Remember I told you there was going to be lots of leftover ham from the gorgeous Carlton Farms Bone-In, Whole Holiday Ham we made yesterday? Well, I was right. And luckily the possibilities are endless when it comes to using using up leftover ham.
If I were you, I would start with making these Ham and Havarti Sliders on Parmesan-Butter Topped Pretzel Buns. There are NO words to describe how good these turned out. Do you see that cheese? It’s epic.
You see, I have a new vice lately. It happens to be THIS exact cheese. I have been getting my stash at Costco. Every time I shop, I come home with more and more packages to get me through until the next Costco trip. The cheese has a decent shelf life but it’s not even an issue since we are eating it faster than we can replace it.
If you have never had Havarti, it is the creamiest, butteriest, most superior melty cheese you could imagine. The fact that I can now get it in deli slices has turned me into a Havarti fanatic. It is by far the ultimate grilled cheese-cheese. Does that make sense?
I knew this leftover ham and Havarti cheese were going to marry and bring peace and love into my kitchen. I was right. These little sliders were incredible. I have pure love for this cheese and I hope you can find some soon.
Another exceptional part of this sandwich were these pretzel buns. They were in my freezer, which explains their wrinkly outer appearance. But, have you seen these at your store? They have been popping up everywhere. They are a little sweet with a great texture, kind of like one of those mall pretzels, but better. These buns were the perfect choice for this combination of meat and cheese.
I kind of just tore the cheese in strips and laid it across the bottom half of the buns, added ham and then more cheese. Super easy!
I topped the rolls with a mixture of butter and Parmesan. Use the Parmesan from the can if you want to incorporate it with your butter. Melting shredded Parmesan with your butter just turns it into oil. You could drizzle butter on top and then sprinkle the buns with shredded Parmesan. It will melt in the oven but it could also get too brown. Your call.
Ham and Havarti Sliders on Parmesan-Butter Topped Pretzel Buns
Ingredients
- Pretzel Buns
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard
- Havarti Cheese Slices
- Ham slices
- Butter, melted
- Parmesan cheese, from the can
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice buns in half and place on a rimmed baking sheet covered in parchment.
- Mix two tablespoons mayonnaise to one tablespoon mustard in a small bowl. Use enough to coincide with how many sliders you are making. Spread mixture on both sides of pretzel buns.
- Place bottom half of buns closely together on baking tray. Top buns with Havarti cheese slices, ham and more Havarti cheese. Cover with tops of buns.
- In a small pan melt several tablespoons of butter and several tablespoons of Parmesan together. Drizzle this mixture over the tops of the sliders.
- Place in oven and bake about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and ham is warmed through.
- ~For fun I added some crushed pineapple to my sliders and it was the perfect little addition. I did this after they came out of the oven.

Ridiculous don’t you think?
Kristin says
Wow!! I think I could kill a whole tray of those right now! Especially with the pineapple addition you mentioned. I love the combo of ham and pineapple!
Cathy says
I know, it’s like eating a Hawaiian pizza sandwich.
Cathy at Wives with Knives says
I have to agree with you, these sliders look sooo delicious with their buttery parmesan topping. I hope you and your family have a very happy holiday. The snow is gone at my house, how about where you live? I have my fingers crossed for a white Christmas.
Cathy says
Thanks Cathy and Happy Holidays to you and your family. We still hve quite of snow this morning. We are at a higher elevation and are in this little valley. We tend to get more snow, more rain etc. We’ll see what happens today.
NancyC says
Those sliders sound super-good…and the Parmesan butter sounds wonderful! 🙂
Cathy says
Thanks Nancy.
Erica {Coffee & Quinoa} says
I have a thing for pretzel buns. They make everything taste better!
DessertForTwo says
We’ve been obsessed with those pretzels buns lately in the freezer! I love what you’ve done with them here! I could drink that butter sauce 🙂
Ashley says
Oh my, these look incredible. I’m like drooling at my computer at work. And now I have to go eat my lame leftovers for lunch haha. No fair!
