Easy Homemade Pimento Cheese is quick and easy to make in less than 10 minutes. It makes a perfect spread for crackers. It can also be used to stuff burgers or as the filling in grilled cheese sandwiches.
Pimento cheese is a perfect light cheese spread to have on hand for those hot summer days when it’s too hot to cook. It can served on toast, crackers, or with raw vegetables.
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Ingredients For Easy Homemade Pimento Cheese
Classic pimento cheese is made mainly of mayonnaise, cheese, and pimento peppers. This recipe has a few other ingredients that not only add flavour but also richness to the spread.
- Mayonnaise. Pimento cheese is based on mayonnaise. It is one of the main ingredients in this spread.
- Sharp cheddar. The second main ingredient. Sharp cheddar is the best type of cheddar to use since it adds the most flavour.
- Pimento Peppers. This recipe uses jarred diced pimento peppers.
- Cream Cheese. This is not a usual ingredient in traditional pimento cheese but we like to add it because it adds to the texture and flavour.
- Garlic powder.
- Onion powder.
- Paprika.
- Cayenne pepper.
- Hot Sauce. We usually use Frank’s Red Hot.
Tips to Make This Recipe
This recipe is very easy to make and takes very little prep time.
We recommend using a stand mixer to make this spread since it is easier to mix all the ingredients evenly with the mixer. A hand mixer can also be used. I have made this recipe using a wooden spoon, which does work but takes a lot more effort than using a mixer.
We buy the pimentos already diced and drain them about 10 minutes before using them. To do this we pour them in a small strainer and allow them to sit in the strainer over a bowl until the liquid is mostly drained.
When shredding the cheese for this recipe, I like to shred some of the cheese with a zester so that there are some finer bits of cheese. The finer shredded cheese mixes in with the mayo and cream cheese for more cheese flavour.
Making this recipe a couple of hours before serving gives the flavours time to meld together.
How To Serve Pimento Cheese
Although this cheese spread is usually served on crackers, especially buttery, rich crackers, it can also be used in so many other ways.
- Burgers. Use as a topping on burgers. Or to stuff a burger
- Sandwiches. Pimento cheese makes a great grilled cheese, especially when you add strips of crisp bacon.
- Cherry Tomatoes. Fill a hollowed-out cherry tomato with pimento cheese to make an appetizer.
- Celery. Spread on a stalk of celery to make a quick snack.
- Jalapenos. Use this as a filling for jalapeno poppers.
- Charcuterie Board. Add a bowl of pimento cheese to a charcuterie board. The flavours go well with salami and olives.
How Long Does Pimento Cheese Last?
Stored in an air-tight container in the fridge, this spread will last up to 5 days.
We don’t recommend freezing this cheese spread because it alters the texture and flavour.
Easy Homemade Pimento Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 2-3 dashes of hot sauce, optional
- 4 oz diced pimentos, drained
Instructions
- Add all ingredients, except pimentos to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Using low to medium speed, mix the ingredients until fully blended, scraping sides as needed. About 3-4 minutes.
- Remove bowl from mixer, and gently fold the pimentos into the mixture with a spatula.
- Transfer to a serving dish.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate minimum one hour before serving.
