Refreshing and satisfying, these Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches have a long history of adorning tables at tea time and, more recently, baby and bridal showers. But it doesn't have to end there! These soft little finger sandwiches are a lovely treat anytime.
These tender, bite-size sandwiches have the perfect amount of filling. They can be eaten as a light snack to hold you over until your next meal, or you can make them into a meal-sized sandwich. Use extra spread and cucumbers and add a bit of lettuce, then serve with crispy potato chips for a satisfying lunch.
If you find yourself with extra cucumbers in your garden, this is a great place to use them up. Also, check out these addictive little marinated cucumber slices.
Read on for all the loving details on making Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches.
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Featured Ingredients
Read below about a few of the ingredients used to make Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches.
White bread - Fresh (soft) and inexpensive is usually best here. You will cut the crusts off, so consider what shape you plan to cut the sandwiches into when you pick out the bread.
Cucumber - I love English cucumbers. Their skin is soft enough to bite through and isn't bitter. If you use slicing cucumbers or ones from your garden, peel them first.
Dill - Fresh dill is best here. With so few ingredients, using fresh rather than dried makes a big difference.
Lemon - This recipe only uses the lemon's zest. After zesting, wrap the lemon in plastic wrap and refrigerate it. You can also zest the rest of the lemon and juice it, keeping them separate in the refrigerator for about a week. Lemon zest is excellent in baked sweet bread, added to creamy dishes, sprinkled over roasted vegetables, and much more.
Cream cheese spread - I love using cream cheese spread instead of brick cream cheese because it's ready to stir right from the refrigerator, making the whole process even faster. The bonus is that it won't tear the bread when you spread it on.
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools for the job
Here's a list of needed or preferred tools. In the picture below, I highlight a few of my most useful tools for making these Traditional Cucumber Tea Sandwiches. Get the links to them in the list!
- Sharp knife (paid link) and cutting board
- Mandoline slicer (optional)
- Measuring spoons
- Bowl
- Spatula, spoon, or fork for stirring
- Spreader, offset spatula, or knife
- Citrus zester or microplane
- Plastic wrap
How to make Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches
This Traditional Cucumber Sandwich is meant for a light afternoon snack, not a filling meal. Though, it often surprises me how filling little finger sandwiches can be! This is the perfect tide-over for you and your guests, served with other sandwiches, sliced fruit, or crudités.
With this in mind, the filling is meant to be spread thin, 1 ½-2 tablespoons per slice. Before you start making the spread, prepare the sliced cucumbers.
Preparing the cucumber slices
- Using a very sharp knife (paid link) or a mandoline slicer (paid link), slice the cucumber thin but not see-through.
- Lay the slices out evenly on a paper towel. Use a plate or an entire sheet pan for this. (An English cucumber gives me 80-100 slices, depending on the starting length.)
- Lightly sprinkle the tops with a few pinches of salt and refrigerate them for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes or more, the cucumber should have started to get dewy and wet. Dab all this away with a paper towel.
Lay out the slices evenly and sprinkle with salt.
Let sit for 30 minutes while the cucumber sweats.
Dab away the moisture with a paper towel.
Making the sandwich
- In a bowl, add the cream cheese spread, minced dill, lemon zest, and a pinch or two of salt. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Leave the mixture out while the cucumbers are sweating.
- Once the cucumbers have been dried, lay out two slices of bread. (HINT: Make sure their tops will match when you put them back together as a sandwich. Bread doesn't always bake up evenly.)
- Spread the cream cheese mixture thinly over the entire piece of bread, all the way to the edges. Do both sides.
- Lay nine slices of cucumber on top of one side all the way to the edge of the bread. Then, put the sandwich top on, pressing it together slightly.
- When all the sandwiches are done, stack them together in 3s or 4s and wrap them in plastic wrap. See the HOT TIP! below.
Mix together cream cheese spread, dill, lemon zest, and salt.
Spread the mixture all the way to the edges of the bread.
Top one piece of bread of 9 slices of cucumber.
Hot Tip!
Here's a tip from my restaurant training: Stack 3-4 sandwiches together on a piece of plastic wrap. (paid link) Slightly compress the stack, then wrap the plastic around the stack, pulling the sides in like you would a wrapped gift. Tuck the sides under the stack. Refrigerate for 3-24 hours.
Doing this allows the filling time to adhere to the bread, so when you slice off the crusts, nothing slips out, and you get clean edges.
And don't worry—the soft bread bounces back after being unwrapped. Fresh bread is best.
Another bonus is that you can do this up to one day in advance, which helps with planning ahead!
This process works for all tea sandwich fillings.
