A southern specialty for my favorite midwesterner
Until I met my fella, I had pretty much lived my whole life without Pimento Cheese. Though I had a vague idea what it was, it wasn't a regular guest in our house growing up. So, I assumed his adoration with the dish was a "charming midwest thing" - a category where I organize the things he loves or grew up with that I don't really understand.
Once I finally tried it, I realized I had definitely been missing out and because my charming midwest fella puts up with my teasing, I decided to develop this Pimento Cheese recipe for him. In actuality, Pimento Cheese is actually a southern specialty, with a pretty traditional base of cheese, mayo, and pimentos blended together, with additional ingredients added to your taste. I like to give ours a small kick with a tiny bit of cayenne pepper, but if you prefer yours on the mild side, it's super tasty without.
Pimento Cheese in 5
This Pimento Cheese is awesome eaten as a classic dip with low-carb veggies and parmesan crisps or used as a spread for sandwiches or burgers. The best part? This labor of love takes a whopping 5 minutes or less in your food processor.
A note for special diets
This Pimento Cheese is gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and friendly for Keto diets. If you chose to use a lactose-free cream cheese in this recipe, it is also friendly for SIBO and Low-FODMAP diets.
Pimento Cheese (a 5-minute labor of love)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: approx 5 ¼ cups 1x
- Category: Appetizers & Bites
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Pimento Cheese is a southern specialty with a base of cheese, mayo, and pimentos blended together, with additional ingredients added to your taste. I like to give ours a small kick with a tiny bit of cayenne pepper, but if you prefer yours on the mild side, it's super tasty without.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese (I like to use this lactose-free version but you don't have to)
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 tbsp mayo
- ¼ c diced pimentos
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne (omit for a milder mix)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until well-incorporated. I like to leave mine a little chunky, so I am careful not to over-blend.
- Store in a covered glass dish in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cheese will soften slightly after a few minutes at room temp, making it perfectly spreadable.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 97
- Sodium: 134 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 27 mg
Keywords: cheese, pimentos
I've lived in the South for most of my life and have yet to make my own pimento - that needs to change eh?!
Definitely! It sounds like you've found your next southern recipe to try!
Ohhhh now this is my kind of dip for real!!! YUMMY!!
★★★★★
I am pretty much all about anything involving cheese:)
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Me too! Cheese is the best!
Pimento Cheese is one of our go to's during fall. Love your recipe.
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What a great way to ring in the fall months!
First of all, I LOVE the title to your recipe. 🙂 Very cute. I also love pimentos! My grandmother always had dozens of cans of them in her pantry and used them all the time in her cooking. Now I do the same. The dip sounds delish!
★★★★★
Yum! Sounds like your grandmother was a great cook!
I love how the cheese got such a pretty color from the pimento. This would make a perfect picnic food for us in the coming weeks. I love such food that you don't have to work hard all the time. Sounds yum.
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I didn't know what pimento cheese was either until a friend from the south always made it for our gatherings. It's so good! I'll have to try it with dairy free cream cheese too. Yum!
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What a pretty color. It looks like it could be the whole party!! I've tasted pimento cheese spread but I've never tasted a homemade version. From what I've seen of the ingredients -- the homemade would be out of this world. Will have to give it a try.
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Homemade is almost always better, in my opinion. I hope you give it a try!
This sounds so tasty! I will have to try it out!
Well this is a win win ... love cheese, spreads and appetizers and a bonus is that its easy too!
I will always be a fan of an easy recipe! Love how it can be made for 5 minutes only.
My dad loves this stuff, though he's from Illinois... I wonder what's the connection there?!
My fella is from Illinois as well. There must definitely be something going on there!
Mmmm, pimento cheese is definitely one of my favorites and a staple at every midwest gathering! LOL. Love the simplicity and quickness of this recipe!
A healthy perfect snack! I love cucumbers, even my kids love it too!
I can't believe how doable this is! I loooooove cheese too 🙂
So excited to try this! It looks super simple and extra yummy! I might score some extra brownie points with the hubby when I make this!
I'm not a fan of pimento cheese, but my hubby will be all over this! I love the cream cheese idea.
★★★★★
I love quick and easy recipes like this. My hubby would love this for our next date night in!
This looks so good! I'm definitely going to make it next time I need a dip!
wow this looks so easy an yummyyyy to make. I can't wait to try this recipe out one day