Easy Afternoon Tea Savory Bites: Recipes and Ideas (2024)

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An Afternoon Tea isn’t complete without savory bites. Along with tea sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, preserves, and tea cakes, a well-rounded Afternoon Tea serves a smidgen of savory bites as well.

Easy Afternoon Tea Savory Bites: Recipes and Ideas (1)

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The ritual of Afternoon Tea, as you likely know, began when Anna, the 7th duch*ess of Bedford and a close friend of Queen Victoria, complained of “having that sinking feeling” during the late afternoon. She needed something small, just enough to satisfy that in-between time, before dinner.

Thank you, Anna, duch*ess of Bedford, for this lovely ritual.

We’ve found the most beautiful Afternoon Tea Savory Recipes, most of which are easy, with make-ahead tips you’ll want to note for your next Afternoon Tea.

Whether that be for two or a gathering.

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.

Henry James

Savory Recipes for Afternoon Tea

Offering guests a selection of savory recipes for afternoon tea is a delightful way to share teatime. Look for recipes for tea sandwiches, you may like to take a look at our post, Easy Make Ahead Tea Sandwiches for more ideas.

It’s also nice to offer savory pastries with light but flavorful fillings and toppings. Cucumber, vegetables and seafood as always popular.

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How to Serve Savory Recipes for Afternoon Tea

In the 19th century, the three-tiered tea tray became a convenient way and space-saving way to serve afternoon tea. of offering afternoon tea. It would have been set near the center of the table surrounded by teapots, cups, bowls, and spreads.

In early years, the top tier was reserved for scones, the middle plate held sweets like petit* fours, and the bottom tier was for tea sandwiches. Guests would serve themselves from the bottom tier to the top.

Today, “the accepted rule of thumb generally remains that the food is served from the bottom tier up. This emphasis on course order makes etiquette easy, as well as provides the aesthetic benefit of a full top tier throughout tea.”

Imagination and creativity now replace some of the ideas held for savories in customized arrangements best suited to the gathering.

For instance, the savory tier can combine tea sandwiches, quiches, pastries, and other savories too.

While the tiered tray makes serving tea offerings easy, tea trays can be a pedestal arrangement of a dinner plate, salad plate, and bread-and-butter plate or like-sized plates easily slid into position in a wrought-iron serving rack.” The beauty of tea trays is that it gives food height, saves space and gives a “graceful nod to 19th-century tradition.”

Easy Afternoon Tea Savory Bites

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Mini Salmon Croquette Canapes

Photo Credit:www.victoriamag.com

“Lemon juice and dill provide subtle complements to the mild taste of salmon. Coated in bread crumbs and fried in hot oil, ourMini Salmon Croquette Canapéshave a pleasing crunch atop French-bread crostini. A topping of citrus aïoli unites the hors d’oeuvres for an experience in flavor and texture.”

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Simple Ham Salad: Quick and Delicious

A simple ham salad recipe elevated to incredible with the addition of a few unique ingredients. And is utterly delicious. Ready in 10 minutes, it's a salad you'll make all season!

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Cucumber Canapes with Dilled Butter

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“Enjoy these simple yet delicious Cucumber Canapés with Dilled Butter at your next tea.

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Sweet Pea and Leek Tartlets

Photo Credit:www.victoriamag.com

"OurSweet Pea and Leek Tartletsare delicious alone or as an accompaniment to a savory sampling. Here, goat cheese blends with a medley of sautéed herbs and vegetables—tarragon, parsley, sweet peas, and leeks—all baked in a flaky pastry shell. A fresh sprig adds a lively finishing touch."

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Cherry Tomato Tartlets

Light and Fresh, these Cherry Tomato Tartlets are a perfect savory for Afternoon Tea.

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Avocado-Egg Salad Canapes

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“Fresh dill and a hint of Dijon mustard give these Avocado-Egg Salad Canapés extra flavor.”

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Easy Mini Quiche Recipe

Homemade Mini Quiche is so incredibly easy to make, you'll find yourself skipping the freezer section of your market. Delicious party food, teatime snack (or coffee break too), this recipe shows you how simple it is to make 3 different mini quiche varieties in one mini muffin tin.

