If you live in the South or have ever visited, then you’ve probably eaten homemade pimento cheese dip. Heck, even The Masters is known for their version of this cheddar cheese sandwich.
Homemade pimento cheese dip always has cheddar cheese, pimentos or roasted red pepper and mayonnaise. From there the differences begin. I started with my mother’s recipe and tweaked it just a little to bring just a touch of heat to the cheese dip.
How To Make Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip
If you have 5 minutes you can make our homemade pimento cheese dip.
Buying pre-shredded cheddar cheese is fine. But if you have a few extra minutes it really does make a difference to buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself.
Mix cheddar cheese with room temperature cream cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos and the spices (cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder) and a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce. Mix and you’re done. How easy was that?
How To Serve Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip
Well, obviously you can use it as a dip for crackers or vegetables like carrots, celery and cucumbers.
You can also use it for appetizers like Pimento Cheese Stuffed Okra.
Make a breakfast sandwich on a biscuit and egg.
How about on top of a hamburger with some crispy bacon?
Pimento Mac & Cheese anyone?
Substitute Ingredients For Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip
Cheddar Cheese – My personal favorite and traditional is cheddar cheese for pimento cheese dip. But hey, we break the rules all of the time. Use your favorite cheese. Colby for a milder flavor or Gruyere for a Swiss cheese twist.
Cream Cheese – You can skip the cream cheese and up the mayonnaise by a 1/3 of a cup.
Pimento – The easiest way is to buy the small jar at the grocery store. You’ll find them by the olives.
But if you have a jar of roasted red peppers in your refrigerator (they are great on sandwiches) you can julienne them.
Cayenne Pepper – just skip it if you don’t like the heat. Start with a small amount. You can always add more later. Same goes for the hot sauce.
Garlic Powder – Leave out or substitute with a fresh minced garlic clove.
Time Saving Tips For Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip
The recipe is so fast the only “time saving” tip I have is that the homemade pimento cheese dip will store well for a week in your refrigerator.
Pimento or Pimiento?
OK, so most of you didn’t even know there was a debate on this………..but there is. I researched and really don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. Pimiento is a small, mild sweet cherry pepper. So you’d think Pimiento is right. But when you look for recipes the vast majority are spelled Pimento. For ease of you finding our homemade pimento dip recipe I’m using the spelling Pimento.
So there’s your trivia fact for the day!
Homemade Pimento Cheese Dip
5 minutes and a handful of ingredients will get you the simple yet satisfyingly delicious pimento cheese dip, Keto friendly.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 4 ounces pimentos drained
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
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Shred the cheese and mix all of the ingredients. Keep going until it is well mixed.
Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
Serve with crackers, vegetables like carrots, celery or cucumber or top a hamburger or hotdog. We have more suggestions in the post. Search our site for some great recipes like Pimento cheese egg sandwich or pimento cheese stuffed okra.
If you buy the whipped cream cheese it’s easier to mix than the block.
You’ll find the jars of pimentos near the olives in your grocery store.
Optional ingredients are cayenne pepper, hot sauce and garlic powder. If you have an audience that likes things really mild then keep these out. The amount called for gives just a little kick to the pimento cheese dip, it’s not overwhelming.
Ingredient substitutions are in the post.
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