Cucumber Sandwiches are an appetizer must for a tea party, Mother’s Day brunch, baby shower, bridal shower, or any get together. Simple finger food that’s cool, fresh, light, and so delicious!
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Cucumber Sandwiches are quintessential tea party fair – the perfect little nibble that’s light, fresh, and airy. They can be served in many different shapes, but they are always small finger food, made with thinly sliced cucumbers, a tangy herb spread, on soft, crustless bread.
These little sandwiches date all the back to the 1800’s when afternoon tea was first introduced in England, and only served by the wealthy. They originally consisted of buttered bread and cucumber – that’s it. Then the fabulous Southern ladies in the United States discovered them and took these sandwiches up a notch with an herbed cream cheese spread. Today they’re popular at all types of gatherings, and for good reason – they’re inexpensive, easy to make, easy to eat, light, and delicious!
Cucumber Sandwich Recipe
There are many variations on Cucumber Tea Sandwiches. This is what you’ll need for our recipe:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Bread: White sandwich bread that’s soft, but high quality.
- Cucumber: Really any cucumbers work for these sandwiches, but we do have a preference toward English cucumbers because they are “burpless” with fewer seeds, less water, and don’t require peeling. (Of course to peel or not to peel is up to you.)
- Cream Cheese: Plain cream cheese. Full fat or reduced fat is fine.
- Mayonnaise: Combining mayonnaise with cream cheese gives the spread a creamier texture and better balance of flavor.
- Herbs: Dill and chives are our herbs of choice. Use fresh! Dried herbs won’t deliver here.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice adds to the tangy flavor and balances out the cream cheese. Again, use fresh.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.
Note: If you’re in a pinch (or really unmotivated!) to make the spread from scratch, you can buy a small tub of herbed cream cheese at the store and bring it to room temperature for easier spreading.
Optional Additions: Less is more with these delicate sandwiches, but you could add some very thinly sliced red onion. You can also swap out the cucumbers for radishes.
How to Make Cucumber Sandwiches
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
These cucumber finger sandwiches are so easy to make – the hardest part is trying to decide what shape to go with. You simply:
- Make the spread: Combine softened cream cheese with the herbs and seasonings.
- Peel and slice the cucumbers: Slice the cucumbers thin, about 1/8-inch thick.
- Cut the crusts off the bread: Remove the crusts, using a sharp knife.
- Assemble: Spread the herbed cream cheese on one side of all the bread slices, making sure it goes to the edges. Layer the cucumber slices, over half the bread slices and season with some fresh cracked black pepper. Top with remaining bread slices, cream cheese mixture down.
- Cut: Cut the sandwiches into your preferred shapes (see below.)
How to Cut Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
When it comes to cutting your tea sandwiches, there are several options. First, make sure to remove the crusts before buttering with the spread.
Squares: Cut each sandwich in half and then again in half crosswise.
Triangles: Cut the sandwich in half diagonally, then cut each diagonal in half.
Circles: Use a biscuit cutter to cut out rounds.
Decorative Shapes: Cut out fun shapes with cookie cutters.
NOTE: If cutting out circles or shapes, you will likely need extra bread and there does tend to be a lot of scraps.
TIP! Use a good sharp Chef’s knife to cut the sandwiches. Wipe it clean in-between cuts so the edges of each sandwich are neat looking. (A serrated knife can tear the bread and a dull knife will require too much pressure to cut and cause the filling to squeeze out.)
How to Keep a Cucumber Sandwich from Getting Soggy
There are a few ways to help prevent your cucumber sandwiches from getting soggy:
- Use English or Persian cucumbers: These varieties have fewer and smaller seeds than regular waxy cucumbers, which means less water.
- Salt the cucumbers and let them rest: Sprinkle the cucumber slices with a little bit of salt and let them rest for about 30 minutes. Then rinse and pat dry. This step is optional, but it does help extract excess moisture.
- Create a barrier: Spread the cream cheese on both pieces of bread, which creates a barrier between the cucumbers and the bread.
Making Ahead
These sandwiches are best served right after assembling or at least within a couple hours. Do not make them ahead of time. The longer these sandwiches sit, the cucumbers will release moisture causing the sandwiches to get soggy. However, you can prepare the cream cheese spread up to 2 days in advance and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator (then soften it before spreading on the bread.) You can also cut the crusts off the bread 1 day in advance. Cucumbers should be peeled and cut right before assembly.
What Goes With Cucumber Sandwiches?
Cucumber sandwiches are delicate, fresh, and tangy. They pair well with so many things. If you’re looking for more recipes to round out your party, here are a few suggestions:
- Pound Cake
- Lemon Tart
- Mini Crab Quiches
- Sugar Cookies
- Mini Pavlova
- Cold Veggie Pizza
- Chicken Salad Pinwheels
- Melon Fruit Kabobs
And don’t forget the drinks! Our top picks for a brunch or bridal shower are Strawberry Sweet Tea, Shirley Temple Party Punch, Sherbet Punch, or a big batch of this Sea Breeze Cocktail.
