Perfect Cucumber Sandwiches Recipe (works every time!)
- Updated on Aug 12, 2022
Cucumber sandwiches are one of the true upper crusts when it comes to elegant lunches.
In fact, no garden party, baby shower, bridal shower or any other shower should even be considered without them!
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In this post we’ll teach you how to make the very best cucumber sandwich recipe, as well as providing some tasty alternatives to cater for every taste and requirement.
Your afternoon tea party will be fit for royalty!
These cucumber sandwiches are creamy, decadent and delicious. We also believe they should be easy cucumber sandwiches, with simple ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need to make the best of the best.
Ingredients
Bread
The bread should be white and soft. Brown or wholegrain is less common, but absolutely acceptable as the health perks are great.
The softness is the most important thing, so choose soft bread!
Cucumber
We use the common English cucumbers (garden variety) in our recipe because they are cheap, available most of the year round, taste great, and if they’re organic, you don’t need to peel them.
However, if you can’t get one, any other cucumber will do, too.
Cream cheese
We go for plain over flavoured, as we add our own flavour. You can also opt for lower-fat cream cheeses if you wish.
Dill, mint or chives
Fresh dill is an excellent accompaniment to sliced cucumber. However, mint also works in a pinch. Fresh chives also work.
Health benefits
A quick look at the macros of one serving (2 slices of bread + filling):
A good crisp cucumber itself contains high levels of cucurbitacin which is said to help fight cancer.
There are also many numerous other health benefits of cucumbers.
Choosing a lower fat cream cheese also usually means a higher level of protein. Protein is incredibly important for so many functions in the body.
If you need help getting more protein as a vegetarian, check out this free 7-day high-protein meal plan!
How to make the best cucumber sandwiches
Time needed: 5 minutes.
- Spread
First of all, grab a nice, soft slice of bread. Slather it with butter. Grab another piece of bread and spread cream cheese all over it.
- Peel
High society would always peel their cucumbers before slicing. Now, that’s up to you. If the skin is clean and looks good, you can leave it on.
- Slice
If it looks manky, peel it off! Use a sharp knife and cutting board and remember to slice the cucumber thinly!
- Put
Layer the sliced cucumbers onto the butter side. Sprinkle a little salt and black pepper onto the cucumber layer.
- Sprinkle
Then sprinkle over the fresh herbs – think dill, mint or chives.
- Finish
Slap the cream cheese layer bread on top. Done!
You now have a world class cucumber sandwich ready for any Mother’s Day brunch or royal tea party. It might be finger food, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be classy! If you have one, serve on a silver platter.
FAQs
After slicing, lay the cucumber slices onto paper kitchen towel. Sprinkle with salt, and leave for a few minutes. The salt will draw out excess water and you can dab it away with paper towels.
Alternatively, you can put the slices into a bowl and sprinkle with salt. After a few minutes you can tip away any excess moisture.
Both of these methods will help stop the cucumber sandwiches from getting soggy.
These dainty cucumber sandwiches with a creamy dill mix go with almost anything. If it’s an afternoon tea party, then tea will be a clear winner. Crisps/chips are also great.
These little sandwiches can also be simple finger food or perfect appetizer to a bigger meal.
Only on the day of eating should you make cucumber sandwiches. And ideally, not more than an hour or two where possible.
The danger is that the inside of the bread gets soggy and the outside becomes dry and stale. And nobody wants that.
Soggy bread and soggy cucumber sandwiches are no fun!
Yes, for a couple of hours. An air-tight container will do the trick.
A platter/tray/plate with a tight film or plastic wrap over the top is also an option. Again, it must be airtight.
They were often associated with royalty and upper-class tea time. Also, when they were first being eaten, cucumbers were uncommon and expensive. Therefore, only the ‘posh’ could afford them.
Yep, or at least they were. They were served at the Queen’s Jubilee in 1887 and were also written about by Oscar Wilde.
According to this article, they also originated in Britain. So, yes, and they’re sometimes known as cucumber tea sandwiches, as well!
Cucumber sandwich variations and alternatives
Gluten-free cucumber sandwiches are possible by using gluten-free bread.
These are already vegetarian but the extra cream cheese filling can be skipped altogether, and vegan margarine used instead to make these into vegan cucumber sandwiches.
You could also use vegan cream cheese alternatives for the same effect.
The soft white bread can be swapped for wholegrain for extra health benefits.
Cream cheeses come in all sorts of flavours and these can be used to change your sandwiches completely!
From Mexican-flavoured cream cheese through to Indian curry, there is a whole range of possibilities out there!
Check out more cucumber recipes
Smashed Cucumber and Edamame Vegan High-protein Snack
Grandma’s Old-school Creamy Cucumber Salad
Anything else?
