Italian Keto Sliders
Published December 1, 2023 • Updated July 20, 2026
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I load these Italian keto sliders with Asiago, ham, salami, melted provolone, and a briny muffuletta olive spread. I bake them under a Dijon butter glaze until the tops turn golden and crunchy.
Whether you’re feeding a crowd, need something for a tailgate, or just want a weeknight dinner that feels like an event, these are the sliders I keep coming back to. I’ve been making them for a couple of years now, and they’re one of the most-requested recipes in my house.
I build these on low-carb rolls and layer Asiago cheese, ham, salami, provolone, and a chunky muffuletta olive spread between the halves. Before they hit the oven, I brush the tops with a butter mixture spiked with Dijon, Worcestershire, poppy seeds, and dried onion. That glaze is what separates these from a regular deli sandwich. You get a crunchy, golden top with a juicy, butter-soaked bottom that practically falls apart when you pull them from the pan.
If you’ve ever made those popular ham and cheese sliders on Hawaiian rolls, same concept here, just with an Italian twist. I’ve made both versions side by side, and the Italian build wins for me every time. The muffuletta brings this briny, tangy punch that cuts right through the richness of melted cheese and butter. Without it, you just have a hot ham and cheese. With it, you have something people actually ask about.
I first pulled these together for a Sunday football spread. Full 9×13 pan, twelve sliders. Gone in about 20 minutes. One friend texted me the next day asking for the recipe. Since then I’ve made them for weeknight dinners, packed them cold for next-day lunches, and brought a tray to a neighbor’s cookout. If you like the baked slider format, try my French dip sliders too (different flavor profile, same pull-apart goodness).
For a full Italian appetizer spread, I pair these with mozzarella sticks and pizza meatballs. Three dishes, all oven-baked, and everything can be prepped before your guests show up. I’ve done this setup for game days, holiday parties, and casual Friday dinners. The sliders always disappear first.
I’ve brought these to potlucks where nobody was eating low-carb, and they disappeared just as fast. People don’t notice the rolls when there’s melted provolone and muffuletta involved. That’s the test I use for any recipe: would someone who isn’t watching carbs eat this without being told?
One thing I figured out after a few batches: don’t skip the foil for the first 10 minutes of baking. That trapped steam is what melts the cheese all the way through and lets the butter mixture soak down into the bread. Pull the foil for the last 10 minutes so the tops get golden and crisp. Mine usually hit the right color around 17 minutes, not the full 20. Every oven is a little different, so keep an eye on them your first time. If the tops aren’t golden enough, give them another 2-3 minutes uncovered.
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Ingredients
12 low-carb rolls or hotdog buns -
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese, divided
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8 oz thinly sliced ham
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4 oz thinly sliced salami
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1 cup muffuletta spread
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6 slices provolone
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3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
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1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
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1 teaspoon poppy seeds or black sesame seeds
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1 teaspoon dried minced onion
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1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat oven
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 in baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Slice the rolls
Slice the rolls or hot dog buns in half horizontally. Place the bottom halves into the prepared baking dish.
- 12 low-carb rolls or 6 hot dog buns
Make it cheesy
Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded Asiago in an even layer on the bottom halves of the rolls or hot dog buns.
- 1/2 cup shredded Asiago
Meats and more cheese
Top with layers of ham, salami, muffuletta olive spread, and remaining 1/2 cup Asiago cheese.
- 8 ounces thinly sliced ham
- 4 ounces thinly sliced salami
- 1 cup muffuletta olive salad spread, drained
- 1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese
Even more cheese
Layer the slices of provolone cheese on top. Place the top halves of bread on top of the sandwiches.
- 6 slices provolone
Mix the topping
In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Dijon, black poppy seeds or sesame seeds, dried minced onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds or poppy seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion or finely minced yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Brush butter mixture
Evenly brush the tops of the sandwiches with the butter mixture.
Bake
Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes, removing the foil during the last 10 minutes of cooking so the top gets golden brown.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
What is muffuletta spread?
I use the jarred version from the grocery store (usually in the olive or Italian aisle). It's a chunky mix of green and black olives, pickled vegetables, capers, garlic, herbs, and olive oil. Think of it as a briny, tangy olive salad. I've also made my own by chopping up a mix of olives, roasted red peppers, and giardiniera, then tossing it all with olive oil. Both work, but the jarred version saves me about 15 minutes of prep.
