Oh wow — those are seriously over-browned/burned on top, especially compared with what you’d expect from properly baked sliders. If you followed the box directions exactly, I wouldn’t assume you did anything wrong.
What probably happened
The most likely causes are:
- The oven’s top heating element was too aggressive.
The tops look like they were exposed to intense direct heat. If the tray was on an upper rack, that can happen quickly. - Your oven may run hotter than its displayed temperature.
A setting of 350°F, for example, doesn’t guarantee the oven is actually maintaining 350°F. - The sliders may have been too close to the broiler/top element.
The nearly black, uniform tops are particularly suggestive of excessive top heat. - The packaging instructions may assume a different type of oven.
Instructions can behave differently in convection ovens, toaster ovens, and conventional ovens.
What I’d do next time
- Put the tray on the middle or lower-middle rack, not near the top.
- If your oven has convection/fan mode, try conventional/bake mode unless the package specifically calls for convection.
- Start checking them 5–10 minutes before the package’s stated cooking time.
- If the tops are browning too quickly while the inside isn’t ready, loosely cover the tray with aluminum foil and continue baking.
- Most importantly, check the center with a food thermometer rather than judging doneness solely by the outside. For meat-containing sliders, follow the package’s required internal temperature; ground beef should reach 160°F/71°C, while poultry should reach 165°F/74°C.
Can you eat these?
If the black parts are actually charred/burned, I would remove those portions rather than eating them. If the meat inside is not yet at a safe temperature, don’t eat them just because the outside is burned—continue cooking them appropriately.
And if the entire batch came out like this despite following the package exactly, I’d take a photo of the box’s cooking instructions and the sliders and contact the manufacturer. The instructions may be inappropriate for your particular oven/product.
If you show me the front and back of the box, especially the cooking instructions, I can tell you exactly what I’d change for the next batch.
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