Pimento Cheese Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated Mar. 21, 2019
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Do we really need a spread that's primarily cheese and mayonnaise? In the case of pimento cheese, the answer is yes. My Texan wife turned me onto this Southern classic, which is simply a mixture of grated sharp cheddar, mayo, pimentos, cayenne, and hot sauce. There are variations on this, but the most simple form is our favorite.

The pimentos go a long way in defining the flavor against the cheesy, creamy base. The cayenne and hot sauce add a little heat as a secondary bite after the sharpness of the cheddar.

It does not help my health that this is delicious on so many things—sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, crackers, and celery just to name a few—but it's hard to resist not eating it all the time whenever we have a batch sitting in the fridge.

Recipe Details

Pimento Cheese Recipe

Active 15 mins
Total 15 mins
Serves 10 to 12 servings
Makes 3 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated

  • 1 cup mayonnaise

  • One 7-ounce jar pimentos, drained and finely diced

  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl mix together cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, hot sauce, and cayenne. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
138 Calories
15g Fat
1g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 138
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 3g 13%
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 134mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 1g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 14mg 71%
Calcium 19mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 34mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)