This is the ultimate pimiento cheese recipe. What makes this pimiento cheese better than average? Besides not using cream cheese, which is something the southern-raised experts in our test kitchens felt strongly about, this recipe calls for beating the cheese mixture to make it smoother and more spreadable. According to them, it’s hard to beat too long. Combine that technique with a little extra prep—grating your own cheese makes all the difference here—and a few non-traditional ingredients—soy sauce, pickled jalapeño peppers and Dijon really amp up the flavor. This pimiento cheese isn’t just cheesy and creamy, it’s also slightly spicy, deeply savory and a tiny bit tangy. With so much going on, this totally nontraditional, but absolutely irresistible take on pimiento cheese is a must try!
More About This Recipe
- Pimiento cheese is a creamy, spreadable cheese, sometimes referred to as pâté du Sud, as it’s a classic in the southern food canon. Not that it’s a constant. In its simplest form, pimiento cheese is mayo, shredded cheese and jarred pimiento peppers. But this is not that recipe.
Pimiento Cheese
- Prep Time 25 min
- Total 25 min
- Servings 16
- Ingredients 11
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons jalapeño juice from 1 jar (12 oz) Old El Paso™ Hot Jalapeño Slices
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 16 oz freshly grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (4 cups)
- 4 oz freshly grated Colby cheese (1 cup)
- 1 jar (4 oz) diced pimientos, drained
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeño slices from 1 jar (12 oz) Old El Paso™ Hot Jalapeño Slices
- Crackers, as desired
Instructions
-
Step1In large bowl, place mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño juice, mustard, soy sauce and lemon juice. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 5 to 10 seconds to combine.
-
Step2Add cheeses; beat on medium speed 15 to 30 seconds to combine. Scrape bowl, then beat on medium speed 2 to 4 minutes longer or until cheese mixture is creamy and spreadable.
-
Step3Stir pimientos, onions and jalapeños into cheese mixture, until just combined. Serve with crackers.
Nutrition
240
Calories
22g
Total Fat
8g
Protein
2g
Total Carbohydrate
0g
Sugars
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: About 1/4 Cup
- Calories
- 240
- Calories from Fat
- 200
- Total Fat
- 22g
- 34%
- Saturated Fat
- 8g
- 42%
- Trans Fat
- 0g
- Cholesterol
- 40mg
- 14%
- Sodium
- 500mg
- 21%
- Potassium
- 60mg
- 2%
- Total Carbohydrate
- 2g
- 1%
- Dietary Fiber
- 0g
- 0%
- Sugars
- 0g
- Protein
- 8g
% Daily Value*:
- Vitamin A
- 20%
- 20%
- Vitamin C
- 4%
- 4%
- Calcium
- 25%
- 25%
- Iron
- 0%
- 0%
Exchanges:
0 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 1 High-Fat Meat; 3 Fat;Carbohydrate Choice
0Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens
{{tipItemHeadingFormat.replace('{0}',props.index + 1)}}
© 2025 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved