Pimento Cheese Recipe
Pimento Cheese recipe that's a classic Southern favorite, made with extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, and cayenne pepper.
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 123kcal
Ingredients
- 2 8-ounce blocks extra sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 4-ounce jar diced pimentos, drained
- 1/2-1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ½ - ¾ cup Duke's mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Instructions
- To start, take 2 8-ounce blocks extra sharp Cheddar cheese and grate in the food processor. Alternatively, you can grate some on the small side of the handheld grater and some on the large side until you have a bowl full.
- Drain 1 4-ounce jar diced pimentos, drained and add to cheese.
- Sprinkle 1/2-1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (start with 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon and taste after mixing) and black pepper over the cheese. (No added salt as the cheese is usually salty enough by itself.)
- Stir in 1/2 cup of 1/2 - 3/4 cup Duke's mayonnaise. You may decide to add an additional 1/4-1/2 cup, depending on how creamy you like it.
- Starting on low, mix for a minute just to blend and then turn mixer to medium-high to mix well and incorporate all the ingredients. Should take 2-3 minutes.
- Mix everything until it's smooth and creamy, and the mayonnaise is completely mixed in. And taste. This is the most important part.
- Add more mayo and cayenne to taste.
Notes
When I use the stand mixer, I add exactly ¾ cup of mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and it makes the perfect recipe for us. But you need to taste it the first time you make it, so you can determine for yourself how creamy and how spicy you want your pimento cheese.
Start with a smaller amount of mayo than the recipe calls for, and a smaller amount of cayenne pepper, then taste as you go. Mixing should take at least a couple of minutes in the stand mixer and 6-7 minutes if doing by hand. You want to be sure the mayonnaise is fully mixed in because the texture and flavor will be better.