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Deliciously Easy Asparagus and Cheese Mini Tarts

"These easy asparagus and cheese mini tarts make a beautiful addition to Afternoon Tea. Its pungent, herbaceous flavor partners so well with cheese and with store-bought pastry, it’s minutes in the making."

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Salmon Frittatas

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“Fresh tarragon,new potatoes,shallots, baby green peas, and Gruyèrecheese gives theseSalmon Frittatas plenty of flavor.”

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Bruschetta Canapes

Photo Credit:www.victoriamag.com

"Bringing a taste of Rome to the offerings are Bruschetta Canapés, savory triangles topped with a seasoned Campari tomato mixture."

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Chinese Green Salad Baskets

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“These Chinese Green Salad Baskets full of bright and lively flavor.”

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Shrimp-Tapenade Canapes

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“TheseShrimp-Tapenade Canapés make excellent finger foods for any occasion.” Or, to make it really simple, use store-bought tapenade and crackers.

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Lemon-Lime Scallop Canapes

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“These zesty Lemon-Lime Scallop Canapés bring an excellent citrus flavor to any tea.”

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Ham, Corn, and Chive Crustless Quiche

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

"A crustless quiche like this Ham, Corn, and Chive Crustless Quiche is a perfect addition to the savory course when one of your guests has a gluten allergy."

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Summer Squash Tartlets

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

"Squash and zucchini have never looked prettier than when sliced into ribbons and rolled up to form the rosettes that top the pine nut filling of these savory tartlets."

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Easy Crustless Quiche with Bacon, Cheese and Spinach

This Crustless Quiche with Bacon, Cheese, and Spinach is an easy, delicious and simple quiche made healthier and low carb without a crust. Much like our always popular Bacon, Cheese, and Spinach Quiche.

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Garam Masala Grilled Chicken & Black-Eyed Pea Canapes

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

"A tasty combination of green grapes, Labneh, chicken, black-eyed peas, and fresh herbs sit atop a rice cracker in Garam Masala Grilled Chicken & Black-Eyed Pea Canapés."

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Easy Bacon, Cheese and Spinach Quiche

This Easy Bacon, Cheese, and Spinach Quiche recipe is familiarly delicious and simply executed with a mere 10 minutes or less of prep.

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Smoked Salmon Canapes

Photo Credit:www.southernladymagazine.com

"These Smoked Salmon Canapés are perfect additions for spring and summer menus."

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Easy Asparagus Quiche Recipe

Easy Asparagus Quiche recipe begins with a premade crust and is filled with fresh spring asparagus, green onions, savory bacon, and shredded Gruyère cheese. A simple but perfect brunch recipe.

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Salmon Quiche with Spinach, Dill, and Mozzarella

Whether you’re baking forbrunch,afternoon tea, or simply a gathering of friends, thisSalmon Quiche with Spinach, Dill and Mozzarellais a treat your guests will love. It is light, creamy and custardy with the seafood and savory flavors we all love. It is also so easy to make, and so pretty to serve!

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Easy Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

This Broccoli Cheddar Quiche is an easy, utterly delicious treat for brunch, teatime, or even light dinner. Creamy, custardy, and delicious.

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Easy Classic Spinach Quiche

This easy Classic Spinach Quiche, in the tradition of Quiche Florentine, is a soft and custardy quiche that's simple to make, utterly delicious, and perfect for brunch or tea.

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Salmon and Fennel Tartlets

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“The rich flavor found in these Salmon and Fennel Tartlets make them an excellent contender for your teatime favorite.”

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Italian Spinach-Artichoke Crostini

Photo Credit:www.teatimemagazine.com

“A taste of Tuscany comes right to the table in theseItalian Spinach-Artichoke Crostini.”

Easy Afternoon Tea Savory Recipes and Ideas

For elegant, easy, and delicious savory finger foods to occupy the bottom tier or your tea server. For placement of foods on a 3-Tier serving platter, see our “How to Serve an Afternoon Tea.”

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Easy Afternoon Tea Savory Bites: Recipes and Ideas (2024)

FAQs

What savory products could be served at afternoon tea? ›

Start with savoury afternoon tea recipes including finger sandwiches, delicate shrimp and salmon open sandwiches and posh scotch quail's eggs. After a sophisticated palate cleanser, make a batch of scones to serve with clotted cream, jam and lemon curd (or why not serve crumpets instead).

