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    Home » Recipes » Graduation

    Graduation Party Appetizers - Grad Cap Sandwich

    Modified: Sep 3, '23 · Published: May 11, '17 · By: Beth Klosterboer · Commission earned on paid or sponsored links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Create fun grad cap sandwiches to celebrate your child's graduation. These festive graduation party appetizers are simple to make and will wow your guests and graduates.

    Graduation Sandwich

    Whether your child is graduating from kindergarten, high school, or college, they are sure to smile when they are served one of these cute grad cap sandwiches. These sandwiches would make great appetizers for a graduation party but would also make a fun school lunch or after-school snack for your graduate.

    To make my sandwiches I started with 2 slices of whole-grain bread.

    I topped the bread with some light veggie cream cheese and oven-roasted turkey slices to make a wholesome sandwich that I'd be happy to serve to party guests or to a child for lunch.

    graduation cap sandwich

    Imagine how excited your kindergarten graduate would be to find this lunch waiting on the kitchen table on the last day of school or at a graduation celebration. If your child doesn't love the toppings that I used, the sandwich could easily be made using their favorite flavored cream cheese and lunch meat or any variety of nut butter and jelly or chocolate spread.

    Making the sandwich is pretty easy, but it took me a while to figure out how to make it work just right so follow the step-by-step instructions in the recipe. Here's a visual guide to help you, as well.

    Ingredients

    whole-grain bread
    veggie cream cheese
    thin cut oven roasted turkey
    string cheese or white cheese slices

    Supplies

    cutting board
    knife
    rolling pin
    ¾-inch round cookie cutter

    Instructions

    how to make a grad cap sandwich
    Graduation Party Appetizers - how to make grad cap sandwiches.
    1. Cut off and discard the crust from one slice of bread.
    2. Use a rolling pin to flatten the bread.
    3. Cut the bread into 3 equal size rectangles, trimming them to make them all the same width (about an inch).
    4. Spread a thin layer of light veggie cream cheese over all three of the rectangles.
    5. Overlap two of the short ends, sticking the two rectangles together.
    6. Cut turkey slices the same size as the rectangles and set them on top of the two attached rectangles.
    7. Starting at one short end, roll up the turkey & cream cheese topped bread into a spiral.
    8. Press the remaining rectangle over the seam.
    9. The bread will not completely wrap around the bread, but the seam will be covered and the spiral will stay in place.
    10. Set the sandwich spiral on the counter so the spiral shows on top then spread a thick layer of veggie cream cheese over top.
    11. Cut a small ¾ inch circle and a large 2 ½ inch square out of the second slice of bread.
    12. Press the square on top of the spiral.
    13. Cut very thin strips of string cheese or white cheese and attach them to the middle of the square using a dab of the cream cheese.
    14. Allow the cheese to dangle over the edge of the square bread crating the grad cap's tassels.
    15. Cut the end of the cheese tassels so they don't touch the counter.
    16. Flatten the circle a bit so that it's not too tall and spread some cream cheese on one side.
    17. Flip it over and press it down over in the middle of the square so that it covers the ends of the cheese strips.

    Tips

    If you are making these Graduation Party Appetizers for a crowd you can make them before your guests arrive place them in an airtight container and then refrigerate them for up to a few hours before serving.

    If you make your grad cap sandwiches with peanut butter and jelly then they can sit on the counter for several hours. If you don't want to use the cheese to make the tassels on the cap for the PB&J version, you can cut strips of fruit leather to use instead. The tassels will have some color which could look really cute.

    Related Recipes

    If you like these fun grad cap sandwiches, you might also like these other Graduation-themed recipes.

    graduation chocolates

    Graduation Chocolates

    Grad cap cookies filled with mini M&M's.

    Grad Cap Cookies

    grad cap cookies

    Graduation Cookies

    Recipe

    graduation party appetizer grad cap sandwich.
    Print
    Graduation Party Appetizers - Grad Cap Sandwich
    Prep Time
    10 mins
    Total Time
    10 mins
     
    Cut out bread to create a graduation cap sandwich filled with veggie cream cheese and turkey.
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: graduation cap, graduation sandwich
    Servings: 1
    Author: Beth Klosterboer
    Ingredients
    PER SANDWICH
    • 2 slices whole-grain bread
    • 1-2 tablespoons light veggie cream cheese
    • 1-2 slices thin cut oven roasted turkey
    • 5 thin strips of white cheese from string cheese or white cheese slices
    Instructions
    1. Cut off and discard the crust from one slice of bread.
    2. Use a rolling pin to flatten the bread.
    3. Cut the bread into 3 equal size rectangles, trimming them to make them all the same width (about an inch).
    4. Spread a thin layer of light veggie cream cheese over all three of the rectangles.
    5. Overlap two of the short ends, sticking the two rectangles together.
    6. Cut turkey slices the same size as the rectangles and set them on top of the two attached rectangles.
    7. Starting at one short end, roll up the turkey & cream cheese topped bread into a spiral.
    8. Press the remaining rectangle over the seam.
    9. The bread will not completely wrap around the bread, but the seam will be covered and the spiral will stay in place.
    10. Set the sandwich spiral on the counter so the spiral shows on top then spread a thick layer of veggie cream cheese over top.
    11. Cut a small ¾ inch circle and a large 2 ½ inch square out of the second slice of bread.
    12. Press the square on top of the spiral.
    13. Cut very thin strips of string cheese or white cheese and attach them to the middle of the square using a dab of the cream cheese.
    14. Allow the cheese to dangle over the edge of the square bread crating the grad cap's tassels.
    15. Cut the end of the cheese tassels so they don't touch the counter.
    16. Flatten the circle a bit so that it's not too tall and spread some cream cheese on one side.
    17. Flip it over and press it down over in the middle of the square so that it covers the ends of the cheese strips.
    Recipe Notes

    These sandwiches should be eaten the day they are made and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. 

    • Author
    • Recent Posts
    Beth Klosterboer
    Beth Klosterboer
    Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com
    Beth Klosterboer
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    1. The Partiologist says

      May 14, 2017 at 8:41 am

      What a fun idea, can you even imagine what the guests would say when they find out they're a sandwich?

      Reply
      • Beth says

        May 17, 2017 at 11:34 am

        Thanks! 🙂

        Reply
    Beth Jackson Klosterboer

    Welcome to Hungry Happenings!

    I'm Beth. I've been a professional chocolatier & baker for over 30 years, have written 5 cookbooks, and love creating fun food for holidays and special occasions.

    Read more about me →

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