Can I serve these sliders cold?
I do this for packed lunches all the time. Skip the butter mixture entirely and just build the sandwiches cold on the rolls with ham, salami, cheese, and muffuletta. I spread a thin layer of mayo and Dijon on the inside of each roll for moisture. They hold up well in the fridge for a full day, which makes them great for work lunches or road trips. For another solid cold lunch idea, try my bell pepper sandwich.
How many net carbs are in each slider?
It depends on which rolls you use. With the Kroger keto dinner rolls, I get about 4-5g net carbs per slider. The Ener-G gluten-free rolls run a little higher. I always check the label on whatever bread I'm using and do the math from there, since the filling itself (meat, cheese, muffuletta, butter) adds less than 1g of carbs per slider.
Are these good for weekly meal prep?
I've done this a few different ways. My favorite is assembling the full pan on Sunday, pouring the butter mixture over the top, and keeping it covered in the fridge until I'm ready to bake. I usually bake on Monday or Tuesday when I want them fresh. I've also baked the whole batch, let them cool, and wrapped individual sliders in foil for grab-and-go lunches throughout the week. They reheat in the oven at 325°F in about 10 minutes.
Can I double this recipe for a larger crowd?
I do this every time I make them for a party. Use two 9x13 pans instead of one, double everything straight across, and bake them at the same time on two oven racks. I rotate the pans halfway through so they brown evenly. I've fed 20 people this way and still had a few sliders left over.
Can I make these without the butter topping?
You can, but you'll miss out on the best part. The butter mixture is what gives you that golden crust on top and soaks into the bottom of the bread. Without it, you basically have assembled sandwiches. I tried it once when I was out of butter, and they were fine but nowhere near as good. If dairy is the concern, I haven't tested ghee yet but I'd expect it to work the same way.
Made these last weekend and the flavor was SO good (my husband ate four before I even called everyone to the table), but the bottoms of my rolls came out really soggy, like the muffuletta spread soaked right through while they baked. Is that from not draining the spread first, or should I put the Asiago layer down before anything else to kind of protect the bread? Totally new to making sliders and I can't figure out what I did wrong.
Never heard of muffuletta spread before this recipe. Now I keep it on hand just for these.
Same thing happened to me. I started putting it on scrambled eggs at some point and now it just lives in the fridge year-round. Good find, Gina.
Confession: I went in expecting one week of lunches and used up half the pan the same day I made it. The rolls stay cohesive in the fridge, no sogginess, no drying out - the muffuletta spread is doing work there, keeping the layers from separating. I portion them individually and two minutes in the microwave brings them back without the provolone going rubbery, which is the usual failure point with layered sandwiches. At 1.1 net carbs and 14.5g protein, this slots into a rotation without needing to count around it. What I didn't expect is that the Dijon glaze seems to firm up after refrigerating and actually helps the tops hold structure when you rewrap them. Next batch I'm doubling it and leaving half for the week.
The Dijon glaze does that. I noticed it the first time I made a full batch ahead and couldn't figure out why the second-day tops were actually better than fresh out of the oven. Double batch is the only way to make it out of the first sitting with anything left for the week, Diane.
Add the second Asiago while the provolone is still warm, it melts into the layers and everything cuts clean. I'd basically closed the book on Italian subs three years into keto. These reopened it.
That timing trick with the warm provolone is smart. The second Asiago fuses into it instead of sitting on top, and you get those clean slices without the cheese pulling. I've done it both ways and that's the one.
Salami baked into a slider sounded like a grease situation, so I skipped this a few times. Made it last Sunday because it was too hot to cook anything serious, and the salami actually crisps at the edges where it presses against the Asiago. Completely changed what I thought baked salami could do. Nothing from the deli counter has been the same since.
Baked salami is just a different product. Those edges where it presses into the Asiago come out almost like a chip, that's exactly what I was going for.
The bottoms don't go soft and the pan slices into clean pieces when you pre-toast the cut sides of the rolls face-up for about five minutes before assembling. Pull them just until they're barely set, not golden, then build the filling on top. The Asiago stays more distinct instead of melting into the bread, and the sliders hold together when you cut and pull them apart. I've also been adding a small pinch of red pepper flakes to the Dijon butter glaze because the ham and salami are salty enough that a little heat gives the whole thing somewhere to go. Doesn't taste spicy at all, just makes the glaze taste intentional. Two additions, maybe 30 extra seconds combined, and I can't make these any other way now.