Cool and refreshing, these cucumber sandwiches are a simply lovely appetizer for a spring or summer luncheon!
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Cucumber Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 16 slices high-quality soft white sandwich bread (about 1 loaf), crusts removed
- 1 English cucumber
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Peel the cucumber in stripes and cut into 1/8-inch thin slices using a mandolin or sharp knife. Place the slices on paper towels and sprinkle with coarse salt. Let rest for 15-30 minutes to extract moisture. Pat dry with clean paper towels.
- In the meantime, make the spread. In a medium bowl, using a handheld mixer, blend together the softened cream cheese, mayo, dill, chives, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt.
- Spread one side of each slice of bread with the herbed cream cheese.
- Layer cucumber slices over half of the bread slices. Season with fresh cracked black pepper, to taste. Top with remaining bread slices, cream cheese mixture down. (At this point, you'll have 8 full sandwiches.)
- Using a sharp Chef's knife, cut each sandwich into quarters, pushing through the bread down to the bottom. So you have 32 tea sandwiches.
- Serve right away and enjoy!
Nutrition
Other Notes
Absolutely delicious. Can be made vegan friendly and also used just as a dip with veggies!!
So perfect, they disappeared.
These cucumber sandwiches were a complete hit at a Garden Party for 150 guests! I decided to make them as an alternative for vegetarians and not only did the vegetarians in the crowd rave about them, everyone including the meat eaters wanted the recipe. I made the sandwiches ahead of time by adding a thin layer of butter to the bread slices, covered that with the cream cheese mixture and stored them overnight cream cheese side up in a disposable pan with a very lightly dampened paper towel on top and then wrapped the disposable pan in plastic wrap. I finished the sandwiches the next morning after thinly slicing the cucumbers on a mandolin, salted them & let them sit for about 30 minutes on paper towels, rinsed the cucumbers (although I am not sure that was totally necessary), and then did the final assemble, cut off the crusts, and cut each sandwich into 4 finger strips. They were a huge hit!
I Love making these for parties as appetizers
My daughter’s birthday tea party was a big success, and the cucumber sandwiches were a huge hit! She had been such a great helper with deep cleaning our space. We served the sandwiches with pink lemonade in tea cups, which added a delightful touch. We even had a handyman help us put together a pergola with fairy lights and hanging flowers, making the party extra special. Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic recipe.
So easy and delicious! I sprinkled the cucumber with salt and even though they sat out for 2 hours, they were not soggy.
I love these so much … we have lots of gatherings in my neighborhood so I pull these out every spring. I add finally diced shallots and a dash of Worcestershire for that umami flavor…so yummy!
Okay, I have to say, I was skeptical because I’m not a big fan of dill, but I’ve always wanted to try cucumber sandwiches so I went for it. They were delicious!! I used a little less dill than called for and a little more garlic than called for. This also makes a great dip. I coaxed my 9-year-old into trying it by giving her a Tortilla chip first. Thanks for this awesome recipe–will be perusing more of your ideas now!
Delicious recipe that was enjoyed by all for Mother’s Day brunch. I accidently added more like 1/2 tsp of garlic powder which ended up being a good thing if you love garlic. My husband who was reluctant to try it ended up having 2.
We loved this recipe
Love the cucumber sandwiches!
Made these for my 2 year old’s birthday tea party and they were really good! Thank you ?
I like to use cocktail rye which saves you time in having to slice the bread. The cocktail rye is the perfect size for these mini sandwiches.
Never thought I’d get so excited over cucumber sandwiches, but here I am. Lol. These little sammies were a big hit at a senior center I volunteer at. Everyone loved them. I love them so much that I started making full size sandwiches just for me for lunch. The homemade spread is wonderful!
I loved these little sandwiches. The spread was perfection.
Love this recipe. Thanks so much.
Tasted great, i didnt have lemon juice but it still tasted really good
I made for my moms 81 tea party.so many compliments.a refreshing sandwich..
Can I use dry dill instead?
These are so lovely! Served for a ladies lunch and everyone loved them. The spread was perfect. Going to try these with radishes next.
Would sourdough work with this recipe? Thank you!
I personally would not make these with sourdough before of taste and more importantly texture, but honestly, any bread can be used. Enjoy!
I have been making these and enjoying them at parties for many years. Even if you are the non white bread person just for this you should go with white bread, it just doesn’t taste good with a whole wheat or other healthier breads
Great recipe! I made these for my sister’s baby shower and everyone LOVED THEM! There weren’t hardly any left after it was over! I will definitely be making these again! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Would Philadelphia Chive and Onion cream cheese work?
Of course. Keep in mind it won’t have the exact flavor and results as the homemade spread. Make sure it’s softened to room temp before you spread it so it doesn’t tear the bread.
