Easy Pimento Cheese Spread with Crackers

Pimento cheese is the rare recipe that is more about restraint than technique. The photograph shows the target exactly: a bowl mounded with a coarse, orange spread that is clearly shredded cheese bound together - not a smooth dip - with flecks of red pimento showing throughout, and a plain round cracker already dipped in. It should look like that. The moment pimento cheese goes silky in a food processor, it stops being pimento cheese.

Two choices decide everything. First, the cheddar must be sharp or extra-sharp and grated by hand from a block: pre-shredded cheese is dusted with anti-caking starch that makes the spread grainy and dull, and mild cheddar simply disappears against the mayonnaise. Second, the pimentos must be drained properly and folded in last, so they stay as sweet red pieces rather than bleeding the whole batch pink. A little cream cheese is this recipe's quiet addition - just enough to make the spread scoopable straight from the refrigerator without changing its character. It sits happily on a spread next to our easy homemade hummus and a plate of our deviled eggs.

Serve it the way the bowl in the photograph demands - with plain round butter crackers that do not compete - or spread it thick on white bread with the crusts off if you want the full Southern tearoom effect. Either way, make the whole batch: it keeps for a week and improves overnight.

Why hand-grated cheese changes the texture

Block cheddar grated on the coarse side of a box grater gives you distinct shreds that stay distinct in the finished spread - that coarse, almost crumbly body is the signature. Bagged shreds are coated in cellulose or potato starch, which drinks up the mayonnaise and turns the texture pasty within the hour. If your store only has pre-shredded, it will still work, but toss it with the cream cheese first and expect a softer, less defined spread.

Seasoning: small amounts, real effect

Pimento cheese should taste like cheddar first, with everything else in support. Garlic powder rather than fresh garlic keeps the flavour round instead of sharp; a pinch of cayenne warms the back of the throat without announcing itself; and a teaspoon of the pimento jar's own liquid adds a gentle sweetness and loosens the mix by exactly the right amount. Worcestershire sauce is the one divisive ingredient - a half teaspoon adds depth that nobody can name. Leave it out if you are a purist; the spread will still be right.

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, block (450 g)
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened (115 g)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (115 g)
• 1 (4 oz) jar diced pimentos, drained (115 g)
• 1 teaspoon pimento jar liquid (5 ml)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (2 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (3 ml)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (1 g)
• 1 (12 oz) box round butter crackers, for serving (340 g)

Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Grate the cheddar. Grate the block of extra-sharp cheddar on the coarse holes of a box grater. Cold cheese grates cleanly; if the block softens in your hand, return it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes and continue.
2. Build the binder. In a medium bowl, stir the softened cream cheese and mayonnaise together until smooth. Stir in the garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, salt, black pepper and the teaspoon of pimento liquid.
3. Fold in the cheese. Add the grated cheddar to the binder and fold with a sturdy spoon or spatula until every shred is lightly coated. Mix only until it comes together - the spread should look coarse and mounded, never smooth or whipped.
4. Add the pimentos. Drain the pimentos well in a small sieve, pressing gently, then fold them through the spread so the red pieces stay visible throughout, as in the photograph. Taste and adjust salt or cayenne.
5. Rest, then serve. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the flavours marry and the spread firms to a scoopable mound. Serve in a small bowl ringed with round butter crackers, with one cracker dipped in to start - exactly as pictured.

Nutrition estimate

Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.

Storage & reheating

Pimento cheese keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week and tastes better on day two as the garlic and cayenne settle in. It does not freeze well - the mayonnaise separates on thawing and the texture turns grainy. Let a cold portion stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving so it spreads easily. Nutrition values are estimates and will vary with the brand of mayonnaise and crackers used; cracker nutrition is not included.

Easy Pimento Cheese Spread with Crackers

Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq, FryDaily editor · Published 21 October 2026

Sharp cheddar, sweet pimentos, a bowl mounded high and a ring of crackers.

Yield: 8 servings  ·  Scale: 1x2x3x

Prep15 minutes

Cook0 minutes

Total15 minutes

Servings8 servings

Calories240 kcal

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Ingredients

• 1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, block (450 g)
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened (115 g)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (115 g)
• 1 (4 oz) jar diced pimentos, drained (115 g)
• 1 teaspoon pimento jar liquid (5 ml)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (2 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (3 ml)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (2 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (1 g)
• 1 (12 oz) box round butter crackers, for serving (340 g)

Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.

Instructions

1. Grate the cheddar. Grate the block of extra-sharp cheddar on the coarse holes of a box grater. Cold cheese grates cleanly; if the block softens in your hand, return it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes and continue.
2. Build the binder. In a medium bowl, stir the softened cream cheese and mayonnaise together until smooth. Stir in the garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, salt, black pepper and the teaspoon of pimento liquid.
3. Fold in the cheese. Add the grated cheddar to the binder and fold with a sturdy spoon or spatula until every shred is lightly coated. Mix only until it comes together - the spread should look coarse and mounded, never smooth or whipped.
4. Add the pimentos. Drain the pimentos well in a small sieve, pressing gently, then fold them through the spread so the red pieces stay visible throughout, as in the photograph. Taste and adjust salt or cayenne.
5. Rest, then serve. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the flavours marry and the spread firms to a scoopable mound. Serve in a small bowl ringed with round butter crackers, with one cracker dipped in to start - exactly as pictured.

Calories: 240 kcalProtein: 9 gCarbohydrates: 2 gFat: 22 gSaturated fat: 11 gSodium: 380 mgFiber: 0 gSugar: 1 g

Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq · FryDaily. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.

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