Ready, set, grate!
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 32 servings
Yield: 2 cups
Pimiento cheese is an important and much-loved southern food, and it's super easy to prepare. Serve it as an appetizer with grilled bread or crackers or use it to fill sandwiches or celery sticks. It makes a fabulous topping for grilled burgers, too.
According to Chattanooga’s Public House (where they make a delicious pimiento cheese appetizer plate) pimiento cheese spread can be traced back to the early 20th century. These days, every southern family has their own version, and no two are the same.
What Ingredients Are in Pimiento Cheese?
The basic recipe is just shredded cheddar cheese, jarred pimiento peppers, and mayonnaise. I use a little cream cheese for a thicker consistency and some simple seasonings to punch up the flavor.
Pimiento cheese can be made a little chunkier with chopped dill pickle, pickled jalapeño peppers, or grated onion, or you can leave it smooth and creamy. Some make it with no cream cheese—just the mayonnaise.
What is a Pimiento?
The pimiento is a large sweet red pepper. The peppers are heart-shaped and they're sweeter than a sweet red bell pepper. Paprika is made from pimientos. You'll likely find pimientos in jars in the vegetable aisle of your local supermarket. If you can't find them, roasted red bell peppers can be used in a pinch, or roast your own red bell peppers (see instructions below).
How to Roast Fresh Pimiento Peppers or Red Bell Peppers
- Preheat the oven to 500 F.
- Place bell peppers on a baking pan and place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, turning frequently to char all sides. The skins should be charred and wrinkled.
- Remove the peppers from the oven and cover the pan tightly with foil. Let stand for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until the peppers are cool enough to handle.
- Quarter the peppers and remove stem, peels, and seeds.
- Chop the peppers and use in the recipe or put them in a container, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, and cover the container. Refrigerate the peppers for up to two weeks.
Tips for Making Pimiento Cheese
- Shred your own—It’s tempting to use pre-shredded cheese to save time, but this is one of those situations where shredding your own cheese makes a huge difference. For starters, the best cheddar cheeses will be sold in block form. Further, most pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents that will cause your pimiento cheese to be grainy and dry.
- Mayo makes the difference—The kind of mayonnaise you use matters. Many southerners swear by Duke’s, so use that if you can find it. Otherwise, Hellman’s (Best Foods on the West Coast) or Kewpie mayo are great.
- Is this your first time?—If you’ve never had pimiento cheese before, make it just as the recipe says so you have an idea of what a classic version is like. After that, you can create your own version.
Ingredients
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8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
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3 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
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1/3 cup mayonnaise
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1 tablespoon grated onion
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1 dash hot sauce, Texas Pete, Frank's, Tabasco, etc.
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4 ounces pimientos, drained and chopped
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Salt, to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Add the shredded cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and grated onion, if using, along with the hot sauce. Mix with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula until well combined.
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Add the drained and chopped pimientos and continue mixing until well blended. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
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Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to one week.
How To Store
Refrigerate pimiento cheese in an airtight container for up to one week. Pimiento cheese does not freeze well.
Feeling Adventurous? Try This:
- Add pickles—Add a few tablespoons of chopped pickled jalapeño peppers or chopped dill pickle to the cheese mixture.
- Use other peppers—Substitute diced roasted red bell peppers for the pimientos.
- Gimme garlic—Add a dash of garlic powder or some roasted garlic to the mixture.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 32 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 51 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 5g | 6% |
| Saturated Fat 2g | 10% |
| Cholesterol 10mg | 3% |
| Sodium 76mg | 3% |
| Total Carbohydrate 1g | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% |
| Total Sugars 0g | |
| Protein 2g | |
| Vitamin C 3mg | 16% |
| Calcium 53mg | 4% |
| Iron 0mg | 0% |
| Potassium 18mg | 0% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
