Grandma Lucy’s Pimento Cheese
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Today I’m bringing you a much beloved recipe from the South. From what I read and hear, it isn’t nearly as popular outside of our little geographic region as it is here, but folks in these parts consider it a staple in every home!
Long before the days of snack cakes and convenience foods, Pimento Cheese sandwiches dominated minds when it came to a “quick bite to eat” or a “little lunch”. They were cheap and delicious on plain old white bread, although I serve mine on wheat these days.
I remember going to Grandmama and Grandaddy’s house and finding one or both sitting at their kitchen table having a pimento cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. They’d always ask “Ya want some puh-men-ah cheese, baby?”. I never refused.
I’ve wanted to get this recipe up on here for a while and asked Grandmama how she made her pimento cheese so I could bring you the taste I remember so well. She immediately said “Oh, now if you want the best pimento cheese, you gotta use Velveeta.”
What better time to bring you this than during my time serving as a Velveeta Kitchenista? I hope you’ve been visiting Velveeta It!’s facebook page this month as myself and four other Mom bloggers present a new Velveeta recipe each day but if you haven’t you can still breeze on over there and catch up on all of the wonderful tips and recipes that have been shared so far! Just visit www.facebook.com/velveeta and be sure to drop a howdy to me there this Thursday when I’ll be hosting Tasty Traditions Thursdays!
You’ll need: 16 ounce block of Velveeta, Pimentos, and a little Mayo.
Grate your Velveeta. Now Velveeta is a little on the soft side so I found an easy way of doing this. You remember play-doh? Just get your grater out and place the block of Velveeta against it and press into the grater. It comes out the other side quick and easy as can be and ends up being a lot less work than grating a block of cheddar.
Dump in a jar of drained pimentos. I used the small jar which is about 2 ounces.
Add about 1/2 cup of Mayonnaise. You can add more to taste if you like.
Stir that up well.
Grandmama doesn’t salt and pepper hers so I didn’t either. I found it to be utterly sublime as is but feel free to salt and pepper (and even garlic!) yours if you got a hankerin’ to.
Serve on a sandwich or crackers.
These are a standard at every party, too. There is nothing like little finger pimento cheese sandwiches with the crusts trimmed off to add an air of tradition to a gathering!
Did you eat pimento cheese growing up? Do you have a different recipe or a special Pimento Cheese memory?
Tell me about it in the comments!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce block Velveeta
- 2 ounce jar Pimentos drained
- 1/2 C Mayonnaise
Instructions
- Push Velveeta through a grater until all is grated in a bowl. Add Pimentos and Mayo. Stir well. Salt and pepper if desired. Serve on loaf bread.
Today’s quote is one of those that kinda hits you in layers. Hope you enjoy it!
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
St. Francis of Assisi
Great recipe! I’m adding a handful of diced jarred jalapeños! So freaking good!
Oh my, that does sound good!
Definitely grew up eating pimento cheese. Lucky to have homemade most of the time and it was made with Velveeta and mayo. I remember that grated sharp cheddar was also added. The only mayo I use is Duke’s of course. We sometimes had a slice of garden grown tomato on the sandwich, yummmy. Sometimes homemade bread and butter pickles. We also liked it on celery sticks. My favorite is a grilled pimento cheese sandwich with a slice of tomato. I’m about to make a batch right now!
Thanks so much for sharing. i hope you enjoyed the batch 🙂
I KNEW IT ! I love puh-men-ah cheese my Mom in Arkansas use to make. If you look at the ingredients of the store bought, you will find most all the usually brands use imitation cheese…that’s right…IMITATION cheese. So I havent had it in the fifteen years since my Mom passed. I was sure it was Velveeta cheese and now I can make the best. Even the kind made with sharp cheddar never seemed right. Oh Boy! I’m going to have some real puh-men-ah cheese now. Thank you. Sandwich, dip, on celery sticks.
Enjoy the puh-men-ah 🙂
I had it the first time 20 yrs ago. From The Market Place in The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va. The best. Only one I love/like. Soooo smooth. I finally heard someone say some pimento is made with Velveeta. Never thought that. I don’t care for it made with Cheddar cheese… now I’ll made it! It’s awesome with sour dough
Bread!’
The same recipe my mother-in-law used and passed on to me. I never really liked pimento and cheese until I tried hers. I love the mild cheese taste. Great to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Instead of a grater, I use a wire potato masher that had belonged to my husband’s grandmother.
Makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever! This is the first thing my mother made for my dad before they married in 1949. They met & married in 5 weeks, & were married 59 years when she passed, he still loved this recipe until he passed in 2019 @ 92. Great memories of food & family for this Texas girl.
My mom’s Pimento cheese recipe.
1/2 cup Sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. flour
Mix together and stir in:
1 egg, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/3 cup water
Cook and stir constantly until thick.
Mix in:
1 pimento chopped, 1 lb. Velveeta cheese.
This is how I grew up with pimento cheese sandwiches.
This is exactly how we make our pimento cheese!!! Were from Hillsboro, KY but originally from South Carolina. This is how I eat pimento cheese!❤
Mom always added 1 to 2 teaspoons of vinegar to the recipe. Really enhances the taste. This maybe a regional Northeast Tennessee tradition, as most locals use the vinegar in their pimento cheese.