Cucumber Sandwiches
Apr 10, 2026
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These cucumber sandwiches are cool, creamy, and perfectly crunchy making them a great choice for brunch, lunch, tea parties, and more. Crisp cucumbers layered on herbed cream cheese and sandwiched between soft bread for a light, refreshing bite.
I still remember the first time I had a cucumber sandwich when I was young. I couldn’t believe how something made with such simple ingredients could taste so good. Creamy, but crunchy with fresh herb flavor, it was love at first bite.
Now I like making them myself for all kinds of occasions, like a Mother’s day brunch, my daughter’s tea party, or even as an after school snack. This is one of those recipes that is great to have in your recipe box to pull out when you want to have something special for your friends and family.
These bite sized cucumber sandwiches are similar to my popular cucumber pinwheels, with the same creamy and crisp combination. Just like the pinwheels, you can make these sandwiches with just a few ingredients in about 10 minutes.
If you need more finger food ideas to serve alongside these sandwiches, try strawberry pinwheels, ham puffs, and stuffed celery.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy ingredients, big flavor. Just a handful of ingredients are required to make this tea sandwiches.
- Quick to make. You can assemble these in minutes.
- Family friendly and fancy. These can really be served for any occasion from a fancy bridal shower to a school lunch.
Cucumber sandwich ingredients
These cucumber tea sandwiches have very simple ingredients but each one come together to make this a flavorful, delicious bite.
- Cucumber: I recommend using English cucumbers because they have fewer seeds and thinner skin.
- Cream cheese: Soften cream cheese makes the creamy base for the sandwich filling.
- Mayonnaise: Adds extra creaminess and also helps to make it easy to spread on the bread.
- Dill: Fresh dill adds fresh flavor that pairs perfectly with the cucumbers.
- Chives: Fresh chives gives the filling a nice, mild onion flavor.
- Garlic powder, salt, pepper: A few simple seasonings to bring the ingredients together.
- Bread: Soft, white sandwich bread it the traditional bread used to make these cucumber tea sandwiches.
How to make cucumber sandwiches
Scroll to the bottom recipe card for the full recipe instructions and ingredients.
- Mix together softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in the fresh chives and dill.
- Thinly slice the cucumbers. (You can leave the skin off or remove the skin.) Lay the cucumber slices on a paper towel. Use another paper towel and press down on the cucumbers to help remove any excess moisture.
- Cut the crusts off of the bread. Spread the cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.
- Top half of the bread slices with the cucumbers. Place the remaining bread on top to make a sandwich.
- Cut the sandwiches in half or cut diagonal to form a triangle.
Note: This recipe will make 16 halved sandwiches. If you cut into four pieces instead of halved, it will make 32 tea sandwiches.
Heather’s recipe tips
- Slice the cucumbers very thin. You can cut them thin with a sharp knife or use a mandolin.
- Pat the cucumbers dry. I like to gently pat the cucumbers with a paper towel to help remove excess moisture.
- Make sure to soften the cream cheese before making the spread. This makes it creamier and easier spread.
- Remove the bread crust. For a classic English tea sandwich, I recommend cutting the crust off of the bread.
- You can chill the finger sandwiches for an hour in the refrigerator to help make them easier to slice.
Variations
Smoked salmon: Add a little smoked salmon on top of the cucumbers.
Open faced: You can serve these as open faced sandwiches.
Bread: Try different bread like pumpernickel, sourdough, or wheat bread.
Cut: Cut these into halves, into fourths, in triangles, or you can even use a shaped cookie cutter.
Storage
Store: Keep these sandwiches in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. They do not freeze well.
Common questions
If you use English cucumbers, you don’t need to remove the skin because the skin is thin and not waxy. If you are using regular cucumbers, I recommend removing the waxing skin.
You can use a smaller amount of dried herbs if you are in a pinch. I recommend using fresh herbs for the best tasting sandwiches.
I recommend patting the cucumber slices with a paper towel. You can even sprinkle the slices with a little bit of salt and let them sit for 20-30 minutes to release any extra moisture.
Yes, if you want extra crunch, you can add two layers of cucumbers or just overlap them.
More cucumber recipes
- Greek cucumber salad
- Cucumber pasta salad
- Cucumber lemon water
- Creamy cucumber dill salad
- Cucumber avocado dip
Let me know if you make these English cucumber sandwiches in the comments below.
Cucumber Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 16 pieces soft white bread
Instructions
- Cut the crusts off of each piece of bread.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in the chopped dill and chopped chives.
- Spread a thin layer cream cheese mixture over each piece of bread.
- Place the sliced cucumbers on top of half of the pieces of bread.
- Place the remaining pieces of bread on top of the cucumbers to make a sandwich.
- Cut the sandwiches as desired, squares, rectangles, or squares.
Notes
- Slice the cucumbers very thin. You can cut them thin with a sharp knife or use a mandolin.
- Pat the cucumbers dry. I like to gently pat the cucumbers with a paper towel to help remove excess moisture.
- Make sure to soften the cream cheese before making the spread. This makes it creamier and easier spread.
- Remove the bread crust. For a classic English tea sandwich, I recommend cutting the crust off of the bread.
- You can chill the sandwiches for an hour in the refrigerator to help make them easier to slice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
