Name: Southern Pimento Cheese Recipe (with a Spicy Kick)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 4 h 10 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded; 1/2 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded; 1 1/2-2 cups Mayonnaise, (preferably Duke's); 1/2 cup diced red pimento, (jarred is fine); 1/2 cup spicy pepper relish, (such as Get Me a Switch, optional); 1/4 cup diced pickled jalapeno peppers, (or to taste); 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or liquid from the jalapeno pepper jar; 2 teaspoons brown sugar; 1 teaspoon chipotle powder; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

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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. For more things to do with pimento cheese, consider making these pimento cheese-stuffed grits balls or this pimento cheese pasta recipe.

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

Spicy smoked pimento cheese spread in a blue bowl with rectangular pita crackers.

Watch my pimento cheese recipe web story here.

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Pimento Cheese at The Beach

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.

Is There One Right Way to Make Pimento Cheese?

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 pimento cheese spread, 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?

Close up of a blue bowl of spicy smoked pimento cheese spread with a metal spoon ready for serving.

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)
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.

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.

This time, I decided to spice and smoke things up a bit, so this recipe for pimento cheese is actually a smoky, spicy pimento cheese.

So far, 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!

Spicy smoky pimento cheese on egg sandwiches made on English muffins.

You can even use it as the base for one of the easiest Southern mac and cheese recipes ever, pimento cheese pasta.

Do give this spicy, smoky twist on pimento cheese a try. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as we did!

Can You Make Vegan Pimento Cheese?

Let me preface this by saying that I never have, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t.

If you’re vegan, use shredded vegan cheese and Just Mayo, which is made without eggs.

How To Serve Pimento Cheese

Let me count the ways!

Spread on a sandwich
Scooped up with Ritz crackers (or spread on Ritz if you’re fancy)
As a burger topping
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

If you have questions about this post or recipe, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can leave a comment on the post and I will get back to you within about 24 hours.

If your question is more urgent, please shoot me an email, and I will respond within 4 hours, unless I’m asleep.

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Southern Pimento Cheese Recipe (with a Spicy Kick)

Yield: 16 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Chill Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes

This pimento cheese recipe puts a zingy twist on a southern classic. If you're looking for a pimento cheese recipe with a bit of a kick, you've found it here!

Ingredients

1 pound sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 1/2-2 cups Mayonnaise, (preferably Duke's)
1/2 cup diced red pimento, (jarred is fine)
1/2 cup spicy pepper relish, (such as Get Me a Switch, optional)
1/4 cup diced pickled jalapeno peppers, (or to taste)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or liquid from the jalapeno pepper jar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and stir well until completely combined.
You can eat it immediately, but it is better if you let it sit in the fridge for at least a few hours to let the flavors blend.
Enjoy!

Notes

Variations--Add any to taste

Crumbled bacon
Prepared horseradish
Celery seed (one of my favorite additions)
Cream cheese (mixed with some mayonnaise for a super creamy version)
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

There's really no wrong way to make pimento cheese, so make it with the ingredients you enjoy!

Nutritional information is based on 16 servings of about 2 ounces. Know that I can easily eat four times that much without blinking. Use your power wisely!

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