Should've written pre-toasting the cut sides into the recipe, keto rolls hold way more moisture than regular bread and soft bottoms are a real thing. Red pepper flakes in the glaze are going in my next batch. All that ham and salami salt and the Dijon just sat there.
My store never has muffuletta spread, would olive tapenade work, or is it the giardiniera that gives it that briny kick?
Sam, both actually. Tapenade gets you the olive base but misses the pickled veggie kick, so I'd mix in some chopped giardiniera. Equal parts tapenade and giardiniera gets you pretty close to what the spread does.
Made a few keto slider recipes before giving up on them. Rolls always held up fine; filling tasted like nothing. The muffuletta spread is what was missing. It bakes into the provolone and you get this briny, melty layer that actually does something. I'd go heavier on the spread next time, but this one finally worked.
More spread is fine. I've gone up to 1 1/4 cups and nothing pools or drips, it all bakes into the provolone. The cheese absorbs more than you'd think.
The Dijon glaze and the way the tops crisped up was the best part for me. The muffuletta spread plus the Asiago ran pretty salty together though, which I didn't anticipate. Next time I would start with half the olive spread and taste before going all in.
Both are pretty salty on their own so together they stack up fast. Half the spread is the right call, or rinse the muffuletta if you want to keep the full amount. The glaze I'd never cut.
On my fourth batch now and I keep tweaking the glaze ratio. Bumped the Dijon from one teaspoon to almost a full tablespoon last time and it cuts through the provolone richness in a way that feels more intentional, less background noise. Also swapped caraway seeds for the poppy seeds on a whim (had a jar sitting around), and it pulls the whole thing in this slightly deli direction that just works with the ham and salami. The muffuletta spread is the real anchor here, that brininess keeps everything from tipping into heavy. One thing I figured out: press down on the tops for about a minute right when they come out of the oven, while everything is still hot and soft. You get this compressed, crispy bite that I don't see mentioned anywhere in the comments. Four batches, still finding new things to like about them.
Haven't tried pressing them down like that but I'm going to. Caraway over poppy with all that brine and salami, you basically built a different slider.
Made these six times now, and the tweak that changed everything was pulling them out about 3 minutes before the timer. The Dijon butter glaze sets up perfectly at that point, golden but not overdone, and the provolone stays creamy instead of fully setting. The muffuletta spread brings more brine than I expected the first time through. Going double batch on the next round.
Three minutes early is where I land too. Provolone creamy, not rubbery. The muffuletta brine gets you every time until it doesn't.
Brought these to a spring cookout and the muffuletta olive spread was making people stop mid-bite. Heard at least three 'okay what IS in these' conversations from across the patio. The Dijon butter glaze makes them look like something off a deli platter, which I wasn't expecting. Making two pans next time because one 9x13 was gone in under 20 minutes.
Yeah the Dijon glaze does that. Something about the poppy seeds too, makes it look intentional. Two pans for any crowd over 8.
I've tried at least three other keto slider recipes and they all had the same problem: the bread held nothing or the filling was so bland it wasn't worth making. This one is different. The muffuletta spread is what the others were missing, that briny punch under the melted provolone makes it taste like an actual deli sandwich, not a substitute. Four stars only because my rolls didn't get as crispy on top as the photos show, but I'm not going back to my old recipes.
Broil them the last 2 minutes, that's what gets the tops golden. The Dijon glaze needs direct heat or it just stays matte.
Made a full pan Sunday night thinking I'd get five days of lunches out of it. I got three because I kept sneaking extras at dinner. The Dijon butter glaze stays weirdly good even after a few days in the fridge, and I've been reheating them in the air fryer at 325 for about four minutes and they come back almost crispy. Would go heavier on the muffuletta next time, but for weekly prep these are locked in.
Air fryer at 325 for four minutes is exactly right. And yes on the muffuletta, pile it on. The amount in the recipe is where I started testing, not where I landed.
Made these four times now and the Dijon butter glaze is what gets me every time, that golden crunch when you pull them out. Third time I started doubling the muffuletta spread and something about having it pool into the meat layers changed the whole thing. This last batch I threw in some pepperoni alongside the salami (just had it in the fridge) and it held up well, maybe even my new default. Still playing with combinations.
Pepperoni under the provolone crisps up in a way the salami doesn't. If you haven't tried it that way yet, worth it.