Traditional cucumber sandwiches are a cool, refreshing, and light summer lunch that will satisfy your hunger but won’t fill you up like a heavy lunch would.

Cucumber sandwiches on a wooden cutting board. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Cucumber sandwiches originated in the United Kingdom and were served as “tea sandwiches” with afternoon tea. They served as a light snack before dinner.

They are incredibly easy to make with just a couple of ingredients.

What You Need

Bread: The base of the sandwiches is a thin white bread with the crusts cut off. You can use wheat bread or even rye bread, but white bread is traditional. If you choose another bread, use a soft bread. That is one of the keys to the sandwich.
Cucumbers: Fresh, thinly sliced cucumbers. Traditionally, English cucumbers were used, but we’ve opted for fresh garden cukes because of their availability.
Butter: Softened unsalted butter spread thinly on one side of each slice of bread. The butter was used to protect the bread from getting soggy because of the cucumbers.

Optional

Cream Cheese: Although the traditional sandwich only has butter on it. Cream cheese is a nice addition to give the sandwich a bit of creaminess. You can use plain cream cheese instead of flavored cream cheese because we will flavor it ourselves. Soften the cheese to room temperature.
Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise acts to thin the cream cheese out and make it spreadable on the soft bread.
Salt: A sprinkle of salt will serve two purposes. It will flavor the cukes and will help draw water out of the cucumber.
Herbs: Often, fresh herbs like dill weed or chives are sprinkled on the sandwich. You can also add garlic powder or onion powder for a different flavor.
Black Pepper: Just a pinch of pepper will flavor the cream cheese.

How to Make Them

Step One:

Cut the crusts off of the bread.

Cut the crusts off of 2 pieces of thin white bread. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Step Two:

Mix the softened cream cheese with the mayonnaise.

If the cream cheese is soft enough, you should be able to mix it with a large spoon. If not, use a small hand mixer.

Cream cheese mixed with mayonnaise in a small bowl. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Step Three:

Add herbs and mix well. USe fresh dill and fresh chives, if you have them.

Herbs added to the cream cheese mixture. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Step Four:

Thinly slice the cucumber with a sharp knife. You can use a mandolin if you have one.

Dry off the pieces with a paper towel.

Drying off sliced cucumbers. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Step Five:

Generously spread the cream cheese mixture on one side of the bread.

Top the cream cheese with sliced cucumbers.

Cut the sandwiches into rectangles or triangles. You want each sandwich to be 2-3 bites. Serve.

Cream cheese mixture spread onto the bread. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Can You Make the Sandwiches Ahead?

You can prepare the sandwiches ahead of time. The cucumber can be cut, and the cream cheese can be mixed up ahead. You can do this at least a day in advance. Allow enough time before assembling them for the cream cheese to soften again. Also, dry the cukes well if you cut them ahead of time. It is best to assemble the sandwiches right before serving so the bread doesn’t get soggy.

Do you Have to Peel Cucumbers?

Should you peel the cucumbers? Traditionally, the cukes were peeled, but it is not necessary to peel the cucumber. The peel adds additional fiber to the sandwiches, although you can peel them if you prefer.

If using a mandolin to slice the cucumbers, be exceptionally careful. The mandolin is the most dangerous utensil in the kitchen.

Once you cut the sandwiches, guests should be able to pick them up with one hand. They should be cut into 2-3 bite sandwiches.

Serve these easy-to-make sandwiches for a bridal shower or a baby shower. They look pretty stacked on a plate, and they only take a minute to assemble.

The British often served these sandwiches with a splash of malt vinegar.