Cucumber Sandwich
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Whether you’re looking for a light and refreshing lunch option, or the perfect picnic snack, these Cucumber Sandwiches are the fresh and flavorful recipe you’re looking for! They’re so easy to make with just 6 ingredients, in 15 minutes, for a simple, scrumptious snack.
There are a few recipes on the blog that didn’t come from me. A few from my Mom, my Dad and my Grandma, and a few from my husband Kurt. This is a “Kurt recipe”. He’s been making these cucumber sandwiches since before we started dating, and they’re always a hit at parties.
After he served them at the last party we hosted, and people went crazy for them, I knew that I had to share the recipe on the blog! They’re seriously so simple, but I guarantee you that everyone will ask you for the recipe.
His secret ingredient? Adding zesty Italian dressing mix to the cream cheese. It adds a delicious layer of flavor under the fresh slices of cucumber and makes for a tasty little tea sandwich!
We serve these sandwiches on rye “party bread” or “cocktail bread” to make the perfect appetizer for parties. But we’ve also made them on standard-sized rye bread to create a simple cucumber sandwich for lunch. Both are delicious, and after you try this recipe, I guarantee you’ll be making it for lunches, brunches, parties and picnics!
Ingredients
- Cream cheese – you’ll need to soften the cream cheese before starting this recipe. To easily soften it, leave it out at room temperature for 30 minutes before starting this recipe. You can also microwave it in a bowl for 30 seconds.
- Zesty Italian dressing mix – you can pick up a packet on the salad dressing aisle at the grocery store, or make my homemade Italian dressing mix, and follow the instructions to “make it zesty” with added red pepper flakes.
- Rye bread – if serving the cucumber sandwich as a party appetizer, snack, or tea sandwich, I recommend using pumpernickel “party bread” or “cocktail bread” like you see pictured above. It can usually be found in the deli section at major grocery stores. You can also use standard-size rye bread, with the crusts cut off and quartered, for tea sandwiches, or served whole for a standard-size sandwich, perfect for lunch.
- Cucumber – you will need about 1 pound of cucumbers for this recipe, which should be two medium cucumbers. Traditional english cucumbers work great, but other varieties can be used, if you prefer.
- Salt – to season the cucumber.
- Dried dill – to garnish the dish and add flavor on top of the sandwiches. If you have fresh dill available, you can use that instead of the dried dill.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Combine softened cream cheese and zesty Italian dressing mix in a bowl.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on each of the rye cocktail bread slices.
- Peel the cucumbers and slice them into ¼ inch slices using a sharp knife or mandoline. Top each piece of cream cheese topped bread with a slice of cucumber.
- Sprinkle salt on top of each cucumber. Finish the sandwiches by adding dried dill on top of each sandwich. Serve immediately.
Recipe tips
- To make a full-size cucumber sandwich, use standard size rye bread, spread the cream cheese mixture on one side of two slices of bread. Stack up 10-15 cucumber slices on top of the cream cheese on one slice of bread. Sprinkle salt and dried dill over the cucumber, then sandwich the other piece of bread with cream cheese on top of the cucumbers.
- You can also use this method to make full-size sandwiches, then cut them into quarters or squares to serve them as cucumber tea sandwiches for an appetizer, party snack or picnic finger food.
- I do not recommend making cucumber sandwiches ahead of time. The moisture from the cucumber will release and the sandwiches will become soggy.
- You can make the cream cheese spread up to 5 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble and serve the sandwiches.
- This recipe makes approximately 36 open-faced “party size” cucumber sandwiches, or 4 full-size cucumber sandwiches.
What to serve with them
If serving these sandwiches as part of an afternoon tea party or picnic, I recommend pairing them with these other simple appetizers and bite-sized snacks.
The combination of these recipes would make the perfect menu for baby showers, bridal showers or Mother’s Day brunch!
- Coronation Chicken Tea Sandwiches
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Tomato Basil Bruschetta
- French Onion Dip
- Beet Hummus
- Deviled Eggs
If serving these as full-sized sandwiches for lunch or brunch, I recommend pairing the cucumber sandwich with one of these scrumptious salads.
More sandwich recipes
Grab the bread and let’s make more delicious sandwiches!
Cucumber Sandwich
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons zesty Italian dressing mix, click link for recipe (or use one .7 ounce store-bought packet)
- 12 ounces rye cocktail bread, also called party bread
- 1 pound cucumber, about 2 medium-sized cucumbers
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried dill, or 1 teaspoon fresh dill (chopped)
Instructions
- Before starting this recipe, soften the cream cheese by leaving it out at room temperature for 30 minutes, or microwave it in a bowl for 30 seconds.
- Combine the softened cream cheese and zesty Italian dressing mix in a bowl.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on each piece of rye cocktail bread.
- Peel the cucumbers and slice them into ¼ inch slices. Top each piece of cream cheese topped bread with a slice of cucumber.
- Sprinkle salt and dried dill on top of each cucumber. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To make a full-size cucumber sandwich, use standard size rye bread, spread the cream cheese mixture on one side of two slices of bread. Stack up 10-15 cucumber slices on top of the cream cheese on one slice of bread. Sprinkle salt and dried dill over the cucumber, then sandwich the other piece of bread with cream cheese on top of the cucumbers.
- You can also use this method to make full-size sandwiches, then cut them into quarters or squares to serve them as cucumber tea sandwiches for an appetizer, party snack or picnic finger food.
- I do not recommend making cucumber sandwiches ahead of time. The moisture from the cucumber will release and the sandwiches will become soggy.
- You can make the cream cheese spread up to 5 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble and serve the sandwiches.
- This recipe makes approximately 36 open-faced “party size” cucumber sandwiches, or 4 full-size cucumber sandwiches.
Nutrition Facts
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