What savory food goes well with tea? ›

Black teas with their robust flavours pair well with hearty, rich foods such as roast meats like beef, lamb and venison or heavy pasta dishes like lasagna. Green teas with their earthy, vegetative palettes combine well with vegetarian dishes, salads, mild green curries and light chicken dishes.

What are the three main foods served at an afternoon tea? ›

What is served at afternoon tea? Afternoon tea comes in three course, the sandwich course, the scones and finally the pastries. Traditional sandwiches would include: cucumber, smoked salmon, coronation chicken, ham and beef.

What is a typical afternoon tea menu? ›

There aren't any rules when it comes to the food, but a standard afternoon tea menu comprises a tier of sandwiches, a tier of cakes and one of scones or teacakes. But you could also throw in pastries, petit*-fours or biscuits. Don't wear yourself out by taking on too many ambitious bites.

What 4 foods are included in afternoon tea? ›

What Food to Serve for Afternoon Tea. Afternoon tea as we think of it now is usually served on a three tier platter. Many restaurants and hotels will fill the tiers with tarts, finger sandwiches, and small iced cakes. They may even serve soup and salad on the side, along with a scone and cream.

What do you put on an afternoon tea platter? ›

Traditionally, afternoon tea consists of a selection of sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and a variety of sweet treats in the form of pastries and cake. These are arranged on a tiered cake stand and served alongside a pot, or two, of tea.

What to serve at an afternoon tea party? ›

Some sample afternoon tea menus
  • Three tea sandwiches.
  • Curried devilled eggs.
  • Salad garnishes:
  • Scones with cream and two jams: blackcurrant and strawberry rose.
  • Whole English strawberries.
  • Victoria sponge with raspberry redcurrant jam and vanilla buttercream.
  • Rose lemonade with mint.
  • A choice of teas.

What's the difference between afternoon tea and high tea? ›

Whilst they both include tea as a beverage, afternoon tea includes delicate pastries, little sandwiches, scones and cakes. Whereas high tea is typically a more wholesome meal of meat, potatoes and vegetables served after a long hard day at work.

What is the order of food for afternoon tea? ›

Believe it or not, there is a correct order to eat your afternoon tea. There are three courses to a proper afternoon tea. Firstly, you should eat the sandwiches, then the scones, and finally, the cakes. All of which can be enjoyed while drinking your tea.

How many sandwiches do I allow per person for afternoon tea? ›

TEA-TIME TIPS

Allow 3-4 sandwiches per person. But don't prepare them too early as they will either go soggy or dry out.

How to set a table for afternoon tea? ›

At minimum, place a small spoon on the right of each plate for stirring tea. If you are serving sticky cakes or messy foods, also provide a small fork on the left of each plate, and one or more knives between the plate and the spoon, with the blades facing the plate. Provide steak knives if meat is served.

What do you eat first at afternoon tea? ›

Afternoon tea etiquette is to eat the sandwiches first, then the scones, then the pastries. Some places will serve the food in courses, so you won't have to worry about remembering the order.

Which of these foods will be appropriate for a high tea menu? ›

High Tea Menu
  • Meat dishes such as steak and kidney pie.
  • Fish dishes such as pickled salmon.
  • Baked goods such as crumpets or, in Ireland, barmbrack.
  • Vegetables such as potatoes or onion cakes.
  • Other heavy foods such as baked beans and cheesy casseroles.
Mar 19, 2024

What food items that were traditionally served at high tea in the past? ›

Sandwiches were customarily filled with ingredients such as cucumber, egg, cress, fish paste, ham, and smoked salmon. The dessert portion of afternoon tea often featured scones with whipped cream and jam, as well as cakes and pastries such as Battenberg cake, fruit cake or Victoria sponge.

What food complements tea? ›

Some popular options include:
  • Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and English breakfast tea. ...
  • Earl Grey tea, scones, and croissants with jam and cream;
  • Green tea, poached eggs, and avocado toast. ...
  • Citrus tea and cream cheese toast with smoked salmon;
  • Rooibos tea and pancakes with maple syrup;

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