This is a a great recipe ! My daughter loved it too and I shared it with her . Perfect for a warm day . Perfect for a warm day. Very refreshing.
Thanks for this recipe – it’s wonderful!
Have to try it.
I am making 70 of these for our churches ladies tea! I am so grateful for this recipe!
This recipe was absolutely delicious. Thank you!
This recipe was PERFECT for my “High Tea” party. Easy to make and delicious. The spread could be used for crackers as it was a great blend and consistency.
Muy rico!
I made this for my family this Christmas as an appetizer and everyone loved them. I modified the recipe a bit and was surprised to see at the end of the evening there was only one left. I was even more surprised to see my son eating the because he is not a vegetable fan. So, I’d like to thank you for such a delicious beginning to a new recipe for this family. We have never had these before and out of all the recipes I came across yours is the one that I chose because of the ingredients. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I made these for a high tea. Both my guests and I agreed these were the best cucumber cream cheese sandwiches we’d ever had! Thanks so much for such a delicious recipe!
I made these for a pool party back in July and have had my friends begging for me to make them again! They were a HUGE hit! So simple, but so yummy!
Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much ?
Hade been craving cucumber sandwiches, so I used your recipe with one exception. I had to shred the cucumbers so my mom in law could enjoy them also. I used a strainer to strain the water out until ready to serve. I did put fine ground sea salt to help with keeping the cucumbers crisp. The flavor of the spread was spot on.
Who would have thought such a simple little cucumber sandwich would be so good, but these are! I did the finger food size for a ladies brunch and then proceeded to make regular sized sandwiches for myself every single day for a week. Thank you for sharing this!
I found you on TikTok and couldn’t wait to make these. PERFECTION. Never would have thought such a simple sandwich would be so good, but it really is. I served these for bunco night and everyone raved about them. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent recipe, even better when I lightly toasted the bread
I have eaten a full size cucumber sandwiches for lunch the last 3 days. I assemble in the kitchen at work right before I’m ready to eat. Also, I use soft whole wheat bread. SO DELISOUS!
I used this recipe for a bridal shower/tea party. There were multiple comments on how delicious the sandwiches were.
Can Pepperidge farm’s very thin white bread be used for this?
Sure!
EVERYONE at my sister’s bridal shower loved these and wants the recipe for the spread!
Wow! I just made these for my moms birthday. Amazing. The spread is so easy and makes the entire sandwich. My son tried to sneak out with the left over spread. Probably the most important part is making the spread the day before to allow the flavors to blend and patting the cucumbers dry before assembling. Great recipe. Thank you.
Substituted full flavor grain bread for white bread.
Awesome recipe! I messed up and put the cream cheese on both halves of the bread. It was still great! I made them for a Christmas “finger food pot luck”.
You were supposed to put the cream cheese on both sides of the bread! You didn’t mess it up!
This is, hands down, the best cucumber sandwich recipe I have ever had! I have tried a lot of them. The only adjustment I made was using minced garlic instead of the powder. This is my go-to recipe from now on!
By far this is my favorite Cucumber Sandwich recipe. All the spices and ingredients go so well with cucumbers. These sandwiches are quite refreshing, satisfying and not too heavy. My daughter loved them. My granddaughter (11) liked them. By mistake I put the cream cheese spread on both sides of the bread with hers. So next time I will make her one with the spread on only one side of the crust less bread. A winner recipe with my family.
Awesome!! I made this with Neuchatel Cream Cheese (lower fat) and an extra tablespoon of cream cheese and dried dill but fresh chives. Used potato bread and english cucumbers. Served at a church tea, and was a hit! Plus I’ve been using it at home on everything: pita, crackers, whole wheat. All delicious. definitely goes in my permanent recipe box, thank you!
i tried this recipe i only made six sandwiches three for me and three for my mom it was delicous we both loved it i just used half of a cream cheese thing and 2-3 spoon fulls of mayo and the rest i kinda just winged it i did have some leftover cream cheese stuff
These were delicious sandwiches for a bridal shower. Everyone loved them.
Made these for a Mother’s Day luncheon and they were a huge hit. The perfect sized-bite and the spread has just the right consistency and flavor. Great recipe!
hi! Is there a way to split the recipe in half? and then print it. Thanks so much!
Hi Ella! Not sure I understand… Just simply cut all the ingredients in half and there’s a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article that can be printed.
I have hated these sandwiches my whole life. I was throwing a vegetarian shower and these were requested. I found this recipe and begrudgingly made it. Obviously also begrudgingly tasted one to make sure I didn’t accidentally poison anyone and SHOCK- holy cow delicious. Even my mother was in shock that I was hoarding them at the party. Honestly, I don’t know what’s different in this recipe as any others but I now routinely make these (on a smaller scale) for myself regularly! Thank you!!