Finally, cucumber sandwiches should be presented as elegantly as possible.
If you have a silver platter, this will do perfectly. Otherwise the ‘good china’ will do in a pinch.
Although guests may eat from paper plates at impromptu picnics in the garden, a good cucumber sandwich must never be served on paper.
Now you’re armed with the knowledge to make the best cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese you’ve ever had. So, push forth and enjoy your endeavors and guest-pleasing adulation.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices good quality soft bread
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- ¼ cucumber
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp dill, fresh (or mint)
Instructions
- Spread butter on half the slices of bread, and cream cheese on the other half.
- Peel and slice the cucumber thinly.
- Layer the cucumber slices on the buttered side. Dash a little salt and pepper onto the cucumber.
- Sprinkle over the dill or mint leaves.
- Slap cream cheese bread on top of cucumber bread.
Optional to serve:
- Remove crusts from bread, serve on silver platter 😉
NOTES
Nutrition
We hope you’ve enjoyed these cream cheese cucumber sandwiches! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us!
Comments
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60 comments
It is important to peel the cucumber then cut it in half longways and with a spoon remove all the pips and soft flesh from the centre before you thin slice the cucumber .
Gotta disagree on this one, BigTone! My favourite way is deffo having full slices of cucumber. The other reason would be wastage as well. But each to their own, of course!
What bread did y’all use
Hi! Thats really up to you. The most important thing is the softness. Second is the thickness – better to err on the side of thin rather than thick. White or wholemeal is up to you as well. I tend to go wholemeal just for the health benefits 🙂
Nice twist on a cucumber sandwich
Thanks Lewis 🙂
Cucumber sandwiches are NEVER made with cream cheese!
Don’t keep us in suspense, what is used instead?
My late Uncle who was a Chief P O Steward in the Royal Navy used to make wonderful cucumber sandwiches. He used to marinade the cucumber slices in vinegar overnight. He always used brown vinegar, the cucumber slices were cut thinly, and the bread was white and thinly sliced. NO cream cheese, only buttered bread. Possibly a tiny sprinkle of salt? And oh yes, the crusts were always, always cut off. My Uncle, in his career, prepared and served food to many members of the royal family, and I don’t think there were ever any complaints about the cucumber sandwiches.
wow, this does sound delicious, Sandra, also thank you for sharing this little story!
In New England they were made with mayonnaise and butter. Cream cheese is now used instead by people who don’t eat eggs, and vegans use vegan “butter.” (They are delicious with Vegenaise, by the way, but nothing beats real butter!)
Real butter is tough to beat, I’d have to agree.
Agreed, I had cucumber sandwiches with butter for breakfast today. A little salt is important, too. Delicious, as always!
I loved the way you have described the making of high society sandwiches. I am not from very very high society but I still trim the edges. I sun dry them and store in a box and when I need croutons , I Sprinkle olive oil and herbs on the bread , put them in a hot oven till they are browned. Top a soup with these croutons.
Thanks Kirti! Yes, trimming the edges certainly adds a touch of class. And that’s a fantastic idea of using them as croutons! I always need croutons for the soups we test, so I’m going to use that idea going forward. Thanks for sharing!
How long in advance can you make them?
Hi Rosie! If possible I would make them on the same day, the bread will become too dry otherwise. A few hours in advance is fine, but they need to be kept as airtight as possible. Cling film is totally fine for doing that, and you can wrap it (quite) tightly over a whole tray 🙂
Do you know why cucumber sandwiches were enjoyed so much by high society?
A very good question, Chris. Do you have any insight? My first guess is the exceptionally soft bread showed they could afford an upper crust (sorry) baker. And I suppose cucumbers can be grown virtually anywhere – even Britain! Also they rock!
https://www.hhhistory.com/2016/08/english-tea-history-of-cucumber-sandwich.html?m=1
I’m definitely not a Professor or historian, just a googler This website suggests the lack of nutritional substance and the difficulty of getting cucumbers out of season made cucumber sandwiches an upper class indulgence. Thanks for the recipe and inspiration to find out why they are an upper class food. I’m planning on providing them at an afternoon tea tomorrow when I introduce my high school class to Pride & Prejudice, so it’s lovely to know just how appropriate they are for that!
Splendid, Tam!
Ah, I never realized how much history these cucumber sandwiches have! Thanks for the article, I’m sure esp Dave will be interested 😀
Enjoy the sandwiches with your school class!, sounds like a fun session!
Interesting indeed! Thanks for the info. They make some good points, those could definitely have played a role. And yes they’re certainly for the upper crust 😀 Enjoy the afternoon tea!