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Tea Sandwich for Brunch or Afternoon Tea

A tea sandwich made with chopped ham, cheese, egg, sour cream, green onions, and chopped pecans. Serve these flavorful sandwiches for an afternoon tea party or as part of a summer brunch menu.

In the photo, there are three different ways to serve these sandwiches. The triangle finger sandwiches in the middle of the photo are what you would serve for a "proper" tea party and would probably be considered "fussy", but they really are quite easy to make with instructions below. When placed on a serving platter, they make a nice presentation and just seem more fun to eat with the crusts removed from the bread.

You can also serve this spread on mini croissants for a brunch. You can also use a sourdough cocktail bread and spread on a thin layer or just spread it on a good tasting wheat or sesame cracker. This ham spread can also be placed in a bowl and served with sesame crackers as an appetizer.

Find more Tea Party and Brunch Ideas:

Putting together your own brunch? Find more brunch menu ideas like this tea sandwich recipe.

Need tips for hosting a brunch? Try these brunch party planning tips.

Check out more brunch menus here or find more recipes in this tea party cookbook.

Tea Sandwich Recipe

Printer Friendly Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup diced cooked deli ham
1 hard cooked egg
2 Tablespoons green onions
1/2 cup shredded medium or sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup unsalted finely ground pecans
2/3 cup dairy sour cream

Kitchen Equipment:

medium to large mixing bowl

Step 1: Coarsely chop 1 cup of cooked deli ham and place in mixing bowl.

Step 2: Chop fine one hard cooked egg and 2 Tablespoons green onions and add into the bowl.

Step 3: Add in 1/2 cup medium or sharp shredded Cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup finely ground pecans. (If you use regular chopped pecans, place them on a cutting board and chop them as small as you can.)

Step 4: Add in 2/3 cup dairy sour cream and mix together until well blended.

Step 5: Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving to allow flavors to come together.

Step 6: When ready to serve, let sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes or so, as it will spread easier. If you are in a hurry, place the bowl in the microwave for 20-30 seconds-just long enough to soften the mixture, but make sure it doesn't get too warm.

Makes approximately 3 cups sandwich spread.

To make tea sandwiches: Take 16 slices of white bread and cut the edges off of the bread, making a square. Cut the bread in half diagonally and place filling on one half of the bread and top with another triangle. For a proper tea party, take care to keep the triangles as uniform as possible as well as the thickness of the filling, as appearance matters. An Italian or French bread would be a nice choice as they are a slightly firmer bread, but a standard soft white bread would work as well.

There is a bit of waste with the extra bread, but perhaps you could feed it to the birds or use it to make a batch of bread pudding.

To make mini-croissants: Purchase small 3" croissants from the bakery and slice them in half horizontally. Fill with the sandwich spread and place the top of the croissant back into place. A plate full of these looks really appetizing and is quicker to make than the tea sandwiches.

Other Serving ideas: This spread can also be served on thinly sliced sourdough cocktail bread or on party crackers. You can either make up a platter ahead of time or place the sandwich spread in a nice serving dish and the crackers on a platter or tray and let your guests serve themselves.

Serves 8. Makes approximately 16 sandwiches at 2 per person.

Old-Fashioned Tea Party Cookbook

If you are searching for more information on hosting a tea party, this cookbook has a lot of good information and recipes and is available from my website.

Old-Fashioned Tea Party Recipes Cookbook

This unique teacake recipes cookbook contains more than just recipes. There is a wonderful history of tea in America, how a formal tea party was hosted in early American times, photos and descriptions of early tea sets, instructions on how to set your table for a tea, explanations of the different types of tea, instructions on how to brew a perfect pot of tea, and tea etiquette.

The recipes in this book are meant to complement a tea party and contain authentic early American recipes including Tea Sandwiches, Scones and Biscuits, Tarts and Pastries, and Cakes. This book also includes a handy baking and cooking chart on the back page for weights, measurements, and substitutions. See a list of recipes included and more information.

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