Lay a stack of 3-4 sandwiches on an open piece of plastic wrap.
Hold the stack down with one hand while wrapping the plastic around the stack.
Fold the sides in like a wrapped gift. It's ok if it looks a little squished, but not too much.
Removing the crusts and slicing the sandwiches
- Unwrap the stack of sandwiches. Using a heavy, sharp knife (paid link), slice off the crusts as close to the edge as you can. Use a damp towel to wipe the knife if it gets too much cream cheese build-up. Discard or snack on the crusts.
- Slice the remaining sandwich into the shape you prefer. If you're not serving them immediately, prepare them on the plate they will be served on and then seal the entire dish tightly with plastic wrap.
- Alternatively, you can place all the sandwiches in a sealable container, top with wax paper and then a moistened paper towel.
Remove the crusts with a heavy, sharp knife (paid link). Wipe the knife with a damp towel between slices.
Here are some examples of tea sandwich shapes.
Substitutions and Variations of Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches
- For a tea party, make a colorful platter of cucumber sandwiches using a mixture of white bread, wheat bread, and rye bread.
- Skip the cream cheese mixture and use really good salted butter.
- Cut the bread into rounds similar in size to the cucumber. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the bread and top with a cucumber slice. Sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning.
(paid links)
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Leftover Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches
- Once assembled, these cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches are only good for about 36 hours if kept refrigerated in a well-sealed container.
- Cut cucumbers can be stored in the refrigerator, in a well-sealed container if sliced, or wrapped in plastic wrap if whole. If they are already sliced, top them with wax paper and a moist paper towel.
- The leftover cream cheese mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
FAQ
Yes, by using the recommended wrapping process shown above, you can make these sandwiches the day before your event. You can also use this process with any tea sandwich.
No, this is the process I use to make them look the best as well as making them easier to slice. If you want to eat them right away, carefully cut them with a sharp non-serrated knife, keeping an eye on the cucumber, which might slip out while you slice.
One English cucumber, one batch of cream cheese mixture, and one loaf of soft white bread yield approximately ten whole sandwiches, which can be sliced into 2, 3, or 4 cucumber finger sandwiches.
If you prefer a more considerable u0022mealu0022 sandwich with extra spread and cucumbers, you can get 5-6 sandwiches out of the same amount of cream cheese mixture and cucumbers, with leftover bread.
Be sure to sweat your cucumbers and dry them thoroughly before using them in the sandwich. Also, wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap for several hours ahead of serving to ensure the filling adheres to the inside of the bread well.
More tea time recipes
Here are a few more recipes that would be great for a light afternoon meal.
Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 whole sandwiches 1x
Description
Indulge in the classic charm of Traditional Cucumber Sandwiches. They are refreshing, simple, and satisfying, using only 5 Ingredients! These make the perfect light snack or tea-time accompaniment.
Ingredients
- 1 long English cucumber
- 1 loaf of soft white bread, 20 slices per package
- 12 ounce tub of cream cheese spread
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill, more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- salt, less than 1 teaspoon
Instructions
- Thinly slice the cucumber, preferably with a mandolin slicer. Lay the slices out evenly on a paper towel and sprinkle the tops with a few pinches of salt. Wait 30 minutes.
- When the cucumber slices have sweated out moisture, soak up the excess with a paper towel before putting them in the sandwiches.
- While the cucumbers are sweating, combine the cream cheese spread, minced fresh dill, lemon zest, and a teaspoon of salt in a bowl.
- When you're ready to make the sandwiches, lay out the slices of bread and spread a thin layer of cream cheese mixture on each slice, 1 ½-2 tablespoons per slice. Be sure to spread it all the way to the edge.
- Next, shingle nine slices of cucumber onto one slice of bread, also all the way to the edge. Then, top the cucumber with another slice of bread and repeat the process. You should end up with eight to ten whole sandwiches.
- When all the sandwiches are made, stack them in groups of 3 or 4 and tightly wrap them in plastic. This will help the sandwiches "stick" together better and keep them moist for up to a day ahead. See the post for details on how to wrap the sandwiches.
- After 3-24 hours, unwrap the sandwiches from the plastic wrap. Using a heavy, sharp knife (paid link), carefully remove the crusts from the sandwich. Then, slice them into your desired shape.
- For 2-4 triangles, cut the sandwich square corner to corner, then split those two in half. For sandwich fingers, split the square into three long pieces.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Hands Off Prep Time: 3 hours
- Category: appetizer
- Method: Stir and serve
- Cuisine: British
Rosemarie Erdmann Aberle says
Great Summer love you.
Summer @ The Measured Scoop says
Thank you! Love you Aunt Rosemarie