Lynda says
These look super good-I haven’t had breakfast yet and a bowl of cereal is not looking too good after seeing these gooey sliders!
Lisa Huff @ Snappy Gourmet says
These look incredible!! I love pretzel rolls but have not seen them in my freezer section at the grocery store. What brand are they? I’ve made homemade pretzel rolls (homemade and from frozen/refrigerated dough) and they are a lot of work!!
Cathy says
Oops I guess I need to clarify. They were not in the freezer section at my store, just in the bakery section and I’m seeing them everywhere. But I brought them home and kept them in the freezer. Sorry for the confusion!
Karly says
I don’t know which part I like most. The cheese (Havarti really is the most creamiest cheese, isn’t it??) or the pretzel bun! I haven’t seen the buns around here and I’m totally jealous!
Cathy says
Costco.
Nancy says
I haven’t seen the pretzel bun either, but I see you mention Costco…they are on my shopping list for this weekend I’ll have to look and see if they have them here in New England. These look delicious!
Cathy says
Crossing my fingers for you.
Michele Menzie says
Ummmm these look AMAZING!!!! I will be making these for Christmas afternoon snacking. Thanks for all the delishious ideas.
Cathy says
Thanks Michele.
Wine Harlots says
Wow!
Great looking photo. When it came up in my feed reader, I had to click over. It’s a wee bit early for lunch, but you’ve planted the seed. Great work.
Have a wonderful holiday,
Nannette Eaton
[email protected] says
Those look insanely delicious! Love it!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
I am pretty sure if I serve this on our annual Super Bowl party – they guys will forget the game and chow this down like nobody’s business! LOVE this, Cathy!
Jen @ Savory Simple says
The pretzel buns really set this apart. I’m drooling here!
[email protected] says
love everything about these!
Ashley - Baker by Nature says
This looks like my dream come true! Seriously: O – M – G!
Diana Renfro says
Amazing… I’ve never tried pretzel buns.
Jackie VanDrunen says
I finally found these pretzel rolls at the grocery store yesterday, so this is on the menu for sometime this week.
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee says
love that you topped the buns so they are extra cheesy! I have to find pretzel buns!
Richard Portney says
GermanDeli.com has authentic German Pretzel buns at their site. You can thaw out or bake in minutes….These are amazing!
Amanda says
These look fantastic! But I didn’t see anything about nutritional info. Could you please provide that? Thank you!
Heidi says
Cathy- These sliders are amazing! I made them the week after Christmas with leftover ham- and then again with Boars Head Black Forest Ham for our Super Bowl party- everyone RAVED about them. I have truly enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks for hard work.
Rita says
Great way to use up the Easter ham!! Well a small part of it. No pretzel buns at my store, but I used King’s Hawaiian rolls and YUMMY!! Family loved it, thanks!!
Renata Ranaldi says
I love all the recipes you post. Many seem simple to make for someone like myself who considers cooking a chore. Wish I was a close relative of yours living next door. I would work had and earn your yummy treats. Thank you for helping me make food my family enjoys, these sliders will be a hit.
RNMSCNOR says
Hi,
Can you make them up ahead of time and reheat them? They look delicious, thank you
Cathy says
Never done that. Not sure if they would get soggy.
RNMSCNOR says
Hi,
Thank you for your quick response.
John says
Cathy, thanks for this amazing idea. I actually made a ham just so I could make these for our Family Christmas party tonight. Everyone raved about how creamy and delicious they were. We served them with grilled sweet potato wedges and a greek yogurt/scallion dip. Yum!
Merry Christmas! And thanks again.
Tomika says
Can we use another type of cheese?
Cathy says
You can, it’s just that Havarti is seriously the best!
Kathryn says
I made this for Super Bowl, I didn’t use parmigiana, I brushed melted butter, then sprinkled everything bagel spice on top of each pretzel top, they were a big hit. I will make them again.