My friend Tracey would commit felonies for this Savory Cheddar Pimento Cheese. I’m not kidding. She regularly threatens my life for this, demanding that I bring her some. Thing is, it is super easy to make.

I am a big pimento cheese lover. My favorite store-bought brand is Knott’s pimento cheese, a local brand. It is a more traditional southern cheese spread, with a sweet creamy flavor and an American cheese base. If it was available in 5 gallon buckets, I would buy it that way.

Our recipe uses of cheddar and is salty and savory. Oh, and awesome. Definitely awesome. And addictive…you can’t stop eating it.

Savory Cheddar Pimento Cheese…you may never buy store bought again.

Name: Savory Cheddar Pimento Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 16 oz sharp cheddar (shredded); 8 oz extra sharp cheddar (finely shredded); 2 1/2 cups Duke's mayonnaise; 1 4 oz jar pimentos (drained); 1/2 cup green olives (chopped); 2 tsp Worcestershire; 2 TB sugar; 1/2 tsp onion powder; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 2 tsp Frank's hot sauce

A few years ago, I was looking for a different pimento cheese recipe, and I stumbled across a wonderful idea in Southern Living. Our version is an adaptation of that, but I’ve gotta give them all the credit for going full cheddar.

What did I change? Well, they used minced onions. We found that too strong, so we changed to onion powder. Also we added hot sauce. Because…hot sauce. We use just a little more Worcestershire, and we only use Duke’s mayo.

Also instead of using just pimentos, we decided to add olives to ours. This really adds an extra layer of flavor to the pimento cheese that our family loves. If you don’t like olives, no problem. Just skip them, and double the amount of pimentos.

We’ve made this before using jalapenos…so good, spicy hot. Here are some more add-in suggestions to mix up your basic pimento cheese spread:

Sweet Pickles
Pickled Vegetable Mix (you know, the kind with cauliflower, peppers etc)
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Green Chiles
Chopped Red & Green Bell Peppers
Black Olives

Cheese, please. (I need a cheese category. Note to staff…er…I mean self.)

Shredding part of the cheese in fine shreds and the rest in large shreds gives it a creamier more “spreadable” texture. If you want it chunkier, just shred it all large.

Also feel free to experiment with the cheddar cheese you use. I have made this using sharp white cheddar (really changes the color but tastes amazing…future post.) Use just mild, a mixture of mild and sharp, and don’t be afraid of the extra sharp.

Keep in mind that some cheeses are saltier than others, so don’t add extra salt to Savory Cheddar Pimento Cheese.

Loving this recipe? Try these:

Bacon Wrapped Pimento Cheese Jalapeno Poppers

Pimento Cheese BLT Sandwiches

BLFGT’s

Savory Cheddar Pimento Cheese is one of my all-time favorites!

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