familiar flavor of a Big Mac but with a fresher, homemade feel.

The spiciness of the chipotle amplified everything, and the smoky flavor kept the sliders interesting.

Flay's sliders were my winner.

A blue paper plate on a wooden table filled with sliders. Some sliders have toasted buns, a tomato slice, pickles, onion rings, and raw onions — All of the sliders were good, but Flay's were my favorite. Ted Berg

Flay's slider recipe would be perfect as a party appetizer because the chipotle mayo could easily be made beforehand.

The next time I'm craving sliders but don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen, I'll make this recipe.

Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.