Cucumber Sandwich Recipe with seasoned cream cheese and crisp cucumbers on soft white bread. Perfect for brunches, parties, or showers. Just 5 ingredients!
What Is A Cucumber Sandwich?
Cucumber sandwiches started as thin cucumber slices between buttered white bread in Europe to curb hunger before late dinners. They’ve come a long way since then!
Nowadays, you can find cucumber sandwiches made with fresh herbs, cream cheese, salmon, or on different types of bread (crusts on or off!).
How To Serve Cucumber Sandwich Recipe
They’re one of my absolute faves for baby or bridal showers (alongside these Mini Fruit Tarts), especially when there are vegetarians to cater to! They’re also a hit at brunch.
Even though I’m obsessed with this recipe, I’m always amazed at how many people love these simple sandwiches and ask for the recipe — they usually disappear faster than some of the desserts!
Ingredients
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat. To soften quickly, cube it and leave it in a warm spot for 15–20 minutes.
- Mayonnaise: Go with full-fat mayo for the best flavor. I like Hellmann’s/Best Foods®.
- Ranch Seasoning Mix: This is the flavor booster. Hidden Valley® is my go-to.
- White Bread: I love Sara Lee® brioche. The crust is soft enough that I often leave it on.
- Cucumbers: Use Persian or English cucumbers, they’re crisp and mild.
- Optional Add-ins: Fresh herbs like dill, parsley, or chives, plus cracked pepper.
How To Make Cucumber Sandwiches
Cucumber sandwiches are so simple to make!
- Make spread: Soften cream cheese, then beat with mayo and ranch seasoning.
- Cucumbers: Wash, dry well, and thinly slice. No need to peel if using Persian, English, or salad cucumbers.
- Assemble: Spread the mixture on all bread slices. Add cucumbers to half, top with the other slices, gently press, and cut in half.
- Optional: Trim the crusts if you’d like.
Cucumber Sandwich Recipe Tips
- Don’t skimp on the spread. The spread is so important for flavor and sandwich texture (it keeps the cucumbers from making the bread soggy).
- Add some fresh herbs. While not at all necessary, fresh dill, chives, or flat-leaf Italian parsley are all nice additions.
- If you love cucumbers and lemon, add a few squeezes of lemon juice or lemon zest to the spread to bring out a citrusy flavor. Love lemon and cucumbers? You’ve got to try this Creamy Cucumber Salad!
Make Ahead Of Time
Cucumber sandwiches are best made close to serving since cucumbers hold a lot of water. But here are a few prep-ahead tips:
- Make the spread 1–2 days ahead; it gets more flavorful in the fridge.
- Slice cucumbers up to a day ahead. Salt them, lay in a single layer on a baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the spread sit at room temp for 30 minutes before assembling.
- After assembling, cover sandwiches with wax paper and a damp paper towel, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Serving at a party
Since these sandwiches dry out quickly, you’ll want to serve them in batches — refill serving platters as the supply starts to get low.
For parties, cut the sandwiches into triangles and serve them on a cake stand with a glass cover to keep them fresh. But any platter will work.
More Brunch Recipes To Love:
Breakfast
Dutch Baby (German Pancakes)
Breakfast
Banana Crepes
Breakfast
French Toast Sticks Recipe
Desserts
Mini Fruit Tarts Recipe
Cucumber Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened to room temp
- 1/2 cup mayo Best Foods/Hellman’s
- 1 (1-ounce) packet ranch seasoning mix
- 1 (1 pound, 4 ounce) package white bread see note 1
- 2 cups English cucumber or salad cucumbers, see note 2
- pepper optional
- Fresh herbs optional; dill, parsley, or chives—whichever you like best!
Instructions
- Let cream cheese sit at room temp for 1 hour or microwave in 15-second intervals until soft.
- Beat softened cream cheese, mayo, and seasoning mix with a hand mixer until smooth. Cover and chill for 20 minutes to firm up and blend the flavors.
- Use a mandoline (or sharp knife) to slice cucumbers 1/4-inch thick.
- Spread cream cheese mixture on both bread slices. Layer cucumbers on half the slices. Add cracked pepper and any fresh herbs on top if desired. Top with another bread slice to form sandwiches. Optionally, remove crusts and cut in half, triangles, or quarters. Arrange on a platter to serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How To Keep Cucumber Sandwiches From Getting Soggy
- Timing is key: Don’t assemble the sandwiches more than 1 to 3 hours before serving. Making them too far in advance, can lead to mushiness.
- Salt the cucumbers: After slicing, lay them on paper towels, salt them, and let them sit for 20 minutes to draw out moisture. Pat them dry before using.
- Spread cream cheese evenly: Apply a generous layer of cream cheese on the bread. This acts as a barrier, keeping the cucumber moisture away from the bread.
This recipe looks so good! I cannot wait to try it!
In the photos it looks like there are two layers of cucumber slices.
Is that true? The text says slices on one side of bread only.
TIA
Yes, just layer them on one half. You can add a few extra cucumbers to that side, but for assembling the sandwiches, it’s best to keep everything on one half.
Hello Chelsea,
What would you recommend as replacement of mayo, something eggfree?
There are several egg-free mayos available, though I haven’t tested them myself, so I can’t speak to the flavor. However, they should work as a substitute for regular mayo in this recipe.
Hi Chelsea. I am making these for a bridal shower. I will be driving about 1hr away to it -after I assemble sandwiches. Will they be okay after 2-3 hours ?
If possible i’d really recommend bringing the components separate and assembling right when you get there! If you have the filling pre-made and cucumbers pre-sliced you can assemble them super quick!
How long will prepared sandwiches keep in the fridge? I’m assuming not too long they would
probably get soggy?
Yeah, I’d avoid storing them once they have been assembled, however the cream cheese filling will last 3-4 days in the fridge if you want to make that up ahead of time!
made this with ranch dressing in place of mayo and the ranch seasoning. Still delicious!!! Was inspired to find a recipe after watching the Martha Stewart documentary. I premade them for a flight tomorrow so hopefully they dont become too soggy
I’m thrilled to hear this! Thanks Alex!
I love cucumber sandwiches, this recipe maes them especially good mmm-mmmm 🙂
Thanks Dorothy!