Miniature Reindeer Christmas Burgers

Celebrate the holidays with adorable mini Christmas burgers shaped like Rudolph! Featuring pretzel antlers, cherry tomato noses, and olive eyes, these flavor-packed mini burgers are a hit with kids and adults alike. Whether you’re hosting a holiday party or simply looking for a fun activity in the kitchen, these sliders are a tasty and creative way to spread holiday cheer!

These miniature burgers make for a fabulous appetizer OR entree for your holiday meal. You can pair the Christmas burgers with our sweet strawberry Santa hats, graham cracker reindeer or Christmas Rice Krispie treats, and you’ll have the most festive Christmas spread for your table!

🤔 What is a Christmas Burger?

Believe it or not, there are tons of festive burger recipes are out there! There are burgers featuring traditional Christmas ingredients, like cranberry sauce and stuffing (see Slow the Cook Down‘s awesome Christmas Burger). And there are colorful burgers with red and green fixings, like the incredible Rachel Ray Christmas Burger.

What we really wanted to do was turn our favorite homemade turkey burger recipe into something that would bring Christmas cheer and fun to our kids. Hence, our little Rudolphs! After putting the sliders together, we simply used pretzels (broken in half) for the antlers, sliced black olives for the eyes, and half a grape tomato for Rudolph’s nose! However, you can use whatever kind of food you’d like for the reindeer’s features.

❤️ Why We Love this Recipe

Juicy and flavor-packed! Our turkey burger recipe stands out for its juicy, flavorful patties. Breadcrumbs lock in moisture and keep the patties intact, while ingredients like lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce add a sweet and savory kick.

Festive- Who doesn’t love seeing Rudolph in food-form at Christmas time?!

Kid-friendly- Decorating the sliders is so simple, and kids can transform burgers into Rudolphs all on their own. And did we mention they’re perfect for little hands? 

Customizable– Use your own slider recipe or add your favorite toppings to make this Christmas burger your own!

Versatile- These sliders make for a fabulous entree OR appetizer for your Christmas party. In our house, we serve these sliders as a main meal paired with one of our favorite side dishes.

🛒 Ingredients

Notes on key ingredients are provided below. Please see the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

• Turkey burger sliders – Use our recipe or choose your favorite!
• Sliced black olives– perfect for your reindeer’s eyes!
• Grape or cherry tomatoes– for the red, shiny nose.
• Pretzels– Your antlers! We love Utz Thin Pretzels, because of their larger size. When broken into pieces, they make the best antlers.

Note: The image above shows four sliders, but this recipe makes ten.

👨🏼‍🍳 Instructions

Quick Tip: Use ketchup, mustard or even toothpicks to secure eyes and nose in place on your Rudolph buns.

🥄 Kid Steps:

• Assemble sliders! Kids can place sliders on their buns, add cheese or any other desired toppings.
• Decorate the bun like Rudolph! This is where kids can get creative!

🧒🏻 Modify This Dish for Picky Eaters

• Kids choose their toppings. Lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup…kids can dress their Christmas food however they’d like!
• Let kids choose the side dish. Fries, mac & cheese, or a simple salad all go great with burgers!
• Change up the meat! While we like ground turkey, ground beef, sausage or a vegetarian substitute would work great for this recipe.

🍽️ Sides for Christmas Burgers

We served our Christmas burgers with sweet potato fries, but there are tons of options. Baked potatoes, potato chips or a quick salad would be great. You can jazz up the meal with a pasta side like our creamy vegetable pasta or one-pot lemon pasta.

🧊 Storing and Reheating

Store- While Christmas burgers are best eaten right away, you may store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Freeze– Christmas sliders can also be stored in the freezer in an airtight container (ideally wrapped in plastic wrap) for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Note: We don’t recommend freezing Rudolph’s antlers, eyes and nose. Instead, add those ingredients right before serving.

Reheat– I recommend reheating sliders in the oven, covered in foil, for 10-15 minutes at 375°.

🎅 Crafts for this Recipe

While you cook, kids can choose from many of our adorable Christmas-themed crafts, like our snowman candy cane holders or DIY wreaths with wine corks!

🎄 Other Holiday Recipes