This cheese savoury recipe is quick & easy and makes a tasty cheese savoury sandwich filling perfect for lunches, picnics, and afternoon tea.
You could also use it to fill cheese scones.
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THIS POST IS WRITTEN IN COLLABORATION WITH PORTMEIRION. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.
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Few things beat a good cheese sandwich for a crowd-pleasing lunch, and my cheese savoury recipe takes it to a whole new level.
With its colourful appearance, slight crunch, and bold flavour, this cheese savoury sandwich filling works any time but is special enough to feature on an afternoon tea spread.
Unlike traditional pairings like cheese & pickle or cheese & ham, this cheese savoury recipe offers a fresh twist on the classic cheese sandwich.
Why this recipe is worth making
- Quick & easy: Ready in 5-10 minutes.
- Taste: This cheese savoury filling is packed with bold flavours – tangy cheese, warming paprika & mustard, creamy mayo, savoury onion and sweet red pepper. It’s a loaded, delightful sandwich filling.
- Texture: Expect a light crunch from peppers & salad onions.
- Appearance: Vibrant and colourful, savoury cheese sandwiches are bound to catch the eye.
What is cheese savoury?
Cheese savoury originates in Northern England and traditionally comprises cheese, carrot, onion and salad cream. It is used to fill sandwiches, rolls and, in the North, stotties.
My version of this British sandwich filling offers a twist: red pepper replaces carrot, mayonnaise takes the place of salad cream, and a touch of paprika and Dijon mustard add a flavour boost this savoury cheese filling.
Be sure to look at some of my other classic British sandwich recipes including egg mayo sandwiches and coronation chicken sandwiches.
Ingredients notes
Cheese: Use a mix of strong cheddar cheese and Red Leicester for flavour and visual appeal. The pale yellow Cheddar contrasts beautifully with the vibrant orange Red Leicester.
Mayonnaise: Essentail for binding the other ingredients together, mayonnaise also adds rich & creamy flavour to this savoury cheese sandwich filling. Store-bought mayo is perfectly fine but homemade mayonnaise can also be used.
Bread: Classic options include sliced white, brown, wholemeal, or granary bread. You can also use stotties, rolls, pitta bread, or even spoon the filling onto a baked potato.
Paprika & Dijon mustard: Optional but highly recommended for added depth of flavour.
Substitutions and variations
Classic Northern Cheese Savoury: replace the red pepper with grated carrot, swap the mayo for salad cream and omit the paprika & mustard. This is more in line with the original Northern cheese savoury recipe.
Spicy Cheese Savoury: try adding in a pinch of cayenne pepper, chilli powder or even a dash of hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco.
Make It Extra Creamy: For a richer texture, add a tablespoon of cream cheese alongside the mayonnaise.
Step by step instructions
How to make cheese savoury sandwich filling
- Chop the red pepper finely and leave it to drain on kitchen paper. Finely dice the salad onion.
- Mix the mayonnaise with the paprika, Dijon mustard and black pepper.
- Grate cheddar cheese and Red Leicester cheese finely, then toss together in a bowl (use your hands). Add in the pepper & onion and mix again.
- Stir in the mayonnaise mixture.
Your sandwich filling is ready to use.
How to assemble savoury cheese tea sandwiches
- Cut the crusts from the bread. Lay a generous spoonful of the cheese savoury filling onto one slice of bread and spread it to the edges with a blunt knife.
- Top the filling with another slice of bread and cut the sandwich into slices – my bread allowed 3 sandwiches to be cut from each slice. Repeat as necessary with more slices of bread.
Expert tips
Top tip: I didn’t butter the bread as I felt that the creamy filling didn’t warrant it. But if you prefer to have buttered sandwiches, go ahead.
- Do not use store-bought grated cheese as it has added ingredients and tends to be dry.
- There is enough filling to make around 16 dainty finger sandwiches each measuring approximately 3cm wide by 8cm long.
- The filling can be made in advance. Simply store it in the fridge (covered) until ready to use. Stir briefly before use.
Frequently asked questions
I like to use mature cheddar cheese and Red Leicester for their bold flavours, contrasting colours, ease of grating and budget-friendly price. They are perfect for this savoury sandwich filling.
That said, plenty of other cheese work well too, provided they grate well.
Whatever cheese you use, you must be able to grate it for this savoury cheese sandwich filling. Experiment with milder Cheddars, firm blue cheeses like Stilton, or regional favourites such as Lincolnshire Poacher, Cheshire, Cornish Yarg (without the nettle wrapping), and Double Gloucester.
In fact, using leftover bits of cheese in this cheese savoury recipe is a great way to use them up.
Other popular ingredients to add to cheese savoury sandwich filling include grated carrot, grated onion and grated celery.
When making a cheese savoury sandwich you could also top the filling with sliced tomato, sliced cucumber or lettuce leaves.
Yes, you can!
I do not recommend freezing this sandwich filling as the texture is likely to be compromised. The red pepper, or any other vegetables included, are likely to soften and the mayonnaise may separate or become watery after it has defrosted.
Once prepared, cheese savoury sandwich filling will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just give it a quick stir before using.
More savoury cheese recipes
Have I tempted you to make this cheese savoury recipe? If you have children, get them involved in selecting the menu, the baking and setting the table. It’s a lovely meal to create with people.
