Pimento Cheese Recipe

Pimento Cheese Recipe

Written by Becky

This weekend I reinvented a recipe from my childhood, Pimento Cheese.  Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of old-school Southern recipes like pimento cheese brought back into the modern dining scene.  When I was a kid, I used to hate pimento cheese.  It must have been the unusual flavor of the pimentos, which are really just pickled cherry peppers, that I wasn’t fond of. But like many things from childhood, this spicy, cheese-y spread came alive to my taste-buds as an adult.

Nobrow Coffee SLC Mixer

On Saturday our table was filled with new and old friends as we hosted a SLC Mixer with Joe and Duffy from Nobrow Coffee. As folks walked in the door, we greeted them with pimento cheese atop rounds of cucumbers and radishes.

slc mixer coffee tasting

This specific SLCmixer was a tasting of different coffees. People came with little-to-no knowledge about their cup of joe and left with their brains full of new coffee facts and more confidence on how to make or order a better cup. Joe told of stories of the history of coffee its effects on the Great Depression, and why many great coffees can’t afford to be labeled as Certified Organic. We tasted coffees from three different brands yet all from the same region in Rwanda. Interestingly, they all had very different tastes and smells.  The nuances of the coffees clearly came from the ways the coffees were roasted.  Most at the table agreed that the coffee from Ritual shined as the favorite taste of the class.

Joe and Duffy from Nobrow Coffee in Salt Lake City

Coffee Tasting with Nobrow Coffee

And of course, we couldn’t have coffee without some tasty food as well.  We supplied our guests with delicious Creminelli Sopressa Venita Salami, Chabrin cheese, Timpanogos Peak Cheese, Crumb Brothers Arisan Bread, and Butchers Bunches Figaro Jam.

Creminelli Salami and Cheese

Thanks to all who came to the tasting!  For those of you who didn’t make it, please stop by Nobrow Coffee for a truely tasty cup of coffee or just to chat with the guys there about coffee, believe me, they can answer any of your coffee inquiries!  Also, because of my re-found love for Pimento Cheese, I’m sharing with you an easy gourmet recipe.

Pimento Cheese Recipe

Here's a clean recipe for the childhood favorite, pimento cheese, using real cheese and homemade mayo.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Lunch, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup white cheddar
  • 1 cup sharp orange cheddar
  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise, homemade is best
  • 1/2 teaspoons of a fresh cayenne pepper, or 1/8 tsp dried cayenne pepper
  • 7 ounce jar of pimentos
  • cucumbers, radishes or sliced baguette to serve

Instructions
 

  • Prepare homemade mayonnaise if using.
  • Finely grate cheeses into a large bowl. Stir in pimentos, black pepper, cayenne, and salt to taste with a fork. Then stir in mayonnaise, mashing mixture with fork until relatively smooth.
  • Scrape spread into a crock or jar and chill, covered, at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop.
  • Serve pimento cheese over sliced cucumbers, radishes or on sliced baguette.

If you’re interested in coming to a future SLCmixer, we have several lined up for the next few weeks!  Please visit SLCmixers.com for more information.

SLC Mixer

Comments (9)

  1. Your coffee tasting looks so wonderful…I wish I could have attended!

    I was never a big fan of pimiento cheese either, but then again, I’ve only tried the processed kind that comes in little glass jars 🙂 I’m definitely going to give your recipe a shot. It looks scrumptious, especially atop radishes, which I’ve recently been addicted to.

  2. Mmmm…pimento cheese! A true delicious southern staple! It looks delicious here and your photos are droolworthy. What a great idea to put it on veggies, especially radishes! Beautiful color.

    PS – i love the design of your blog, it’s simple and gorgeous.

    • Thanks Ashley, I agree that pimento cheese is a true Southern staple. Next time I’ll serve it on crostini with the radishes on top I think!

  3. I’ve been wondering how to make pimento cheese recently, thank you!

    Just had my first experience at No Brow a few weeks back, the coffee was the best I’ve had and Joe was an absolute delight to talk to!

    • Jenni, I’m so glad you were able to stop in to Nobrow and chat with Joe. He’s one of my favorites around town. And he’s also a great one to talk to about food!

  4. Mmmm- this looks awesome! I was only recently introduced to how delicious pimento cheese is. One of my favorite versions is the one at Trader Joe’s, which sadly doesn’t exist in Utah. I never thought to make it myself. I’ll have to give this a try!

  5. I have never tasted pimento cheese, although I’ve heard about it. I love your idea of serving it on cucumbers and radishes! Sounds like a fun event.

  6. Do you put the liquid from the pimentos in too? How long do you think this will stay good in the refrigerator? Very excited to make this recipe!! Thanks!

    • I just put a small amount of the liquid in then as you mix it all together you can see if you need more liquid. Enjoy!

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