This easy homemade Southern pimento cheese recipe with diced jalapenos delivers classic, old fashioned taste with a kick! Perfect for sandwiches or served with crackers as an appetizer, this simple, creamy spread is addictively delicious!
What You Need To Make Jalapeno Pimento Cheese
- grated cheddar cheese
- cream cheese
- diced pimentos
- fresh jalapenos
- real mayonnaise
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- salt & pepper
Growing up, my mamaw always made her own pimento cheese. She would pull out the giant block of cheese she’d bought at our small town deli, sit me at the table with the hand held cheese grater and get me started. Both she and I would balance those graters over our green tupperware bowls and grate cheese until there was no more left to grate.
In my memory, there were mountains of cheese in those plastic bowls. We would combine our grated efforts, nibble on any pieces of cheese that had gotten to small to safely grate, and she would begin the process of adding ingredients and slowly stirring those great mounds of cheese dotted with bright red pimentos.
Boy, was that ever the stuff my summers were made of! Thinking back on those times make moments in the kitchen even sweeter. As I stir my own mountains of cheese with the slow rhythm of a Southern summers, I can hardly wait to taste the sweetness of the pimentos and the zing of the peppers that make this rich, creamy spread a treasured classic!
The Best Jalapeno Pimento Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz jar diced pimentos, with liquid
- 2 jalapeno peppers, deseeded, cleaned, diced
- ⅔ C real mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Remove seeds and membranes from jalapeno peppers. Use plastic gloves or wash hands thoroughly with dish soap afterwards to remove the peppers' oils from your hands.
- In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients (including pimento liquid) until well combined. Serve immediately or, for a stiffer pimento cheese, chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer.
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Making It Easy To Host & Serve
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Very yummy recipe! First time I’ve ever made pimento cheese and I will Make it again! Nutritional information would be a great help for those of us on Keto ☻
Hi, Tammy! I am just tickled you decided to make you own pimento cheese! It is one of our very favorites things to eat around here. I hear you on the nutritional information, but that is not something we include with our recipes for reasons concerning accuracy and the importance of certain health situations.
OMG. This is the Best Pimento cheese. I love the crunch of the fresh Jalapeños. Since I like it spicy, I added some pickled jalapeños and the juice. Thank you so much for this recipe.
This is my go to recipe; so good and my family loves it. Thank you for sharing!