Pimento Cheese Recipe

First published July 24, 2011 on A Cook and Her Books as “Pimento Cheese is the New Gravy”

As we approach the real dog days of summer, I can confess that it’s been so long since I’ve really cooked! We eat so simply in the summer; I’ve come to the conclusion that my perfect summer meal is homemade pimento cheese on crackers; crispy, sweet watermelon slices, and sweet iced tea. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner (and another confession: I have).

Have you seen all the buzz about pimento cheese (or, as it’s known in my house, minner cheese)? Wanda at The Teacher Cooks blog features a pimento cheese biscuit recipe that I can’t wait to try. There’s even a tweet-bot on @pimentocheese, professing a love of the cheese spread all through the Twitter-verse. (2023 note: I have no idea if this still exists. Twitter is now a cesspool.)

I never had homemade pimento cheese until I married; my family knew only the occasional plastic container of gloppy fluorescent orange spread. I had to ask my mother-in-law how to make pimento cheese, and naturally, it’s the easiest thing in the world: coarsely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, diced pimentos, mayonnaise, and a pinch of salt (depending on the sodium in the mayo and cheese, you may leave this out).

Give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup mayonnaise, approximately, (I’ve never bothered to measure)

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons chopped pimentos

Directions:

Shred Cheddar cheese on the coarse side of a hand grater or in a food processor.
In a bowl, stir together cheese and enough mayonnaise to bind. Add salt and pimentos. Serve with crackers or on squishy white bread.

That’s it. Ridiculously simple and endlessly adaptable. Spread it on sandwich bread and run it under the broiler for a toasted minner sandwich, that’s a family favorite.

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Pimento Cheese Recipe