Roasted Red Pepper Pimento Cheese

You’ll dive headfirst into creamy, savory, slightly spicy, and completely irresistible Roasted Red Pepper Pimento Cheese. The southern classic gets kissed by fire with the addition of a sweet and smoky fire roasted pepper.

If there is one thing us southerners are as passionate about as the SEC, it’s our pimento cheese spread. Everyone has their own little special touch to make it uniquely their own while not straying too far from traditional flavors and textures. Its flavors find its way in everything from fritters to pimento cheese macaroni salad and Buffalo Pimento Cheese. This homemade pimento cheese gives you all of the flavors you look for and love about southern pimento cheese, but with the addition of a sweet fire kissed red bell pepper. You can easily roast one yourself or use jarred roasted red peppers.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Quick Process – Once you have all of your ingredients prepped, this takes only minutes to mix together. The most labor-intensive part is grating your cheeses.
• Customizable – Have fun playing around with your favorite combination of cheeses. Sharp cheddar is the classic choice for a pimento cheese recipe, but you can easily use whatever you like. Add smoked cheddar or gouda to enhance the natural smokiness of the fire roasted pepper or add habanero cheddar for an extra kick. This is a choose your own adventure recipe.
• Versatility – Think beyond the crackers and Master’s inspired sandwiches. Use this to top off grilled burgers, mash into deviled eggs, crown fried green tomatoes, or add to your favorite twice baked potatoes. The uses are endless!
• Party Perfect – This is a great dish to make ahead of time, and double and triple up on the recipe. It stores and travels well and with football season just around the corner is an ideal addition to your game day lineup. It doesn’t get any more tailgate perfect than roasted red pepper pimento cheese.

Pimento Cheese, A Brief History

Using a roasted red pepper might ruffle a few southern feathers for this pâté of the South but the truth is its origins actually have roots in New York. In the 1870s, New York farmers began making a soft unripened cheese that would eventually evolve into the cream cheese that we know today. Around the same time Spain began exporting canned peppers, or pimiento, to the United States.

The first recipe combining these two ingredients was published in Good Housekeeping in 1908 and combined cream cheese, pimientos, mustard, and chives. The recipe became so popular that it started to be mass produced, especially in the south. As the price for the imported Spanish pimientos grew, so did their price. Due to the ideal climate, Georgia farmers began growing similar red peppers, roasting them, canning them, and shipping them nationwide.

After World War II the popularity for this style of pimento cheese seemed to diminish. While there isn’t any hard evidence of when it started to become popular in the south it was somewhere around this time. The cream cheese was replaced with hoop cheese, a readily available semi-hard white cheese, and combined with pimentos. It made for an inexpensive way to fill sandwiches. From there, other ingredients began to be added. The addition of shredded cheese made it necessary to add a binder to hold it all together, and so another beloved southern ingredient, mayonnaise, was introduced to the mix.

Ingredients

• Cream Cheese – Cream cheese and mayo make up the creamy base that holds everything together. You can use either regular cream cheese or less fat, Neufchatel cheese.
• Mayonnaise – Just like we take our southern pimento cheese seriously, we also have strong opinions about mayo. Duke’s is the preferred brand that not only adds creaminess but also tang. This helps make the dip more spreadable.
• Cheese – This pimento cheese recipe uses a combination of cheeses. Sharp cheddar and extra sharp white cheddar give bold savory flavor. The sharp cheddar has a creamier texture that balances out the drier extra sharp cheddar. You can easily use all sharp cheddar or add a medium or mild cheddar.
• Red Bell Pepper – Unlike jarred pimentos that don’t have much of a pronounced flavor, roasting your own red bell pepper adds freshness, natural sweetness, and a hint of smokiness. It perfumes the entire creamy mixture.

• Aromatics – Finely minced sweet onion, preferably Vidalia when in season, and jalapeno add both savory flavor and also a little texture to balance the soft ingredients.
• Seasonings – Garlic powder, paprika, and just a pinch of kosher salt are all that’s needed to accent the rest of the ingredients.
• Worcestershire Sauce – Aside from the cheese itself this is the main source of salt for the recipe that also adds depth and umami.
• Hot Sauce – Most jarred pimentos have a slight vinegary tang. Since we’re replacing the pimentos with a fire roasted red bell pepper, this gives that hit of acid with just a little heat.
• Dijon Mustard – Mustard brings out all of the best qualities in cheese in the same way that coffee makes chocolate extra chocolaty.

How To Make Roasted Red Pepper Pimento Cheese

• Roast your red bell pepper. Prepare your grill for direct grilling. If using a gas grill you want to heat it to about 450 degrees. Place your whole pepper on the hot grates. Allow each side to char, flipping every couple of minutes so it cooks evenly. Once charred transfer the bell pepper to a plastic bag and allow it to steam and cool.
• Shred your cheese. Do not skip this step. For the best flavor and texture take the time to shred your own cheese.
• Prepare your pepper. Once your red pepper has cooled remove it from the bag. Peel off the skin and remove the core and seeds. Finely dice the pepper.
• Create your creamy base. Add room temperature cream cheese to a bowl. Use a spoon or spatula to stir it until it has loosened up. Add the mayonnaise and stir until it is completely combined and creamy. Next stir in the Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, hot sauce, and spices.

• Add the vegetables. Next stir in the minced onions, jalapeno, and diced roasted red pepper.
• Fold in the cheese. Add a few handfuls of cheese at a time, folding it into the creamy mixture until it is all combined.
• Let chill. For the best flavor, allow your roasted red pepper pimento cheese to refrigerate for an hour.

Substitutions & Variations

• Swap out the cream cheese for 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese.
• Use all sharp cheddar cheese.
• Swap out the extra sharp white cheddar for smoked gouda or smoked cheddar cheese.
• Replace the fresh jalapeno for pickled jalapeno.
• Instead of Dijon mustard use 1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard.
• For more of a kick add a pinch of cayenne pepper or chipotle powder.
• If you want to use jarred pimentos, use a 7 ounce jar of drained, diced pimentos.
• The freshly roasted red pepper can be replaced with a jarred roasted red pepper. You will need around 1/3 cup total diced.
• For a little tang, try adding finely diced banana peppers.

Tips From the Beach

• Pimento cheese is as much about the texture as it is the flavors. Always make sure that you are using hand grated cheese. Pre grated cheese has stabilizers that prevent it from sticking and will give you a powdery texture.
• The key to a smooth base to this dip is room temperature cream cheese. Stick your block out an hour or two in advance to mixing this up.
• This dip will seem more wet when you mix it together, but after it refrigerates it will thicken up quite a bit because of the cream cheese. To make it easier to spread for serving let it sit out 15-30 minutes in advance so it can slightly soften.
• Fresh jalapenos can range from mild to surprisingly hot. Give your pepper a taste before stirring it in. You can also leave out the seeds and rib to cut out additional heat.
• A freshly roasted pepper gives off a little more liquid than drained, jarred pimentos or peppers. If you decide to use the jarred version, you may want to add a little additional mayo to make this extra creamy.
• Hold off adding any additional salt until after the southern pimento cheese has had time to chill. Along with the Worcestershire, Dijon, and hot sauce the cheese itself is also salty. If you feel it need more later on, then go ahead and add a pinch.

Looking for more cheesy sides? Make sure to check out Roasted Corn Queso Fundido and Summer Squash Tartlets. And make sure to check out Pimento Cheese Hash Brown Casserole for more pimento cheese inspiration!

Roasted Red Pepper Pimento Cheese

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You’ll dive headfirst into creamy, savory, slightly spicy, and completely irresistible Roasted Red Pepper Pimento Cheese. The southern classic gets kissed by fire with the addition of a sweet and smoky fire roasted pepper. 

• Author: Nicole Stover
• Prep Time: 10
• Chilling Time: 60
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups 1x
• Category: Appetizer
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 red bell pepper
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sweet onion, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh jalapeno, finely minced, remove seeds and membrane for less heat
• 1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
• 1 cup extra sharp white cheddar, grated

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Instructions

1. Roast your red bell pepper. Prepare your grill for direct grilling. Place the red pepper on the hot grate and allow each side including the top and bottom to char for about 1-2 minutes each, flipping often. Once all sides of the pepper are charred transfer it to a zip top bag and let it steam and cool.
2. Once your pepper has cooled peel off the skin. Remove the core and seeds and finely dice the pepper. 
3. Add the softened cream cheese to a bowl. Use a spoon or spatula to stir it until it has loosened up a little.
4. Add the mayonnaise, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon. Stir until creamy and smooth.
5. Add the salt, garlic powder, and paprika and stir.
6. Next stir in the diced bell pepper, onions, and jalapeno. 
7. Finally fold in the cheese a few handfuls at a time until completely incorporated.
8. Allow to chill for at least an hour.
9. Serve with crackers and your favorite dippers.