16 Pimiento Cheese Recipes That Every Southerner Will Love

Basic Pimiento Cheese
Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Pimiento cheese is undeniably one of the South's favorite spreads. The combination of hand-grated Cheddar, plenty of diced pimientos, and a little cayenne all bundled up in some creamy mayonnaise is too good to resist. It may be a preferred accompaniment to crackers, but we're not judging if you've been known, on occasion, to it straight from the bowl or container. After all, the rich, slightly spicy, sometimes crunchy spread is one of life's small pleasures. And, thanks to this trove of pimiento cheese recipes, the dip has gotten even better, if it's possible to improve on such a good thing.

We've got quite a few creative recipes that incorporate pimiento cheese, from appetizers like our Pimiento Pickle Poppers to the main event, Sausage-Pimiento Cheese Pasta Rollups. Heck, we've even got pimiento cheese cookies (yes, really). But for all the bells and whistles, sometimes a good old-fashioned pimiento cheese is all we really want and need, so we've included a couple basic recipes, too. Any way you spread it, one thing's for sure: pimiento cheese never disappoints (not even store-bought).

01 of 16

Pimiento Queso Fundido

Pimiento Queso Fundido
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Recipe: Pimiento Queso Fundido

Pimiento peppers are not known for their spice, but this recipe pairs them with onion and smoked paprika for a deeper flavor.

02 of 16

Pimiento Cheese Chicken-Broccoli Casserole

Pimiento Cheese Chicken-Broccoli Casserole
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Recipe: Pimiento Cheese Chicken-Broccoli Casserole

A classic casserole (chicken and broccoli) gets a Southern twist with the addition of melty pimiento cheese.

03 of 16

Southern Pimiento Mac and Cheese

southern pimiento mac and cheese
Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Southern Pimiento Mac and Cheese

If you thought pimiento cheese couldn't get any better, try melting it into a cheese sauce for your mac. That's what we call next level.

04 of 16

Fried Chicken Sliders with Pimiento Cheese

Fried Chicken Sliders with Pimiento Cheese
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Fried Chicken Sliders with Pimiento Cheese

Peanut butter and jelly? Forget them: our favorite foodie best friends are Fried Chicken and Pimiento Cheese.

05 of 16

Sausage-Pimiento Cheese Pasta Rollups

Sausage-Pimiento Cheese Pasta Rollups
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch

Recipe: Sausage-Pimiento Cheese Pasta Rollups

We're on a mission to add pimiento cheese into just about any dish we can think of. Next on our list? Pasta rollups.

06 of 16

White Cheddar-Chive Pimiento Cheese

White Cheddar-Chive Pimiento Cheese
Hector Sanchez

Recipe: White Cheddar-Chive Pimiento Cheese

For the perfect texture, grate your cheese by hand. Sprinkle in chopped chives and Dijon mustard to replace the onion for a crispy, slightly piquant element.

07 of 16

Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip

Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip
Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell

Recipe: Baked Pimiento Cheese Dip

One easy way to turn a container of pimiento cheese into a wow-worthy appetizer? Spoon it into a dish and bake it.

08 of 16

Mini Tacos with Fried Oysters, Pimiento Cheese, and Fennel Slaw

Mini Tacos with Fried Oysters, Pimiento Cheese, and Fennel Slaw
Photographer Jennifer Causey, Prop Stylist Lindsey Lower, Food Stylist Torie Cox

Recipe: Mini Tacos with Fried Oysters, Pimiento Cheese, and Fennel Slaw

The homemade Chipotle Pimiento Cheese is the real star of these mini tacos, which are great for tailgating.

09 of 16

Pimiento Cheese Creamed Spinach

Pimiento Cheese Creamed Spinach
Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Recipe: Pimiento Cheese Creamed Spinach

This recipe for Pimiento Cheese Creamed Spinach comes to us from Perre Coleman Magness, author of Pimento Cheese: The Cookbook. That's all you need to know.

10 of 16

Southern Pimiento Cheese

Southern Pimento Cheese
Southern Living

Recipe: Southern Pimiento Cheese

A Southern treasure, tried and true. We also add a little dill pickle juice that's guaranteed to win over even the pickle haters.

11 of 16

Pimiento Cheese Sausage Balls

Spicy Pimiento Cheese Sausage Balls
Time Inc. Video Studio

Recipe: Pimiento Cheese Sausage Balls

Just 4 ingredients help these cheesy sausage balls come together in a snap.

12 of 16

Horseradish Pimiento Cheese

Horseradish Pimiento Cheese
Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Horseradish Pimiento Cheese

Follow this recipe or jazz up your own with a little horseradish, plus horseradish-flavored white Cheddar for something extra.

13 of 16

Lowcountry Juicy Lucy

Lowcountry Juicy Lucy
Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower; Food Styling: Mary Claire Britton

Recipe: Lowcountry Juicy Lucy

We'll be stuffing all of our burgers with pimiento cheese from now on, thank you very much.

14 of 16

Pimiento Pickle Poppers

Pimiento Pickle Poppers
Southern Living

Recipe: Pimiento Pickle Poppers

Get the party started with these Pimiento Pickle Poppers.

15 of 16

Pimiento Cheese Cookies

Pimiento Cheese Cookies
Jennifer Davick; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns; Prop Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell

Recipe: Pimiento Cheese Cookies

Pimiento cheese as... dessert? Don't knock it 'till you try it.

16 of 16

Basic Pimiento Cheese

Basic Pimiento Cheese
Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Basic Pimiento Cheese

Coarse, freshly-grated cheese works best, so get out your box grater.

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