Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Updated Jun 12, 2024
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Smoked salmon tea sandwiches are a popular savory served at afternoon tea that can be made at home with only 5 ingredients. These pretty and dainty sandwiches are perfectly salty, creamy, and tangy!
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Smoked salmon tea sandwiches are a quintessential part of afternoon tea. The bite-sized sandwiches are a delight to eat and easy to recreate at home.
All you need to do is mix up a smoked salmon spread, cut sandwich bread with a cookie cutter, and assemble. There’s no cooking involved at all! The sandwiches are salty from the salmon with a slight tang from the cream cheese and lemon juice. Dill also adds a nice herbaceous touch.
Enjoy the sandwiches with a cup of your favorite hot tea or serve as an appetizer at bridal showers, baby showers, and other parties.
Note from Jee
As a tea sommelier, one of the things I’m well-versed in is pairing tea with food. If you’re serving tea with these finger sandwiches, I would recommend either black tea or green tea.
English Breakfast tea, Earl Grey, or genmaicha are all great options.
Black tea is traditionally served with tea sandwiches so I always recommend it since it’s a foolproof pairing. But seafood goes really well with green tea (think how sushi and green tea are always served together) so the smoked salmon flavor will pair nicely with it too.
Recipe Summary
- These smoked salmon tea sandwiches are made with 5 ingredients, including wheat bread, smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, and lemon juice.
- No cooking is required, just prepping and assembling.
- The recipe makes 4 tea sandwiches for 2 people, but you can easily scale up to make a bigger batch for a group.
RELATED: Ham and Brie Cheese Tea Sandwiches
Ingredient Notes
- Wheat bread: Soft sandwich bread is the key to a good tea sandwich. Very Thin wheat bread from Pepperidge Farm is recommended but you can use any wheat or thin bread as long as it’s not too thick.
- Smoked salmon: Use pre-sliced smoked salmon sold in packages from the supermarket.
- Cream cheese: Avoid whipped cream cheese, which is not as creamy as regular cream cheese. Give the cream cheese some time to soften so it’s easy to combine with the other ingredients.
- Dill: Fresh dill is very aromatic and has a strong scent. Look for a bunch that has feathery, bright green leaves and avoid any that is yellow and wilting.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice adds brightness to the tea sandwich.
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Put smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, and lemon juice in a bowl. Gently mix.
Step 2: Cut the bread into circles with a 2″ cookie cutter.
Step 3: Assemble sandwiches.
Spread a thin layer of the salmon mixture on top of a slice of bread.
Step 4: Repeat once more to make a second layer.
Step 5: Top with a final slice of bread.
Step 6: Skewer together with a sprig of fresh dill using a cocktail fork.
Make-Ahead Tips
Make sure to spread a thin layer of butter on the sides of the bread that touches the salmon spread to keep the bread from getting soggy.
Loosely cover the assembled tea sandwiches with wax paper and a damp paper towel and place them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Make sure the damp paper towel doesn’t touch the sandwiches.
Tea sandwiches should be served at room temperature so remove the sandwiches from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces.
The fish should be cut into small pieces to make sure you get smoked salmon in every bite. Cut against the grain for better texture. Using tiny pieces will also make it easier to combine and coat the salmon thoroughly in the cream cheese.
For cleanest cuts, freeze the bread.
Frozen bread holds its shape better than room temperature bread so you’ll get nicer edges with less crumbs.
Difference between lox and smoked salmon.
While both are made with salmon, there is a slight difference between the two. Lox is salmon that’s cured in a salty spice blend. Smoked salmon is typically cured, then smoked to give the fish its distinct aroma and flavor.
Expert Tips
- Tea sandwiches don’t usually include crusts, so be sure to cut those off.
- You can use cookie cutters in other shapes, but simple ones work best.
- To extend the life of leftover dill, wash and wrap in a damp paper towel, then place a zip-top bag or airtight container and store in the fridge.
Related
- Tiffany & Co. Corned Beef and Cheese Tea Sandwiches
- British Cheese and Pickle Tea Sandwiches
- Heart Tea Sandwiches
- BLT Tea Sandwiches
- Club Tea Sandwiches
If you tried this Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and let me know how you like it in the comments below.
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons chopped smoked salmon, (about 2 slices)
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese, (softened)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill, (plus more for garnish)
- 12 slices wheat bread, (thin)
Instructions
- Make the filling.In a bowl, mix the smoked salmon, cream cheese, lemon juice, and dill together and set aside.
- Cut circles out of the bread.Use a 2" cookie cutter to cut a circle out of the sandwich bread. Cut 12 circles out of the bread. Avoid the cutting the crust.
- Assemble the tea sandwich.Spread a thin layer of the smoked salmon mixture onto one side of the bread. Place a second slice of bread on top and spread another thin layer of salmon. Cover with a third slice of bread. Garnish with a sprig of fresh dill and skewer with a cocktail fork.
- Repeat until you make 4 tea sandwiches.
Notes
- Very Thin wheat bread from Pepperidge Farm is recommended but you can use any wheat or thin bread as long as it’s not too thick.
- Use pre-sliced smoked salmon sold in packages from the supermarket.
- Give the cream cheese some time to soften so it’s easy to combine with the other ingredients. Avoid whipped cream cheese, which is not as creamy as regular cream cheese.
- Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces. Slice the fish into small pieces to make sure you get smoked salmon with every bite. Cut against the grain for better texture. Using tiny pieces will also make it easier to combine and coat the salmon thoroughly in the cream cheese.
- For cleanest cuts, freeze the bread. Frozen bread holds its shape better than room temperature bread so you’ll get nicer edges with less crumbs.
- Enjoy tea sandwiches at room temperature. Tea sandwiches are traditionally served at room temperature, not cold so they’re best when made right before tea time. If you plan on prepping them in advance, remove the sandwiches from the fridge 15 minutes early.
- Mix together the filling and cut the circles of bread if you want to get some of the prep done early. You can also assemble them ahead of time. To store, loosely cover the tea sandwiches with wax paper and a damp paper towel and place them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Make sure the damp paper towel doesn’t touch the sandwiches. Another tip is to spread a thin layer of butter on the sides of the bread that touches the salmon spread to keep the bread from getting soggy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
