Jalapeno Pimento Cheese

What is Jalapeno Pimento Cheese?

Pimento cheese spread is a  traditional dish in the Southern United States that can be served in a variety of ways.  It is a staple at wedding and bridal showers as well as simple meals and get-togethers.  This Jalapeno Pimento Cheese is a spicy twist on traditional pimento cheese seasoned to also have a nice chipotle kick from the spices.  In this post I will give you some great serving ideas as well as ways to adjust the heat level to your preferences.

What are the Ingredients in Jalapeno Pimento Cheese?

Here is the list of ingredients I used to make this pimento cheese spread as well as some notes that may be helpful to help make it your own.  Here is what you will need:

• Red bell pepper
• Jalapeno peppers
• Serrano peppers
  • If you cannot find these, or want to limit the heat, you can skip these peppers
• Neufchatel cheese
  • This is my favorite; however, you could substitute regular cream cheese if that is your preference
• Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Use finely shredded cheese if you would like the Jalapeno Pimento Cheese to be more spreadable to easily use on sandwiches, etc 
  • Use thicker shredded cheese if you prefer more of a dip-like texture
• Shredded pepper jack cheese
  • Finely or more thickly shredded pepper jack cheese will work just fine as there is less of it in the dish
• Mayonnaise
  • Choose your favorite
• Smoked paprika
• Regular paprika
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne pepper
  • If you are wanting a less spicy dish, use only ½-1 teaspoon instead of the 1 ½ teaspoons the recipe calls for and add more as desired
• Seasoned rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper 

How to make Jalapeno Pimento Cheese?

The first step in this dish arguably gives it most of its flavor, so be sure not to short-cut on this step.  Roast all the peppers (red bell, jalapeno and serrano) until blackened.   Cool, peel, seed, and set aside to cool.  Dice the jalapenos and serranos and ¼ of the red bell pepper.  Puree the remaining red bell pepper.

From there it is simple, add all the other ingredients to a bowl and stir, stir, stir until it is well combined.  

Refrigerate in an airtight container.  Store for 7-10 days.

How to serve Jalapeno Pimento Cheese?

Here are some ideas of great ways to serve this Jalapeno Pimento Cheese:

• Use it as a dip
  • Pretzels, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, carrots or crackers would all be great to dip into the Jalapeno Pimento Cheese
• Sandwich it
  • Make a grilled cheese using this as the filling, or make traditional tea sandwiches by spreading on bread and quartering.
• Add to a burger
  • Spread this atop a burger patty instead of a slice of cheese.  Top with lettuce, tomato, maybe some bacon and have a delicious twist on a traditional burger.
• Mix up your mac and cheese
  • Stir into your cheese sauce as you are making homemade mac and cheese.  
  • Prefer to stick to boxed mac and cheese (NO JUDGMENT HERE), simply stir through at the same time you add the cheese sauce or powder.
• Take it to brunch
  • Use as a spread on sausage or bacon topped biscuits
• Add to deviled eggs
  • Use it to help flavor the yolks on the deviled eggs for your next party.  
• Make some bread
  • Our Air Fryer Focaccia has pimento cheese as an ingredient.  This Jalapeno Pimento Cheese would be a great substitute for traditional store-bought pimento cheese spread.
• Heat it up
  • Warm up your Jalapeno Pimento Cheese to make more of a warme, almost fondue-type dip.  Serve with cubed bread, apple slices, bell pepper slices, pretzel sticks, breadsticks, etc.

Jalapeno Pimento Cheese

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

  

• 1 red bell pepper
• 2-3 jalapenos
• 2 serrano peppers
• 4 oz Neufchatel cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ Tablespoon smoked paprika
• ½ Tablespoon paprika
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Place the red bell pepper, jalapenos and serrano peppers on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Roast, turning often, until blackened all around. Set aside to cool.
• Once cool, peel off the blackened skin and remove the seeds. Finely dice the jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers and ¼ of the red bell pepper. Place the remainder of the red bell pepper in a mini food processor and pulse until smooth.
• Add the peppers and all remaining ingredients to a large bowl. Mix gently. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

Use thicker cheese for more of a dip quality to the cheese, finely shredded cheese works best for a more spreadable cheese.

TASTES: smoky, hot, spicy