Cucumber Sandwiches are a traditional finger sandwich for luncheons or teas but they’re also a sandwich we love to enjoy at picnics or for lunches!
Cream cheese and fresh herbs are combined to make the perfect spread and it’s topped with fresh sliced cucumbers for a refreshing bite.
Cucumbers are a summertime staple and perfect for refreshing Creamy Cucumber Salads, creating delicious dips (like Greek Tzatziki) and of course delicious Cucumber Sandwiches! These little sandwiches have been around for as long as I can remember… paper thin cucumbers, dill and chive cream cheese spread sandwiched between crustless bread.
These easy cucumber sandwiches make the perfect appetizer for any occasion. They’re light and refreshing and everyone loves them!
How to Make Cucumber Sandwiches
Cucumber Sandwiches are so easy to make. I start with cream cheese, mayonnaise and fresh herbs. While I use dill and chives, you can use your favorites or whatever you have on hand. If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can substitute dried or even skip the herbs & mayonnaise and add ranch dressing (or homemade ranch dressing mix) in their place.
Once the spread is all mixed up, you’ll want to thinly slice your cucumbers. English cucumbers are my favorite for this recipe as the seeds are small and delicate. I personally prefer peel on for color but they also can be peeled. I add a some extra herbs and pepper on top for flavor.
We love these best on white bread with the crusts removed but you can certainly make cucumber sandwiches on pumpernickel bread (or any kind of bread) if you’d like!
This cucumber sandwich recipe can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
If you make sure the bread is covered with the dill cream cheese spread, they will not get soggy. Once made and sliced, place in a container and seal well. Store in the refrigerator. I like to leave them at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
If you’re in a rush, using a flavored cream cheese (such a veggie cream cheese or herb and garlic) can make these extra quick!
Cucumber Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives chopped
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 long English cucumber thinly sliced
- 1 loaf sliced bread crusts removed
Instructions
- With a hand mixer, mix cream cheese and mayonnaise in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in herbs, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture onto one side of each piece of bread.
- Thinly slice cucumbers. Layer over half of the bread slices. Top with additional herbs if desired.
- Top with remaining bread slice, remove crusts if desired and cut each sandwich into 3 pieces.
- Serve immediately or cover and store up to 24 hours.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Can you freeze the cream cheese mix?
I have not tried but freezing cream cheese can lead to a grainy texture when defrosted so it may not be the best for these sandwiches. But if you have leftover filling you want to freeze it would be delicious mixed into other dishes like a pasta sauce once defrosted!
I’m still making them, but I picked this recipe for the simplicity. Our family loves cucumber. I’m surprising my spouse with these. He is British/Australian and has eaten this food often in his youth but I’ve never made them for him. Wish me luck!
I want to make this for a church potluck (we are doing a picnic theme). I do try to test all the recipes on us before doing it for other people so this is our dinner tonight. Husband approves! Thank you for an easy delicious recipe! We did make the spread yesterday so the flavors could meld together in the fridge overnight.
Just read some comments read: soggy bread if made ahead. From another recipe, I used suggestion to slice the cucumbers and put them on paper towel over colander to drain for ~ 10 minutes. Works great!
I made them on refridgerated Ezekiel bread and that held up longer.
These are terrific! Easy, but so flavorful. Made for bridal showers and got tons of compliments.
I am so happy to hear these were a hit!
yummy. I made it with non dairy kite hill cream cheese and it taste delicious!
I took these to a ladies tea at church and had MANY compliments!
Fantastic recipe!!! These disappeared so quickly that I didn’t even get one. I took these to coffee hour at church and this made 3 platters of sandwiches. I made them open faced with whole wheat bread and assembled them just before serving. I didn’t even cut the crusts off the bread because they were going as fast as I could make them. I used an English cucumber, because they don’t have all the seeds and don’t need peeling. I sliced them paper thin with a mandoline slicer, lightly salted, then tossed them in a ziplock baggie and took everything with me to assemble on site so they wouldn’t get soggy. I made the cream cheese spread the day before and let it sit overnight in the fridge for the flavors to become friends. These were such a hit that 3 different people came to ask me what I put in them. I have eaten cucumber sandwiches many times, but this was my first time to ever make them. The next time I will double the cream cheese mix as I had enough bread and enough cucumber that I could have made a couple more platters, but I ran out of spread. I was trying to spread sort of thinly so I could make as many as possible. I used 12 slices of bread and cut them into quarters, so this yielded 48 little sandwiches. I will definitely be adding these to my line up when it my turn to host again.
Delicious
I had (cucumber) “salad” sandwiches in Ireland years ago and loved them. I believe the cucumber was diced small, they had watercress and onion and a creamy thick sauce. I’m going to try to get the cress to use with this in hopes it will be like those lovely cool and delicious ones I ate so long ago.
Thanks for this recipe
Sounds delicious Essie!
Love this recipe and making it for the third time this summer. I added thin sliced radish to the cucumber for a couple of sandwiches and that was excellent as well. I have used your recipes quit often and have not been disappointed.
The nicest bread to use for these is Pepperidge Farm VERY THIN white bread though it’s a little hard to find and not all grocery stores carry it. Itis not what is labeled thin white sandwich bread. I even found it on Amazon (if you want to pay $11 a loaf!). A mandolin is great for slicing cucumber paper thin, but my friend uses a food processor.
Excellent! I made these for my daughter’s bridal tea shower and they were a big hit. Unfortunately, we had to throw out the first batch that we had made 24 hrs in advance because the bread was soggy (yes I spread both sides with the cream cheese mixture and put the thinlyslices Cucumbers on one half exactly as directions stated) we quickly whipped up another batch and saved the day. I do not recommend preparing the sandwiches ahead of time. But aside from that minor detail, these were excellent and my mom just asked for the recipe
absolutely delicious and a great recipe for the long hot summers in Alabama, quick to prepare, few ingredients and budget friendly, it doesn’t get any better than this!!!
So tasty. I made extra of the filling and it got polished off at dinner as a veggie dip.