Best Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches Recipe with Cream Cheese

This is the easiest smoked salmon tea sandwich recipe with cream cheese. These dainty finger sandwiches are so refreshing and an afternoon tea party menu classic. You can make them with or without cucumber – I do like the cucumber version, but it’s not essential. They are the perfect menu item to balance your sweet menu items.

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Ingredients for your smoked salmon tea sandwiches recipe with cream cheese:

• 8 ounces smoked salmon, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream – mixing the cream cheese with the sour cream gives it a more tangy flavor and makes the cream cheese a bit easier to spread, but if you don’t have any sour cream, you can skip it.
• 12 slices plain white bread (or you can use whole wheat or pumpernickel).
• 2 Tablespoons fresh chives, chopped – or 2 teaspoons dried chives.
• 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped – or 2 teaspoons dried dill.

Directions:

1. Beat together the cream cheese and sour cream. Beating the cream cheese for a couple of minutes softens it up so that it is much easier to spread.
2. Chop up the dill and chives.
3. Stir in the chives and dill into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Add pepper to taste. The pepper adds a mild heat to the sandwich.
5. Spread cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread. If you like it creamier, you can spread on a thicker layer, otherwise, a thin layer is fine.
6. Cover one side with thin slices of smoked salmon.
7. Squeeze a few drops of lemon onto the smoked salmon – this step if optional. I love the lemony taste, but it is totally fine to skip this if you are in a rush or don’t have a fresh lemon.
8. Cover the other with thin slices of cucumber – if using. You can omit the cucumbers if you prefer.
9. Put the two slices of bread together and cut off the edges with a sharp serrated knife.
10. Cut the remaining square into three equal slices. This will give you three finger sandwiches. Or you can cut the square diagonally to create four triangle shaped sandwiches.

Arrange your smoked salmon and cream cheese finger sandwiches on a nice plate. I made one smoked salmon tea sandwiches recipe with cream cheese and cucumber, and the other is without cucumber. I added a generous amount of cream to my smoked salmon tea sandwiches as I love cream cheese, but the rest of my family prefers a bit less.

Tip: Put out all your slices of bread right away on your kitchen counter. Spread with cream cheese mixture and arrange slices of salmon on half of them. This way, you can make sure you are spreading your smoked salmon evenly on each sandwich and don't run out.

Presentation tips:

If you’d like to add some elegance to the presentation, you can:

• Tie a small chive around each sandwich like a ribbon.
• Skewer each sandwich with a decorative toothpick.
• Spread some dill leaves or thinly sliced cucumber pieces around the platter to garnish.

How many smoked salmon tea sandwiches does this recipe make?

This recipe yields 18 finger or 24 triangle salmon tea sandwiches (6 whole sandwiches).

Two slices of bread will make three finger sized sandwiches (or four triangles). I put about 25 grams of cream cheese mixture and 25-30 grams of smoked salmon on each slice.

How to store the Smoked Salmon Finger Sandwiches

You can make these a few hours before you need them. Make sure you cover with cling wrap and keep in the fridge. Take them out about 15 minutes before serving.

This Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwich Recipe with Cream Cheese is a classic. The saltiness of the smoked salmon is perfect to counteract all that sweetness that comes with all those scones, cakes or other dessert items you might serve at your afternoon tea party.

These smoked salmon tea sandwiches go well together with cucumber tea sandwiches. They make a great addition to your Christmas afternoon tea party menu.