Pimento Cheese

in Appetizers, Condiments, Sandwich & Wraps

Pimento Cheese

Growing up, my mom adored Pimento Cheese sandwiches. And as a kid who saw nothing more than a scary bowl of nuclear orange spread, I couldn’t get passed the word Pimento. Yet I could knock back a bag of dye- and preservative-laden fried chip-puff thingies, no questions asked. She’d slather a big spoonful on a slice of soft white bread, fold it in half, and grab a soda. I’m pretty sure that was her version of my chips & queso and a margarita lunch 🙂

When it was time for our church’s dinner on the grounds, mom always made a towering plate of Pimento Cheese sandwiches, crusts removed and cut into 4 dainty triangles. Pimento cheese sandwiches and enchiladas, those were her potluck specialties.

The store-bought variety is loaded with a lot of… stuff. It’s incredibly easy to make your own at home and skip on the the filler and preservatives. It’s essentially grated cheddar cheese (I use a mix of sharp cheddar and horseradish white cheddar for a kick), roasted red pepper, garlic, salt, and a dash of Worcestershire held together with as little mayo as possible. A food processor makes quick work of it but a cheese grater and a fork are just as effective.

Homemade Pimento Cheese

There’s almost nothing you can do with Pimento Cheese that will ever top slathering it on a slice of soft, smooshy off-the-shelf white sandwich bread. That doesn’t mean we can’t try. We eat it with crackers and baked pita chips. With toasted bread rounds. And on hamburgers with a fried green tomato slice. We call it “The Southern.” And as you’d imagine, we don’t have that one very often.

Side note: Yes, we have names for every burger combo that we’ve ever eaten. It’s probably a little weird.

Some other ideas and ways to make and eat Pimento Cheese:
Pimento Cheese, by Pink Parsley
Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs, by Branny Boils Over
Pimento Cheese Fritters, by Pink Parsley
Baked Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese Dip, by Pink Parsley

Do you see a pattern? I think Josie might be the only person on earth who loves Pimento Cheese more than me 🙂

Pimento Cheese

The southern favorite gets a kick with horseradish white cheddar.

Ingredients

  • 4 oz sharp cheddar
  • 4 oz white horseradish cheddar
  • Dash of Worcestershire
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 roasted red bell pepper, torn into 3-4 pieces
  • 1/4-1/3 cup light mayo

Instructions

  1. If using a food processor, use the blade to shred the cheese.
  2. Remove a handful of cheese from the bowl and set aside.
  3. Switch to the chopper blade and add the garlic clove, 1/4 cup of mayo, a dash of Worcestershire, the red pepper, a pinch of salt and pepper and process 8-10 seconds.
  4. Return the shredded cheese to the bowl and pulse 1-2 times.
  5. Store in the fridge, will keep a week plus.
  6. If not using a food processor, grate the cheese and finely mince the garlic.
  7. Stir the minced garlic, Worcestershire, and mayo together with a pinch of salt and pepper.
  8. Finely dice the roasted red pepper and add it to the bowl along with the cheese.
  9. Stir until thoroughly combined and then take fork and mash the cheese until you reach desired consistency.

Notes

Yields: ~1 1/2 cups

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 15 minutes

16 comments… add one
  • I love the sweetness of the roasted red bell peppers, so I can imagine how delicious this must be when combined with the cheese!

  • I LOVE pimento cheese! I haven’t tried making it myself though…I can now!

  • I have never had pimento cheese, I think I need to change that stat!

  • Bethany in Boone

    I had a hankering for pimento cheese last weekend. One so bad I had to make two batches. We put it on bratwurst. It was devine!

  • oh dear we are sisters from a different Momma. My Mom was a Hoosier and yep they did the same thing there. I so remember the picture of little Miss Sunbeam looking so perky on the bread wrapper.
    But with all that said I am still a pimento cheese lover and yes I just add plain old horseradish. Oh and once I didn’t have enough mayo so I used mayo and sour cream.

  • This would be a fun party item! I love bringing spreads and dips to gatherings!

  • Oh, how I adore pimento cheese, especially when it’s pimento cheese mac and cheese or grilled pimento cheese sandwich. Yum…

  • Yum. Love pimento cheese made at home. I’m sure the horseradish cheddar is insanely good in it too, a nice bite!

  • Emily

    The best pimento cheese I’ve ever had is here in Atlanta at The Varsity. I don’t think they do anything special to it or add any secret ingredients. It’s so good because they melt it. Mmmmmmm.

  • We just don’t seem to do pimento cheese this far up North. It looks really interesting though! Chips, queso and a margarita sounds like a tasty lunch to me!

  • coming from the northeast, I kind of feel like I’ve been deprived of somethign really delicious for my entire life. I need to make up for lost time. Obviously.

  • mmmmm pimento cheese…. I love that you use half horseradish cheddar. And believe it or not, i have a block in my fridge as we speak. I think I know what I’m taking to my mother-in-law’s for Easter. Also, i have another pimento cheese recipe to share next week. Color me obsessed 🙂

  • Thank you for featuring my recipe! It should be noted that I made those deviled eggs ‘for’ Josie, too!

  • katie

    The recipe looks great, especially with the white cheddar, but how much pimento do you put in it?

  • Cyndi

    I still love those little soft triangles, at church! Thanks for taking the time to document our little slice of heaven known as Houston. I have travelled all of the state as a professional cater and each of our states have thier own signature specialty’s. I currently live in the home of chicken spaghetti , east Texas but Houston will always be my home.

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