These Vegan Cucumber Sandwiches are the perfect summer finger food! They have a flavorful creamy spread, crisp English cucumber slices, and fresh herbs all inside of your favorite type of bread! Such a quick and easy appetizer that everyone will love!
These tea sandwiches are a wonderful combination of refreshing cucumber and a robustly flavored vegan cream cheese spread. They are light, tasty, and just the right amount of fancy.
Finger sandwiches like these would be great to set out along with Vegan Ladyfingers at barbecues, tea parties, or showers. Your guests will truly appreciate how easy and mess-free they are to eat.
I first learned about these cucumber tea sandwiches being a fan favorite at royal celebrations in the United Kingdom and had to add my own veganized spin to them. Although, the spread I use on the bread is a little closer to a famous Kentucky benedictine because of the cream cheese.
We like to whip these up as travel snacks, for picnics, or for light lunches. Leftovers store well in the refrigerator, and the spread makes for a delicious veggie dip! Not to mention that cucumber dill sandwiches only need a few ingredients and are a great way to finish up your bread.
Reasons To Love This Recipe
- Delicious
- Dairy-free
- Quick & easy
- Can be gluten-free
- Just a few ingredients
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cucumber - Use half an English cucumber which is also called “hothouse.” It’s ideal for these sandwiches because it has fewer seeds and a thin peel. However, a regular peeled cucumber can work in a pinch.
- Vegan cream cheese - My favorite brands to use for these sandwiches are Kite Hill or Trader Joe’s.
- Vegan mayonnaise - Your favorite vegan mayo works. Fun alternatives to try would be plain vegan yogurt or vegan sour cream.
- Garlic - Garlic powder blends into the spread very nicely but you can use ½ teaspoon of freshly minced garlic if you prefer.
- Salt - Just a bit of salt enhances the other flavors of the sandwich.
- Dill - Fresh dill is wonderful in this tea sandwich. If you don’t have it, dried dill can be used in its place. Feel free to add other favorite herbs such as parsley or oregano.
- Chives - Fresh chives are best here, but dried can be used if needed. Green onions (scallions) would make a good substitute.
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a citrus element. If you don’t have it, use ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- Pepper - Freshly cracked pepper is a perfect touch to sprinkle over the cucumbers.
- Bread - Use your favorite vegan bread. I love using a multigrain variety but gluten-free, rye, wheat, or white would all work.
How to Make Vegan Cucumber Sandwiches
Here are some quick visual steps. The full recipe with exact measurements can be found on the recipe card below.
Soften the cream cheese by removing it from the refrigerator.
Peel the cucumber in stripes or all the way. You can keep the skin on if you want because it’s pretty thin.
Cut the cucumber into ¼ inch thick slices and discard the ends.
Pat the slices dry with a kitchen towel. Leave them wrapped in the towel while preparing the other ingredients so that excess moisture is absorbed.
Prepare the herbs by pulling the dill off the stems and then chopping it. Thinly slice the chives.
Stir the cream cheese, mayo, garlic powder, salt, dill, chives, and lemon juice together in a bowl.
Stack the bread and cut the crusts off. Stacking the bread helps to ensure that the slices are the same size after getting their crusts trimmed off. You can also skip this step if you want to leave the crusts on.
Spread 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture onto each slice. Try to get the spread all the way to the edges.
Add a thin layer of cucumbers onto half of the slices. You can use 4 to 8 slices depending on how thick you want the cucumber layer to be.
Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper and a few pinches of herbs on top of the cucumbers.
Close the sandwiches, press them down a bit, and then cut them into quarters with a sharp knife. You can cut them into squares or triangles. It helps to wipe the knife clean between cuts to keep the edges of the sandwiches from getting messy. Enjoy!
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Try them with Everything But The Bagel seasoning.
- Keep the crusts on the bread and the peel on the cucumber.
- Include more of your favorite herbs such as parsley or oregano.
- Use your favorite bread such as rye, gluten-free, whole wheat, white, etc.
- Add avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, or olive slices to make gourmet sandwiches.
- Keep the sandwiches whole rather than quartering them for a more filling snack.
No Waste Ideas
- Sprinkle chive slices onto Vegan Potato Soup.
- Make Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad with any remaining dill.
- Make homemade croutons with the leftover bread crusts.
- Enjoy leftover cream cheese spread on bagels for breakfast.
- Use the cream cheese spread as a dip for carrot or cucumber sticks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Make the vegan cream cheese spread 3 days in advance. Store it sealed in the refrigerator. When ready, let it soften a bit at room temperature, give it a good stir, and then spread it on the slices. Follow the rest of the steps for cucumber sandwich assembly and enjoy!
Store the sandwiches in a covered dish in the refrigerator for 4 days. Having the spread between the cucumbers and bread actually helps to keep the bread from getting soggy.
More Vegan Finger Food Ideas
I hope you loved these Vegan Cucumber Sandwiches! If you made them, please leave a star rating and comment below.
Vegan Cucumber Sandwiches
Ingredients
- ½ English cucumber, (hothouse)
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon fresh dill, + more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, + more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, freshly cracked
- 10 bread slices
Instructions
- Soften the cream cheese by removing it from the refrigerator. Peel the cucumber in stripes or all the way. Cut the cucumber into ¼ inch thick slices and discard the ends.
- Pat the slices dry with a kitchen towel. Leave them wrapped in the towel while preparing the other ingredients so that excess moisture is absorbed.
- Pull the dill off the stems and chop it. Then, thinly slice the chives. Stir the cream cheese, mayo, garlic powder, salt, dill, chives, and lemon juice together in a bowl.
- Stack the bread and cut the crusts off. You can also skip this step if you want to leave the crusts on. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture onto each slice. Try to get the spread all the way to the edges.
- Add a thin layer of cucumbers onto half of the slices. You can use 4 to 8 slices depending on how thick you want the cucumber layer of the sandwiches. Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper and a few pinches of chives and dill on top of the cucumbers.
- Close the sandwiches, press them down a bit, and then cut them into quarters with a sharp knife. You can cut them into squares or triangles.
Video
Notes
- You can keep the bread crusts and cucumber peel on if you prefer.
- Depending on the size of the bread slices, there may be some leftover cream cheese spread.
- Stacking the bread before trimming the crusts helps to ensure that the slices are the same size.
- Wiping the knife clean between cuts when quartering the sandwiches helps to keep the edges of the sandwiches from getting messy.
Nutrition
The nutrition information is estimated and can vary depending on brands and measurements used.
Susan wimberley
Can't wait to try this recipe!
Bonnie
Hi Susan! I'm so glad you found this recipe and I hope you love it as much as I do!