Food and Recipes Dish 15 Tea Party Recipes For An Elegant Occasion From sandwiches to mini cakes, these tea party recipes will look and taste great at your next event. By Mack Swenson Mack Swenson Mack Swenson is the Southern Living apprentice for the 2023-2024 school year. She is a house plant enthusiast and budding lifestyle writer. Her passion for content creation began in early high school, and she has since been published in collegiate publications and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation magazine. She is delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Southern Living team. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on September 12, 2024 The best afternoons are spent around the table with sweet tea and good friends. For centuries, the classic tea party has served as a time to decompress and simply enjoy the moment. If you’re the tea party host, you’ll want to have a variety of dainty dishes prepared for your guests. We’ve rounded up mini sandwiches, side dishes, and delicious desserts to complement Grandma’s sweet tea recipe and bestow your party with a sense of elegance. These pretty and dainty recipes, like mini cakes with edible flowers and refreshing cucumber sandwiches, will be the talk of the tea party. Get comfy, because with these recipes and good conversation, you’ll want to stay a while. 9 Easy And Elegant Tea Sandwiches For Your Next Ladies' Luncheon 01 of 15 Mini Confetti Cakes Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Kay E. Clarke; Food Stylist: Torie Cox We promise these exquisite mini cakes are easier to make than they look. Homemade whipped cream spreads easier than frosting, and small edible blooms lend the cakes an air of elegance without much extra effort. Get The Recipe 02 of 15 Lady Pea Salad Stacy Allen, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle Not only is this recipe more delicate than a kidney bean salad, but it's also brimming with aroma from fresh herbs. Lemon dressing adds a trace of tangy freshness. Get The Recipe 03 of 15 Honeybee Cupcakes Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall These cupcakes are a prerequisite for all things sweet and lovely. Their accompanying frosting is a balance of salty, sweet, and buttery, and their presentation is even more stunning with an edible flower. Get The Recipe 04 of 15 Tomato Tea Sandwiches Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Our Test Kitchen professionals say this classic tomato sandwich is perfect for afternoon tea. They look amazing on a tier serving stand, plus they're ready in less than 30 minutes. Get The Recipe 05 of 15 Mini Meringue Kisses Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Whether you serve these cute, colorful kisses alone or as a garnish for another dessert, you and your guests will find them utterly addictive. Plus, they'll look absolutely lovely in a glass bowl in the center of your tea table. Get The Recipe 06 of 15 Tea Marbled Deviled Eggs Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Deviled eggs are the epitome of Southern appetizers. Boiled in sweet tea and spices, they pair wonderfully with tea and exude sophistication with their marbled look. Get The Recipe 07 of 15 Strawberry Cheesecake Bites Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley These adorable bites aren't really cheesecake at all. The subtly sweet mixture tastes just like cheesecake and is far easier and quicker—no baking required. As an added bonus, they require minimal cleanup. Get The Recipe 08 of 15 Mini Muffuletta Sandwiches Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis This traditional New Orleans sandwich has been described as a party in a bite. Slices into quarters, these sandwiches make a classy and delicious addition to your tea party platter. Get The Recipe 09 of 15 Tea Cakes Greg Dupree, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen Tea cakes are old-fashioned cookies made with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and, vanilla. Their crisp edges and soft centers are perfect for dipping in whatever tea you choose. Get The Recipe 10 of 15 Mini Bourbon-And-Cola Bundt Cakes Southern Living Nothing says classic like a mixture of bourbon and cola. In this recipe, we use the cocktail mix as a flavoring for delectable mini Bundt cakes. Get The Recipe 11 of 15 Mini Coconut-Key Lime Pies Stacy K. Allen; Props: Josh Hoggle; Food Stylist: Melissa Gray We didn't know it was possible a dish to be as simultaneously elegant and adorable as these mini pies. Besides providing all the tropical flavor you could desire, they make an excellent addition to the mini bundt cakes above. Get The Recipe 12 of 15 Cherry Delight Stacy K. Allen, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle Pretty meets practical in this dessert that's made for serving a crowd. Light and fluffy whipped cream combines with sour cream to balance the sweetness of the sweet cherry pie filling. Get The Recipe 13 of 15 Deviled Egg Dip Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Julia Levy, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle Move over deviled eggs, there is a new recipe in town. Give guests the best of both worlds with a dip that has that creamy, can't resist taste but that's perfect for scooping with chips or veggie sticks. Get The Recipe 14 of 15 Blueberry Crumb Cake Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle In just 30 minutes, you can make a moist crumb cake that's filled with juicy, in-season blueberries. This is a great bake-and-take recipe for any occasion. Get The Recipe 15 of 15 Cucumber Tea Sandwiches Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Want to impress at the next gathering? Serve a pile of classic cucumber tea sandwiches. This simple recipe consists of a spread of herbed cream cheese and sliced cucumbers in between thin slices of white bread. Get The Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit