Cucumber Sandwiches

Cucumber Sandwiches are a traditional offering for English tea, and these easy veggie sandwiches are so simple to make that they are perfect for lunches, picnics, or appetizers too!

Soft bread is spread with herbed cream cheese and layered with freshly sliced cucumbers to make these dainty, crustless tea sandwiches.

Make cucumber sandwiches as part of a luncheon spread, pack them in school lunches, or create a tray of little sandwiches to serve at a baby shower or bridal shower.

Or, go traditional and make these cucumber sandwiches for high tea! An afternoon tea service with cucumber sandwiches, strawberry scones, and your favorite tea will give you a taste of Victorian-era British society!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Easy Recipe – These little sandwiches are super easy to make and require no cooking or special skills.
2. A Favorite Finger Food – A tray of cucumber sandwiches is always welcome at a gathering. They are popular with kids and adults and easy to eat at a party.
3. Delicious –The cream cheese spread we’re making for these sandwiches is SO flavorful! It’s great on these sandwiches, or make some extra and dip carrots into it.

Ingredients For Cucumber Sandwiches

Here’s what you need to make these little sandwiches:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Bread: You will need soft sandwich bread with the crusts cut off. I was able to find crustless bread in the UK, but it’s not readily available in the US.
• Cream Cheese and Mayo: These two create the creamy spread for cucumber sandwiches. Interestingly, the traditional English cucumber sandwich doesn’t include either of these (it has just butter instead). This creamy American addition is absolutely delish though!
• Fresh Herbs: I’m choosing fresh dill and chives for my tea sandwiches, but almost any fresh herbs can be used.
• Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
• Sliced Cucumber: You’ll need one large English cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly into 1/8 inch slices. Use a mandoline to get perfect cucumber slices for sandwiches.

How To Make Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

1. Slice Cucumber: Peel the cucumber and use a mandoline slicer to create even thin ⅛-inch slices.
2. Create Herbed Spread: In a bowl, combine cream cheese with mayonnaise, dill, chives, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.

1. Make Sandwiches: Lay the bread pieces in a single layer, and spread the cream cheese mixture on all of them. Arrange sliced cucumbers on half of the pieces, then cover with the other slices of bread.
2. Slice and Serve: Use a serrated knife to cut the sandwiches into small, tea sandwich sized squares. You can also make 4 triangles or long rectangles if you prefer. These are best served immediately.

Recipe Tips

• White bread is traditional, but you can use wheat bread if you like. Here I’m using whole wheat white bread. It also looks really pretty if you make some of the sandwiches on white bread and some on brown.
• Try other herbs in the spread, such as fresh mint or basil. Dill is the most common for this recipe though.
• If you enjoy the cucumber peel, feel free to leave it. I remove it in this recipe because I don’t necessarily want that texture in this delicate sandwich.
• Be sure to spread both sides of the bread with the cream cheese mixture, otherwise, the cucumbers will fall out of the sandwiches!
• Tea sandwiches should be small! Cut each sandwich into four pieces to create tiny sandwiches that can be eaten in 2-3 bites. If you’re making these for a meal you could leave them larger.

How Do You Keep Cucumber Sandwiches from Getting Soggy?

This is a common issue that cooks have with this simple recipe, but there are a few easy things that you can do to keep your cucumber sandwiches crisp and fresh.

1. First, use either English cucumbers or the smaller Persian cucumbers to make sandwiches. These varieties have very few seeds and are lower in moisture than others.
2. To make the sliced cucumbers dryer, you can use salt to draw out some of their moisture. Just sprinkle the sliced cucumbers with salt and let them sit for 15 minutes. Dry them with paper towels. Taste the salted cucumbers – you may want to leave some of the salt out of the recipe if they are very salty.
3. Protect the bread by spreading the cream cheese mixture all over both sides of the sandwich. Any gaps in the filling will allow moisture from the cucumbers to make the bread soggy.

Storing Tips

To Store: You can cover and store cucumber sandwiches in the fridge for up to 24 hours. This is ideal for leftovers, but I don’t suggest making the sandwiches ahead of time this way.

To make cucumber sandwiches a day ahead of time, mix up the spread the day before and store it in the fridge. Before your luncheon or party, slice the cucumbers and assemble the sandwiches so that they are fresh.

What To Serve With Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches can easily be the centerpiece of an appetizer spread or a luncheon buffet.

Try some of these other easy finger foods:

• Pizza Sliders
• Ham and Cheese Roll Ups
• Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
• Sardines on Toast canapes
• Easy Cranberry Brie Bites

Or put out cucumber finger sandwiches along with sharable salads:

• Classic Waldorf Salad
• Cobb Salad
• Creamy Grape Salad
• Red Potato Salad

How to Make Other Easy Tea Sandwiches

If you’re going to make cucumber sandwiches, you can also make some other types of tea sandwiches so that there is variety and options for your guests. Luckily, tea sandwich fillings don’t have to be difficult!

Fill sandwiches with tuna salad, ham salad, or egg salad for super simple finger sandwiches.

A fun kid-friendly option is to make tea sandwiches with peanut butter and jelly or mini fluffernutter sandwiches.

Replace the cucumbers in this recipe with sliced radishes, chopped bell peppers, or leave out the veggies altogether.

Cream cheese and jam sandwiches are another simple, sweet tea sandwich choice.

FAQs

Cucumber Sandwiches are such a fun, delicate option for tea or lunch! Learn how to make these and you’ll be throwing the best tea parties ever.