Spicy Pimento Cheese
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This old-fashioned spicy pimento cheese recipe is a delectable Southern dip or sandwich spread. But with hot sauce, cayenne pepper, and pimentos mixed with cheese and creamy mayo, it brings the heat!
Pimento cheese (pronounced puh-men-uh) is a staple in the Southeastern United States and also in the Philippines. Clearly, this speaks to the wonderful taste of those folks (love y’all!). It’s one of those things we had often growing up and sometimes you just get a hankering that nothing else will satisfy except a good old pimento cheese sandwich.
2 ways with pimento cheese
There are a couple of ways to make pimento cheese, but the main two involve sharp cheddar cheese (like this recipe) and Velveeta (click here for the Velveeta version). Both are delicious in my book.
However, at a photo shoot for Taste of the South last weekend, we had wheat crackers and a big old tub of spicy pimento cheese. It was so heavenly that I decided to come home and whip some up to show folks how to make it, just in case you didn’t know. Because not having a little spicy pimento cheese from time to time would be a crying shame.
Now, I’m warning y’all, see that spicy in the title? Yeah, this isn’t a recipe for the faint of heart. The 6 ingredients you need are sharp cheddar cheese, pimentos, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, salt, and hot sauce. But if you don’t mind a little heat, you’re going to love this hot pimento cheese recipe. Fortunately, it’s also super quick and easy to make. We basically just have to mix the ingredients together and then let it chill in the fridge for a few hours to let all those flavors mingle together.
You can serve this by storing into mac and cheese or melt it over Oven Fries. But if you keep scrolling there are lots of other serving suggestions. Whether you serve it as a homemade pimento cheese dip or sandwich spread, you’re in for a treat!
Recipe Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Cayenne pepper
- Pimentos
- Hot sauce
- Salt
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Spicy Pimento Cheese
Grate all of your sharp cheddar cheese.
Place that in a large mixing bowl alongside the drained pimentos and mayo.
Stir that up really well.
Add hot sauce to mixing bowl…
And the cayenne pepper and hot sauce.
Stir again until well blended.
Place this in an airtight container or cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap.
Then refrigerate the pimento cheese dip for several hours, or overnight, to allow flavors to marry.
Here’s our hot pimento cheese ready to serve.
There are serving suggestions below. But pimento cheese dip with raw veggie sticks or crackers is absolutely delicious!
Storage
- Store leftover homemade pimento cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
- The mayonnaise and cheese don’t freeze well so I don’t recommend freezing pimento cheese.
Recipe Notes
- I always like to point out to the folks who don’t love mayo that I don’t either, so don’t fret over it in this recipe. You really won’t taste it because the cheddar cheese, sauces, and pimentos really overshadow it. We mainly have it in there to hold it all together.
- Use your favorite hot sauce, whether that’s Sriracha or Tabasco.
- If you don’t want to use sharp cheddar cheese, regular cheddar cheese works just as well.
- For extra creaminess and cheesiness, use 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and 8 ounces of softened cream cheese instead.
- For extra flavor, add 1/4 cup of drained, diced, and chopped jalapenos.
- Another way to add flavor is to add 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, and/or black pepper.
- If this pimento cheese is too spicy, you can reduce the amount of cayenne pepper and hot sauce or omit them completely. You can even swap them for chopped fresh herbs, like parsley or chives.
Recipe FAQs
What is pimento cheese made of?
Pimento cheese is traditionally made with shredded cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and pimentos.
What does pimento cheese taste like?
Pimento cheese tastes like a spicy and creamy spreadable cheese mixture.
Why is it called pimento cheese?
Pimento cheese gets its name from the pimentos it contains. Pimiento is the Spanish word for pepper, although most spell the word without the additional “i” nowadays.
What is the difference between Palmetto Cheese and pimento cheese?
Palmetto Cheese is a brand of pimento cheese you’ll find in grocery stores.
Can you eat pimento cheese hot?
You can eat pimento cheese cold, at room temperature, or hot.
What can I substitute for pimentos in pimento cheese?
The easiest substitute for pimentos is bell peppers.
How are you supposed to eat pimento cheese?
- Enjoy a pimento cheese sandwich on plain bread or toasted bread. I recommend serving it with sliced cucumber or dill pickles, tomato, lettuce, and even a fried egg.
- Serve it as a grilled cheese sandwich or spread it on a burger.
- Serve it as pimento cheese dip with crackers, raw veggie sticks, tortilla chips, pretzels, bagel chips, or pita chips.