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Cheese Savoury Sandwich Filling
Ingredients
- 75 g Red Leicester cheese or other strong red cheese
- 75 g Mature white cheddar cheese
- 5 tablespoon Mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon Paprika sweet and mild
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon Black pepper ground
- ¼ Small red pepper
- 2 Salad onions
- 11 Slices Bread White or Brown, for making finger sandwiches
Instructions
Make the Cheese Savoury Filling
- Begin by chopping the red pepper finely and leaving to drain on kitchen paper .
- Next, finely dice salad onion.
- Mix mayonnaise with paprika and dijon mustard.
- Grate the cheddar cheese and Red Leicester cheese finely, then toss together in a bowl – use your hands, it's easy this way.
- Add in the pepper & onion and mix again with your hands.
- Finally, stir in the mayonnaise using a metal spoon.
- Cover and chill until ready to use.
Make the Sandwiches
- Cut the crusts from the bread.
- Cut one of the slices of bread in half – we will only cut 1 sandwich from this slice.
- Lay 5 of the full-sized slices out, along with one of the smaller pieces of bread.
- Stir the filling briefly and spoon a generous amount onto each slice of laid out bread, spreading it out using a blunt knife.
- Top each slice with another piece of bread of equal size.
- Cut into slices – my bread allowed 3 sandwiches to be cut from each large piece of bread and just one from the smaller sandwich. In total, you should cut 16 small sandwiches.
- Cover until ready to serve and consume as soon as possible (within the hour to avoid the bread drying out).
Notes
- In total this recipe will make around 16 dainty sandwiches each measuring approximately 3cm wide by 8cm long. I used average-sized sliced bread. If you have small/ large slices be prepared to increase/ decrease the number of slices of bread needed to obtain this number of sandwiches.
- Alternatively, the filling can be used to make 4 regular sandwiches (crusts not cut off).
- I didn’t butter the bread as I felt that the creamy filling didn’t warrant it. But if you prefer to have buttered sandwiches, go ahead.
- The filling can be made 24 hours in advance and stored in the fridge. Do give it a stir before using to mix in any liquid that has drained out of the peppers.
- Do not use store-bought grated cheese as it has added ingredients and tends to be dry.
- Try other cheese too – as long as they grate well. Experiment with milder Cheddars, firm blue cheeses like Stilton, or regional favourites such as Lincolnshire Poacher, Cheshire, Cornish Yarg (without the nettle wrapping), and Double Gloucester.
Tanya
Hi. I look forward to making these cheese sandwiches (or as toasties) sometime. What is a salad onion? It looks sort of like a green onion from the photos, but I wanted to ask. Thanks!
Jane Saunders
Hi Tanya – it’s a spring onion, green onion or scallion… hope you enjoy this recipe
Beth Delaney
Your cheese tea sandwich looks lovely. Please advise as to amounts of cheese, mayo, paprika, and Dijon mustard. I look forward to making these for my tea party.
Jane Saunders
Hi Beth, thankyou. There’s a printable recipe card at the end of the post with all measurement details in it plus full instructions. Enjoy.
Bernice Gardner
Firstly may I say what a beautiful photo of you, it actually made me smile when I saw it. I made this recipe today and it was delicious, of course I ate too much but I don’t regret it. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
Jane Saunders
Hi Bernice, that’s very kind of you – I’ve grown quite camera shy as I’ve got older and usually end up pulling strange expressions meant to be smiles…needless to say, putting my face out there for the world to see makes me gulp!
Very pleased you enjoyed these sandwiches – I do love an afternoon tea!
Anna
I made these but I used the filling in a grilled sandwich. I am from the States but I think you might call it a toastie? Anyways, it was delicious filled in a pan. Nice and melty.
Jane Saunders
Ah yes, the good old cheese toastie – what a great use for this filling. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment – much appreciated.
Margaret
These are like pimento cheese, a Southern staple.
Yummy.
Jane Saunders
Hi Margeret – thanks so much for your comment. I’m so pleased you enjoyed them.
Cynthia Castles
Thank you I am always looking for something different when making afternoon tea our card group, these cheese sandwiches sound perfect can’t wait to try them.
Many thanks again
Cynthia Castles
Jane Saunders
I hope you and your fellow card players enjoy them 🙂
Choclette
I’ve just started an Afternoon Tea board on Pinterest and came across a pin to this post. Your photos are always fab, but I absolutely love the close up of all those sandwiches. It’s now on my new board.
Jane Saunders
Ah thanks so much Choclette – I’m not sure if I follow you on Pinterest, but I’m about to seek you out and do just that! I adore afternoon tea and this Jubilee weekend feels like such a good one for it.
Sandra
I’ve not tried the recipe, but you’ve given a great step by step tutorial for afternoon tea. Thank you!
Jane Saunders
Ah thanks so much – I adore anything related to tea – it’s my favourite drink!
Stuart McHallam
See if u cut into triangles you would had 4 sandwiches instead of 3
Jane Saunders
That’s absolutely fine to cut them how you wish.
Gerard
Brilliant. Thank you …
Jane Saunders
My pleasure – pleased you enjoyed them.
Elizabeth
I don’t eat cheese and I’m presenting afternoon tea to my family as a gift…they do eat cheese and I wanted them to feel I’d put effort into the cheese sandwiches even tho I don’t eat them. This is perfect!
Jane Saunders
So pleased you’re happy with the recipe. Enjoy your afternoon tea.
Liz
My husband and I have been having afternoon “dates” and these little tea sandwiches are perfect for a special little bite! Thanks for this tasty recipe!