Best Pimento Cheese

Y’all. Say hello to my little friend. This, my favorite dip of all time, is my very simple, utterly straight-forward recipe for (what I think is the very) best pimento cheese. It’s stripped down to the essentials of what makes this stuff so stinking good: nothing more, nothing less. There are a million and one different ways to wield a pimento cheese, and this one happens to be mine.

Serve it at a big party or a party of one. Serve it with Fritos (yay!) or even celery (yuck!) – do whatever you want! But do give this one a try. I think you’ll love it as much as my family does. It’s so flavorful, and it’s nearly impossible to screw up. So, there’s always that. Read on for so much info about Southern pimento cheese (probably more than you want), or just jump on ahead to the recipe itself.

What is the best cheese for pimento cheese?

This one’s easy guys. I am usually pretty flexible when it comes to ingredients and I don’t love being bossy and demanding and whatnot. But. I feel very strongly about this particular question/issue and the answer is clear as day:

EXTRA SHARP CHEDDAR.

Full stop. End quote. Aaaaand scene. It’s the cheese that makes the recipe, y’all. It’s the truth of it. If you don’t use the sharpest, best quality cheddar you can find, then you’re going to feel like your recipe is missing something. 

Can I use pre-shredded cheese for pimento cheese?

No. I’m sorry, but absolutely not. Fresh is almost always best, just in general cooking terms, and the difference between what you’d taste when using a pre-shredded cheddar and a great block of fresh, high-quality cheese that you’ve taken care to shred yourself is like night and day.

I’m not asking you to break the bank on the cheese here, but I do think this is a nice time to try a little bit nicer cheese – maybe a mid-tier brand/variety if that makes sense?

Here are a few that I’ve used and enjoyed:

Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar

Tillamook Garlic Chili Cheddar (for a little kick, without having to add another ingredient)

Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar

Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Cheddar

Should pimento cheese have cream cheese?

This is a pretty frequently asked question, so far as the preparation of classic Southern pimento cheese goes. And to me, claiming that anything “should” have one thing or another is kind of silly. Sure, many recipes for pimento cheese do call for cream cheese. The Lee Brothers’ recipe does, and it’s really wonderful.  

But my recipe, as you will notice upon making it, does not have a lick of cream cheese anywhere in sight. This isn’t because I have anything against cream cheese – I love it. 

Remember when I based a whole cake around my love for it? Or, how I seem to not be able to stop making burnt (intentionally!) Basque-style cheesecakes that are loaded with cream cheese. I also stuff cakes with it, and use it as a way to make the best pie crust. 

Anyway, I’m not knocking cream cheese by very conspicuously leaving it out of my recipe for pimento cheese. No, I’m not doing that. Mostly, I’m just a fan of less-is-more kind of things and I try to approach the recipes on this site with a minimalist’s touch. So, if something doesn’t need it, I won’t ask you to buy it. (and buy “it” I mean really anything – the figurative “it.”)

Trust me – pimento cheese really doesn’t need it. This is the version my family has been gobbling up for decades and it’s so so good. We need not mess things up by introducing cream cheese into the mix. 

When to use Cream Cheese in Pimento Cheese

Okay, that all said, there is one time when I do think that adding cream cheese to your pimento cheese is actually a really great idea – necessary, I might go so far as to say. If you are planning to use your pimento cheese on a sandwich that is going to be heated, then cream cheese is a great add.

Burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches that are going to see heat of any sort will be all the better for a delicious mountain of pimento cheese piled on top. And the cheese will be all the better for the incorporation of some creamy, luscious cream cheese – “melty” being the operative word. 

Cream cheese really does melt beautifully, and I find it to be a really nice addition to any spread that is going to adorn a hot sandwich. Do you HAVE to use it? Nope. But it’s a nice thing in these sorts of situations. 

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Is it pimiento or pimento?