- Stir it into mac and cheese, melt it over fries or nachos, or whisk it into scrambled eggs.
How many days does homemade pimento cheese last?
Up to 10 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Don’t miss these recipes:
Chicken Broccoli Skillet with Pimento Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1-pound block sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 7-ounce jar drained pimentos
Instructions
- Grate your sharp cheddar cheese.1 1-pound block sharp cheddar cheese
- Place it in a large mixing bowl with the mayo and pimentos. Stir well to mix.1 cup mayonnaise, 1 7-ounce jar drained pimentos
- Add in the hot sauce, salt, and cayenne pepper and stir again until well combined.1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight.
- Serve on toasted bread, plain bread, or your favorite crackers.
Nutrition
“You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Submitted by Jackie
So I watched Food Network Star last night and one of the contestants is a southern gal from Kentucky. The competition was a burger bash and she mad a burger with pimento cheese – I thought of you 🙂
Look for Cabot’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese for this recipe. I get mine at the local Walmart, so it’s not hard to find.
These comments reminded me of my mother who started putting her homemade pimento cheese sandwiches for Stuckey’s Service Stations…back in the day (started in 1944). She also made a delicious tuna sandwich but everyday, her pimento cheese sandwiches sold out first and fast. Eventually she was having them picked up daily at the Eastman, GA store .and taken to another Stuckey’s in Unadilla GA. Sylvester Stuckey, the originator and owner of the company, ate one of mother’s pimento cheese sandwiches one day while he was visiting our home and said, “Mary, how ‘ bout selling those in the service stations?”…..wa-la… hence the story. My father was the production manager for the original candy plant in Eastman, GA
For me, Mother would allow me to have a “Coke” with mine and to this day I still think I have to have a Coke when I have a pimento cheese sandwich, I think my father would have liked it with the jalapeño peppers. I don’t ever remember Mother putting anything in her pimento cheese except mayonnaise, a little black pepper and the sharpest cheddar cheese she could find. She also put a little mayonnaise on the bread. I am definitely going to try the hot sauce and the jalapeño when I make pimento cheese again. When we went to my grandmother’s house in Macon, GA, some weekends, my mother would always make pimento cheese sandwiches for “us kids” to have for lunch on
Saturday.
Thanks for sharing your story and to all the others who wrote of their special pimento cheese memories.
Dear Sunshine,
What a sweet story. Evidently being a phenomenal cook runs in your family. I wish everyone within a hoot-n- holler of this site could taste your vegetable soup and finger-lickin’ cornbread. I treasure the seasoned to perfection skillet you gave me and all the late night raids on your refrigerator. 🙂
Sunshine,
I remember when I had made macaroni and cheese and as I was passing the bowl to you, it slipped and broke….LOL; we both screamed, “O NO!” I think if there had not been glass in it we would have probably spooned it off the floor…..just kidding. I do miss those days and nights of fun together in the kitchen. There are so many stories…some no one would believe.
Seriously you brought tears to my eyes..it’s been years since my Great Grand mom passed but your story of how you’d call her at 4am chat and have some coffee reminds me of my GG Lena and I. I grew up with her she was always around and we took care of her till her last breath..see I would sit up late at night and always fix my GG Lena or Nanna as I like to call her, a midnight snack she loved those Pizza Pockets and Grilled Cheese sandwich that you can fix in that non stick pocket machines. We sit talk stories and eat our sandwiches what a lovely thought to know that others out there sat up with their Nanna’s late and chatted the night away..
Hey Christy,
This is the best!!!! Been making this almost 50 years, but the last few times, I added 8oz of light cream cheese. Not sure that makes it taste any better, but it will last a little longer.
Sweet Christy Girl, I’m so glad you did this wonderful post on your Grandmama and her pimento cheese recipe. I can only imagine how much it blessed her heart to be honored by her precious granddaughter. God bless you and your family. Love you my sweet friend!
Christy~sometimes I’m kinda ditzy. Did you post the puh-men-tuh cheese recipe with velvetta? Maybe I missed it.
We love pimento cheese in our family. I make it all the time, but never have put hot sauce nor cayenne pepper in mine. I will definitely have to experiment with that….Please fil me in on the Velveeta one. Thanks for al you do, Girlfriend!
I made two big batches of puhmentah cheese for a baby shower recently, one spicy and one regular. I figured the spicy would be skipped over by most, but everyone, preggo mama included, cleaned that bowl. Now I plan to make the spicy every time. Thanks for sharing your version with us…and your Grandma!