I Tried 4 Frozen Slider Brands & the Winner Tasted Fresh and Juicy

Full-size food is fine and all, but miniature things are almost always better. They're just more fun! Take a slider, for example. The typical fast-food mini burger is about a third of the size of a standard hamburger (give or take). The beefy finger foods are often served as appetizers at sit-down restaurants and passed around as hors d'oeuvres at formal gatherings and catered events. They're bite-size and easier to eat than traditional burgers. What's not to love about something that's easy to eat?

The exact origins of the slider are not completely clear, but White Castle is widely credited for popularizing the concept with its iconic little square burger. The fast-food chain first opened its doors in 1921, selling hamburgers that were "so easy to eat, they were dubbed Sliders," according to the company. Various alternate explanations for the term have floated around the internet over the years.

Though originally applied solely to burgers, the word has grown to include pretty much any small sandwich—sometimes you'll even see a chicken slider sneak onto a menu—but the true slider is a beef patty on a small bun (anything beyond that is up to you).

Wherever the little sandwiches come from, they're perfect for appetizers, snacks, game days, picnics, and more. A handful of brands also make them in a frozen variety, so you can eat them anytime at home.

I recently bought four brands of frozen sliders from local grocery stores to find out which was the best. I prepared them all in the microwave according to the directions on each package and judged them individually based on appearance and taste. Keep reading to see how they all compare, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the overall winner.

Trader Joe's Mini Cheeseburgers

If you're not careful, you might just miss this little box of sliders in the freezer section at Trader Joe's. The box contains just three sliders, and all three combined are counted as just one serving (if you're really hungry). Unlike the other frozen sliders here, the TJ's variety has a burger sauce on it (for better or worse). This box cost me $4.49 at my local store.

The look: The slider is pretty thick, and the bread appeared fluffy. There was also a lot of cheese, though it unfortunately exploded out of the side of the bun quite a bit.

The taste: Reheated food rarely tastes better than when it's fresh made, but this was bad even by microwave-meal standards. The nuked taste was overpowering here. The burger sauce was also just not pleasant. It wasn't a flavor that was easy to place—it's not ketchup, it's not aioli, it's not barbecue sauce. It just doesn't quite mesh well. And to top it all off, the inside of the burger bun was soggy.

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White Castle Classic Cheese Sliders

While the history is slightly up for debate, there's no doubt that White Castle has the market cornered on the little burgers. While the fresh ones at the restaurant are superior, the frozen ones aren't bad—and they come in a number of varieties. For direct comparison purposes, I tried the classic cheese sliders, which I picked up for $7.19 at my local Stop & Shop.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: Thin. Indeed,. these looked exactly like what you'd pull out of the cardboard sleeves at White Castle. The patties are super thin, the buns are a bit thin, and the sliders altogether have a naturally thin layer of cheese and onions, too.

The taste: After babysitting these through the cooking process in the microwave, I was a little disappointed to bite into one. While the bread was soft and held up well, the beef tasted microwaved, and neither the onions nor cheese had a strong enough flavor. Even without comparing these sliders to what you get in the restaurant, they're still not as good as others on this list.

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TGI Fridays Classic Angus Sliders

TGI Fridays has an exceptional selection of appetizers—both at its restaurants and in the freezer section. One of the selections is an angus slider, which is a hearty little nibble. I bought this box of sliders at my local Stop & Shop for $7.99.

The look: These were definitely the best looking burgers of the bunch. They looked like the real minis rather than some sad thin excuse for what a mini burger should be. Plus, the onion pieces were massive.

The taste: Proof that microwaved beef doesn't have to taste microwaved. The patty was juicy, the bun was surprisingly fluffy, and the big, chunky onions packed a lot of flavor.

Even so, there was one brand that I liked even better—surprisingly, it wasn't a name you'd normally associate with sliders.

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Great Value Cheeseburger Sliders

Walmart seems to have its own store brand of just about everything you can think of, including frozen sliders. The beauty of Walmart's store brand is that it brings the price down a bit on what you might spend for a big-name brand. For example, I got this box of six sliders for $4.24 at my local Walmart.

The look: The sliders, which come in sets of two, have super fluffy buns that stayed completely intact while cooking. There was plenty of cheese popping out at the sides, but it didn't ooze out so much that it was a complete loss. These actually looked like perfect little burgers.

The taste: I would have never guessed these were microwaved if I hadn't pressed the heat button myself. Not only was the texture perfect, but the taste was super fresh. The bun was fluffy but still firm enough to hold the burger together, and the cheese and onions both delivered strong flavors. The burger itself tasted fresh and well seasoned. It was also juicier than any of the other brands, and though it wasn't the thickest patty in this survey, it still brought plenty of beefy satisfaction in each bite. All of this combined made it the perfect little slider (not to mention the fact that it's a fantastic price).