The Spanish spelling of the word would be pimiento – and this is what you’ll find studding the centers of so many salty, briny olives. Pimiento … 

But, as has been the case with countless words in the Americanized sector of the English language, the word “pimiento” was changed to “pimento.” Or, at least its spelling was. Assumedly, this was a reflection of the way it was pronounced, accents and twangs and inflections carrying the word along and away from its original self. 

This sort of thing happens all the time, both with food and with language, and it’s one thing I find so especially intriguing (and actually kind of charming) about the history of pimento cheese.

How long can you keep homemade pimento cheese?

Homemade pimento cheese will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for about a week – maybe 5 days. Any longer than that and I’d start to wonder. I’ve never had it last in my house for longer than two days, but that’s because we eat it before it ever has the chance to actually go bad. 

What a silly thought. 

Is pimento cheese Southern? 

So, I usually say that the answer to this question is kind of a “yes,” and a “no.” Pimento cheese is so beloved and so widely associated with Southern food culture at this point, that I do think that qualifies it as Southern. That said, it was not actually created in the South.

No, pimento cheese was actually “invented” in New York and has all sorts of close ties with the Philadelphia cream cheese brand (before it was even called that). This is another reason why you so often see it made with cream cheese.

So anyway, the full history of pimento cheese is kind of outside the scope of this post’s intentions. But I do think it’s important to note that it wasn’t born in the South.

The history of pimento cheese (quick version)

So, seeing as how I’ve just mentioned that pimento cheese wasn’t created in the South – it was born in New York – it actually gained quite a bit of popularity in the South, and it’s the pimentos that we have to thank for it. Thanks to some pepper farms in Georgia, the making and popularity of pimento cheese took off, due to the availability of the red peppers (pimentos).

So, while it was created up North, it was actually through the help of some Southern women cooks that the beloved dip really grew wings and flew all across the Southern United States. So, that’s usually how I explain it (I’ve been asked this more than you’d think, as I published my recipe for this in my first cookbook). I am no food historian, and you can find a much more in depth breakdown of the history of pimento cheese in this article.

Is pimento spread the same as pimento cheese?

Oh no no no. The tubs of stuff you see labeled as “pimento spread” in the store are almost like a different food group than what you’ll be eating once you whip up the recipe I’m sharing in this post. These “spreads” are usually more creamy and contains lots of fillers. They’re also usually on the sweeter side, which is fine for a quick tea sandwich, sure. But I’ll take the freshly made, small batch, salty, punchy kind every time.

What you’ll need to make this:

There are so many iterations of pimento cheese all across the South. Everyone seems to have their own little spin on the same core concept. Again, I don’t use cream cheese in mine as I don’t find it necessary. But it’s still really great. You could use a shallot and leave out the garlic. You could throw it in a blender and whip it good.

The recipe I’ve shared here is just the exact combination of things and steps that I personally love. Nothing more, nothing less.

INGREDIENTS

8-ounce block good quality extra sharp cheddar cheese (white or yellow)

4-ounce jar pimientos, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons finely minced Vidalia onion (or another sweet onion)

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, plus more as needed

Serving suggestions: corn chips, crackers

How to make it

This is a really fast and dimple recipe – a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of thing. Grate your cheese (a must!), throw it in a bowl, add some simple yet crucial flavor components and some mayo to bind et voila. You’ve got yourself one amazing party dip.

DIRECTIONS

Grate the block of cheddar and put the grated cheese into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and season lightly with salt and generously with lots of freshly cracked black pepper. 

Stir to mix and add a little extra mayo, if you think it needs it. You’re looking for a thick consistency – but you don’t want to break a cracker. It takes less mayo than you’d think, so start with a few tablespoons, stir, and then add more if needed.

This eats best when it’s not super cold, so let it sit out of the fridge for a while before serving. This will keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 6 days.  

If you like the looks of this pimento cheese, you might also like:

Hot corn dip with chorizo

Whipped Mozzarella with Honey-Drenched Sun Dried Tomatoes

Whipped Feta with Hot Honey

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