Spicy Southern Pimento Cheese

I grew up eating pimento cheese. My mom–all the moms in the neighborhood went through a phase–even used to make it in their shiny new food processor. I’ve jazzed up this particular pimento cheese recipe to make it a little bit spicy and a little bit smoky. And a whole lot of delicious!

For us, it’s a must-make whenever we go on vacation or are at home and need a little smackerel. Need other beach smackerels? Mac & cheese is always welcome vacation food.

For ease of browsing, you can find all my appetizer recipes in one place. Thanks so much for visiting!

Delish! Definitely a crowd pleaser! Thanks[!]

Reader Karly

Pimento Cheese, At a Glance

✅Skill Level: Beginner
✅Skills: Shredding Cheese, Mincing/Dicing, Mixing
✅Type: Shaped Cookies
✅Number of Ingredients: 9, and variations are almost endless
✅Prep Time: 10 minutes
✅Chill Time: at least 4 hours, but you can really eat it immediately if you’re hungry
✅Yield: about 16 servings

Jump Straight to the Recipe

Beach Snacks!

This Pimento cheese recipe has become a preferred snack whenever we visit The Outer Banks in NC.

It’s easy to make, and it’s easy to make a ton of it.

Plus it doesn’t require any special equipment except for maybe a cheese grater.

Since it requires so little equipment, it’s easy to make almost anywhere you go on vacation, especially if you’re renting a cabin or house that has a reasonably well-stocked kitchen.

How to Make This Pimento Cheese Recipe

Here are the ingredients I used to make my pimento cheese–note I rarely make it the same way, but this is a solidly excellent spicy version.

If you like yours less spicy, I’ll offer substitutions.

• Extra-sharp cheddar: If you don’t love super-sharp cheese, use regular sharp or medium
• Habanero cheddar: For less spice, use more cheddar, Colby jack, regular Monterrey jack, or pepper jack which is much milder than habanero cheddar
• Mayonnaise: I love Duke’s. Use your favorite mayo
• Diced pimentos: Also more correctly spelled “pimiento,” the little glass jars full of small red bits are ubiquitous in the south. If you can’t find them, get a jar of roasted red peppers or fire-roasted red peppers and chop them up
• Diced pickled jalapenos: If you don’t want yours spicy, substitute with more pimento. Chopped pepperoncini would also make a lovely substitution
• Juice from pickled jalapeno: For a less spicy option, use apple cider vinegar. You could also use sweet pickle juice
• Hot honey: You only need a couple of teaspoons to balance the sauce. Sub plain honey, brown sugar, or granulated sugar for a less spicy version
• Ground chipotle or ancho pepper: Omit entirely for less spice, or take the opportunity to add a different flavor by substituting any mixture of garlic powder, Old Bay, celery seed or seasoned salt that you like
• salt: If you use a seasoning salt (above), you may not need the salt, so mix everything together and then taste before adding salt if you think it needs it

Procedure

Y’all, this is an easy recipe to make.

Grate your cheese, either with a box grater or using the shredding disc on a food processor.

Dump the cheese into a large bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir well to combine.

Refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors mingle. Stir again before serving.

Is There One Right Way to Make?

There really isn’t. At its most basic, you can make pimento cheese with shredded cheese, mayo, and diced pimentos, but from there, the sky is the limit.

Even though there really is no one way to make this classic southern spread (or dip), I think this version is pretty excellent.

Regardless, here are some ideas for additions you might enjoy:

What Else Can I Put in My Pimento Cheese?

• Crumbled bacon (or try swirling in some spicy bacon jam)
• Prepared horseradish
• Celery seed (one of my favorite additions)
• Cream cheese (mixed with some mayonnaise for a super creamy version) Cream cheese also makes it “moldable” as you’ll see in my pimento cheese spread recipe for Halloween.
• Mustard powder (just a touch for me, but you do you)
• Spice blends such as Old Bay or Tony Chachere’s
• Hot sauce (Tabasco, sriracha, etc)
• Garlic powder, onion powder, etc.
• Sweet pickle juice or a little bit of sugar
• Liquid Smoke

Add everything to taste.

The beauty of this traditional Southern specialty is that you can add everything to taste.

Don’t like an ingredient? Leave it out. Really like an ingredient? Add extra.

…[C]oming from the south, pimento cheese is almost as much a staple as iced tea, and this recipe was a hit…Friends were standing around the bowl and would not move…more territorial than hummingbirds….

Reader ZaZa

What is the Best Mayonnaise for Making Pimento Cheese?

This might be a controversial response to this question, but use your favorite mayonnaise.

If you grew up on Duke’s, use it. Ditto for Hellman’s. Use your favorite.

Personally, I’m on Team Duke’s but I won’t fight you over the type of mayo you use.

Tips and Tricks

There aren’t a ton of tricks to making pimento cheese, but here are a couple to help you get the best results.

Grate the cheese cold, straight from the fridge. Room temperature cheese is too soft and will be hard to grate.

Don’t stress. This is a very forgiving recipe, and I rarely even measure when I make it. At its most basic, pimento cheese is just grated cheese, diced pimento, and mayo, so the rest is really all about your own preferences. Have fun and put your own spin on it!

Serving Suggestions

Let me count the ways you can eat this goodness!

So far with this batch, we’ve enjoyed it alone on crackers and then as a topping for a fried egg on one of my whole wheat English Muffins. Both ways? Excellent!

Here are some more ideas:

• Spread on a sandwich
• Scooped up with Ritz crackers (or spread on Ritz if you’re fancy)
• Heaped onto a juicy burger or smashed burger
• Heated up under the broiler as a hot dip
• Scooped up with tortilla chips
• Stuffed inside arancini like these Pimento Cheese Stuffed Grits Arancini
• Mix some with hard-boiled egg yolks to make pimento cheese deviled eggs
• Spread onto celery sticks. Be fancy and alternate ants on a log with cheesy-stuffed celery sticks!

Questions?

If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.

Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.

If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.

Love My Pimento Cheese Recipe? Please Be Sure to Rate It!

Really easy and straightforward. I think you’ll like it!

Enjoy this spicy pimento cheese recipe, friends.

Thanks for spending some time with me today.

Take care, y’all.