I am celebrating the anniversary of my love affair with pimento cheese. I was in Norfolk, Virginia with two amazing friends enjoying Sunday brunch. We were at one of those modern, trendy restaurants that takes Southern food and puts a new spin on it. And they said to me,"have you ever had pimento cheese?" I gave them a blank stare as this recovering Cali girl had no idea what they were talking about.


So I am sitting at this table in the South enjoying my cocktail when a plate of Ritz crackers and lumpy cheese shows up at the table. I am unimpressed with the presentation and I am confused by their excitement. So they take a Ritz cracker, spread some globular looking cheese on it and put it in their mouth and I watch these giant smiles light up both of their faces. And I am confused...just straight up confused. So I follow along although I am pretty sure I am going to have to fake the smile part....until that pimento cheese hit my mouth.


A lot of people describe meeting their spouse as love at first sight. That is not an experience I can say I have understood until this very moment. I fell in love with pimento cheese! Straight up passionate, overwhelming, obsessive love!!

Shout out to my new state! Go Lions!

However, it was not until last weekend that I actually tried to make it myself. I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Pimento Cheese and I had to try it. However, before I launch into the recipe let me share a few tidbits of knowledge about pimento cheese.

• Did you know that pimento cheese started in New York and not the South? It started as a result of industrial America, as a creation of cream cheese and an importation of pimentos from Spain.
• Did you know that a pimento is a pepper? It is an imported sweet red pepper from Spain. It was originally called pimiento and the word mutated to pimento when they started being grown in Georgia in 1911.
• Did you know the first published pimento cheese recipe was in Good Housekeeping in 1908? However, word on the street is that pimento cheese was gracing American tables for a lot longer.
• Did you also know that the Masters Golf Tournament has a tradition involving pimento cheese sandwiches? The tournament has been serving these sandwiches for over 40 years. The tradition started with Nick Rangos until the tournament started using a company called Wife Saver. Everyone was upset over the new sandwiches so in 1998 they tried to recreate Nick's recipe using a batch of frozen originals that someone running the tournament had. That brought pimento cheese peace until 2013 when they switched vendors again. Both Wife Saver and Nick who recently passed away have kept the original recipe a secret and so now the tournament is struggling again for the secret to the "caviar of the south."

Yup these are the ingredients and whomever thought of putting these odd combos together and eating it...well you are a genius and a little strange...but it works!

Now lets talk about cooking pimento cheese. To begin with, it is crazy easy. I started with a mixer and I combined the mayo,cream cheese, mustard and adobo sauce.

Definitely not the most photogenic food

I added shredded sharp cheddar and jack cheese and then added the pimentos and dill.

Right before it went into the fridge. Still not pretty!

I refrigerated the cheese for 2 hours and served with crackers. Voila!!


Here is the actual recipe:

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

4 oz Cream Cheese, Softened

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard (more To Taste)

1 Tablespoon Adobo Sauce From Canned Chipotles (more To Taste)

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

8 ounces, weight Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated

8 ounces, weight Monterey Jack Or Mozzarella Cheese, Grated

4 ounces, weight Sliced Pimentos, Drained

2 teaspoons Chopped Fresh Dill

Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Dijon, adobo, and black pepper in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix it until totally combined (if you have a few lumps from the cream cheese, no problem; you won't see them later!)

Add the cheddar and Monterey jack and mix gently until combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and make sure all the ingredients are mixed together. Stir in the pimentos and dill. Taste and mix in more of whatever you think it needs. Add more cheese if you like the pimento cheese to be less creamy; add less if you like it to be more creamy.

Refrigerate pimento cheese for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serve with crackers, small hollowed-out peppers, carrot and celery sticks, and olives. (Or make small sandwiches or even a grilled cheese with it!)

***Note: For best results, make sure the cheddar and jack cheeses are nice and cold when you mix them in.


I loved the flavor that the adobo sauce and mustard gave to the pimento cheese. This recipe is truly a great take on a old Southern tradition and one that I would definitely make again. Cheers!