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
Loved the recipe but to the same ingredients, add chopped sweet pickles, sweet relish, chopped olives and jalapenos!!!! Just gives it a different taste.
Thanks for all you do, marinan of Dothan
I make pimento cheese all the time. I will have to try the
velveta. I use fancy shredded mild chedder cheese (walmart
brand) 1/2 of the big jar of pimento , Mayo, and I put
in a teaspoon of sugar in it. So good.
Christy,
Have you ever had Pineapple Cheese? My husband’s elderly aunt introduced me to this! One can of crushed pineapple drained. About an equal amount of shredded velveeta cheese. And enough mayo to hold it all together. It is also DELICIOUS!! : )
Thanks for the great website!
Angie
Ooh! Pimento cheese! I’m not sure how my parents made it but they’d make batches of it all the time and have it in the fridge. We’d just grab it and slap that on some bread for a quick snack, lunch, pick-me-up, any-excuse-to-eat-a-pimento-cheese-sandwich excuse…
I love Pimento Cheese. I make it for my family for an appetizer treat and often bring in to my office for birthday parties etc. Usually made into sandwiches on wheat bread. I use Extra Sharp cheese, jar of pimento w/the liquid, good mayo, a few chopped scallions, some dried dill weed, black pepper and bingo…Pimento Cheese.
White bread, no crust, little triangles and rectangles. Pimento cheese sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches are a finger-food standard where I live. I also wow people with my PBJ finger sandwiches. I stir the peanut butter and the jelly together. Cut them up with an electric knife and they are a big hit at parties. From the simplest kids birthday party to the most elegant wedding. These are always on the menu.
My younger brothers always made pbj sandwiches by mixing the peanut butter and the jelly when we were growing up. I thought they were so weird, until I tasted it one time! It’s so delicious! I never thought of serving them to others like that though, what a great idea. I also like putting the pbj stuff on graham crackers for a yummy snack.
We do this with pb and honey. It’s so good!
Do any of y’all remember “commodity” peanut butter? It was a peanut butter given in the Government Commodity program. They’d give PB and cheese and such to seniors and folks with an income below a certain level. My grandparents always got it and I just loved it. The Peanut butter was a little grainy, they also used it in the school lunchrooms.
I’d DEARLY love to find a peanut butter today that tastes like that!!!
Gratefully,
Christy 🙂
Oh yes, my grandmother used to get the government peanut butter and cheese, too! I think the natural peanut butter like they sell at health food stores is similar. It’s grainy and the oils separate when it sits because it’s mostly just ground nuts with no preservatives and stabilizers and such. I got some on sale yesterday for $3.99 a jar.
My grandma got that PB and cheese too! I remember it made the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches!!
Perfect! One week out from a my most recent surgery and having a hard time with eating and having no appetite. I got hungry as soon as I saw the photo of the pimento cheese sammich. I had everything on hand to make a batch. Used my last 10 oz of sharp cheddar and 6 oz of cream cheese to make up the lb of cheese. I always like a tiny dash of worchestshire and a couple drops of tabasco. Then I remembered that I didn’t have any bread in the house…had my pimento cheese spread wrapped up in a lettuce leaf. It was delicious! Pimento cheese has curative powers! If mama were still alive she would have made some for me and some chicken soup too.
Thanks Christy for having just the right recipe at just the right time.