Tea sandwiches are so charmingly British. Only the Brits could find a way to make a sandwich so dainty and cute. Since tea sandwiches are an essential part of Afternoon Tea and British cuisine, I made some for my Royal Wedding Watch Party Guide! Below you will learn how to make tea sandwiches that are perfect to serve at an Afternoon Tea, Bridal Shower, Baby Shower, or brunch.
I made three different tea sandwiches for my Royal Wedding Watch Party: smoked salmon, cucumber, and egg salad. They are three of the more popular tea sandwiches and they are easy to prepare. The total preparation time to make four of each sandwich is just about 30 minutes.
I purchased boiled and peeled eggs at the grocery store to save me some time. We keep boiled eggs in the fridge at all times since Charles loves to eat them as a snack. The yolks are always perfectly yellow, and not having to boil and peel the eggs is a great timesaver.
Tea sandwiches are one of those things that you shouldn’t make ahead. The inside of the bread will get soggy, and the outside will get stale. The good thing is that tea sandwiches can be prepared in just minutes.
The essential ingredient for making tea sandwiches is “very thin” bread. Pepperidge Farm makes it, and it should be available at most grocery stores in the U.S. You want very thin bread because tea sandwiches are dainty and they have just a thin layer of fillings. If you use regular bread, the fillings won’t stand out very much, and the sandwiches just won’t be as cute. Cuteness level is very important when it comes to tea sandwiches.
If you want your tea sandwiches to be extra adorable, you can use a cookie cutter to cut them into fun shapes. In the past, I have used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cucumber sandwiches.
Here is a link to London themed cupcake toppers, which I put in the tea sandwiches.
How to make Tea Sandwiches:
For the Egg Salad Sandwiches
8 slices of Very Thin Bread I used white
6 Hard Boiled Eggs
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons Mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper
24 very thin slices of Cucumber
There are two methods for making egg salad. You can either loosely chop the eggs and then mash them with a potato masher, or you can grate them with a cheese grater to very finely chop them. It is totally up to you. Once the eggs are mashed, add the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the egg salad across 4 slices of bread. Top with cucumbers, and then add the second slice of bread. Slice the crusts off the bread, and slice the sandwiches into whichever shape you like.
For the Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
8 slices of Very Thin Bread I used wheat
6 ounces of Smoked Salmon
Cream Cheese
Dill
1/3 cup Sprouts
Spread one side of each slice of bread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Sprinkle dill over the cream cheese. Add a thin layer of smoked salmon on top of four of the slices of bread. Top with the sprouts. Add the second slices of bread to the sandwiches, slice off the crusts, and cut into whichever shape you like.
For the Cucumber Sandwiches
8 slices of Very Thin Bread I used white and wheat
Cream Cheese
Dill
24 very thin slices of Cucumber
Spread one side of each slice of bread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Sprinkle dill over the cream cheese. Add a thin layer of cucumbers, and then add the second slices of bread to the sandwiches. Slice the crusts off the sandwiches and then cut the sandwiches into whichever shape you like.
Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the Egg Salad Sandwiches
- 8 slices of Very Thin Bread I used both white
- 6 Hard Boiled Eggs
- 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- 24 very thin slices of Cucumber
For the Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
- 8 slices of Very Thin Bread I used wheat
- 6 ounces of Smoked Salmon
- Cream Cheese
- Dill
- 1/3 cup Sprouts
For the Cucumber Sandwiches
- 8 slices of Very Thin Bread I used white and wheat
- Cream Cheese
- Dill
- 24 very thin slices of Cucumber
Instructions
For the Egg Salad Sandwiches
-
There are two methods for making egg salad. You can either loosely chop the eggs and then mash them with a potato masher, or you can grate them with a cheese grater to very finely chop them. It is totally up to you. Once the eggs are mashed, add the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
-
Divide the egg salad across 4 slices of bread. Top with cucumbers, and then add the second slice of bread. Slice the crusts off the bread, and slice the sandwiches into whichever shape you like.
For the Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
-
Spread one side of each slice of bread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Sprinkle dill over the cream cheese. Add a thin layer of smoked salmon on top of four of the slices of bread. Top with the sprouts. Add the second slices of bread to the sandwiches, slice off the crusts, and cut into whichever shape you like.
For the Cucumber Sandwiches
-
Spread one side of each slice of bread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Sprinkle dill over the cream cheese. Add a thin layer of cucumbers, and then add the second slices of bread to the sandwiches. Slice the crusts off the sandwiches and then cut the sandwiches into whichever shape you like.
Recipe Notes
Tea sandwiches are one of those things that you shouldn't make ahead. The inside of the bread will get soggy, and the outside will get stale. The good thing is that tea sandwiches can be prepared in just minutes.
