15 Cucumber Appetizers for Spring Entertaining

Coco Morante
Coco Morante
Coco is a recipe developer for The Kitchn. For more recipes, visit her blog, Lefty Spoon. A self-taught cook and classically-trained soprano, she writes and sings in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her husband and their beagle.
updated May 2, 2019
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Ah, the humble cucumber. This ubiquitous and versatile vegetable has so much going for it — its mild flavor, no-cook convenience, and refreshing crisp texture make it a go-to for so many appetizers. Here are some of our favorite cuke ideas for your spring and summer gatherings.

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Fill ‘Em Up: 5 Cucumber Cups

  • Soy and sesame-doused soba noodles nestled in cucumber cups, topped with a sprinkle of thinly-sliced scallions. These two-bite appetizers hold together surprisingly well, thanks to the soba noodles’ rough texture.
  • Channel your inner Martha Stewart and make these Salmon-Mousse Cucumbers Cups by, you guessed it, Martha Stewart. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can use the leftover cucumber peels to make a beautiful woven mat while you’re at it!
  • Jackie’s Cucumber Cups with skinny artichoke dip use Greek yogurt in place of the usual cream cheese.
  • While we’d rather not look at another boring bowl of spinach dip, we’d happily gobble up Allen’s pretty cucumber cups filled with the stuff. It’s always nice to see a classic with a new spin!
  • Make your cucumber cups twice as tall and they magically become edible shot glasses, perfect for filling with a chilled soup. This Spicy Smoked Gazpacho from Viking is sitting pretty — a vichyssoise would be perfect like this, too.

More Cucumber Recipes from The Kitchn