Green Pimento Cheese Spread
What is Green Pimento Cheese Spread?
Anytime I see or hear about Pimento Cheese Spread, I almost automatically think about the orange | reddish spreadable cheese recipe. With Hatch Green Chili season in full swing, I wanted to take these delicious chilies, roast them and make a twist to the classic Southern recipe, highlighting a South Western staple ingredient. I introduce to you a homemade Green Pimento Cheese Spread recipe.
Ok, I get it, Pimento peppers are red, so the resulting dip | spread | condiment | appetizer is usually red and orange, with the addition of orange cheddar cheese. Since I’m not using Pimento peppers in this recipe, should this even be called a Pimento Cheese Spread? A Hatch Green Chili Cheese Spread instead? Regardless of what this recipe is called, it is delicious and so easy to make.
Instead of the red | orange version, I wanted to adjust a few of the key ingredients to achieve the unique color of this spread, showcasing the amazing Hatch Green Chilies. To make a Green Pimento Cheese Spread, green, and not just dots of green, I needed to change the cheese out. Cheddar cheese is cheddar cheese, whether it is white or orange. Cheddar cheese is turned orange with the addition of annatto seeds, staining the white milk, resulting in a colored cheese. I could use a Monterrey Jack cheese, yet it doesn’t have that same sharp bite that cheddar adds. With the addition of cream cheese for the extra creamy texture, along with smoothness and richness, I got extra sharp cheddar, giving the final cheese spread an extra element of complexity. These are the two kinds of cheese that make up a majority of this recipe. I also recommend buying blocks of cheese versus using pre-grated cheese. In order for grated cheese to look good in its packaging for a long time on the shelf, they use an anti-caking product, that affects the final texture of the spread. Use a food processor or box grater, it only takes a few extra minutes to grate fresh cheese. the results will be noticeable!
Now, if you want to adjust the cheeses in this recipe, it is homemade, so feel free to substitute the cheeses to your personal taste profile. I could easily see using a Monterrey Pepper Jack, whole milk mozzarella, or even an Oaxaca cheese, to still give the spread | dip a white canvas, for the roasted green chilies to dye the final Green Pimento Cheese Spread it’s vibrant green color.
What are Hatch Green Chilies?
Hatch Green Chilies are a generic term, as there are 6 different types or varieties in this subcategory of peppers. Hatch Green Chilies can range for 1,000 Scoville units (SHU) to over 12,000 SHU. Depending on your heat preference setting, one can use a mix of hot | medium | mild peppers, making the final recipe perfect for the intended use. Please note, that with all the fat from the dairy, both the cream cheese and cheddar cheese will dampen the heat to a good degree in the final product. If a hot chili pepper dish is ever too spicy, a good way to tame the heat is to drink cold milk. The fat in the dairy coats your taste buds, preventing the capsicum, the active chemical in chili peppers that is responsible for the spicy heat, to embed itself on your tongue. This same effect happens with this Green Pimento Cheese Spread recipe. Knowing that not ever chili pepper has the same heat level, even grown in the same field, there will be a variance in your chili pepper selection. Once the recipe is made, it’s best to let the cheese spread refrigerate for a day, to allow the flavors to meld together, for optimum flavor enjoyment. Before serving, test the recipe. If more heat is needed, you can add some chili pepper flakes or a green hot sauce to add that extra bit of heat, if needed.
If Hatch Green Chilies aren’t available in your area, they can be bought online and in some stores. They can be found in a can
As the chilies alone weren’t going to add enough green color to the mix, I wanted to further enhance the color and add extra complimentary flavors to this spread | dip. When making my Hatch Chili Verde Mother Sauce recipe, I love how oregano and cilantro brighten the flavors of the Hatch chilies, without overwhelming their special flavor. Puréeing some of the roasted Hatch Green Chilies with these herbs, creates a perfect green hue, that when added to the cheese mix, turns the Green Pimento Cheese Spread a wonderful green color. I also mix in some chopped chilies, so you still get that pop of Hatch Green Peppers in the mix, like the original Pimento Cheese Spread.
What to use this Green Pimento Cheese Spread On?
- Use this recipe as a dip, served alongside Homemade Brewers Crackers with Spent Grain, toasted or grilled baguette slices, tortilla | potato chips, or even bagel chips.
- Add this Green Pimento Cheese Spread to a vegetable tray or Crudité, filling a hollowed-out red bell pepper for the spread | dip, giving a contrasting color to highlight it with the selection of prepared veggies.
- Try making a grilled cheese sandwich with it, slathering it on some bread slices, coated in butter, and grilled in a cast-iron skillet or panini maker.
- Put some on your grilled hamburger for a South Western version
- Fill Belgian endive spears with it, using the red variety of endive to add another contrasting color.
- Use as a stuffing or filling. Think a roasted, peeled and seeded Hatch Green Chili, stuffed and baked or beer batter fried
Makes: 24 ounces of Green Pimento Cheese Spread
To learn more about Hatch Green Chilies, check out this PAGE.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 24 ounces | 20 minute |
| Passive Time |
| 24 hours |
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Infusing seasonal Hatch Green Chilies into an updated take on a Southern classic recipe, Pimento Cheese Spread, making a Green Pimento Cheese Spread.
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- 6 each Hatch Green Chilies, Mild | Medium | Hot, roasted, peeled and seeded
- 6 each roasted garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 cup cilantro, fresh leaves and stems, washed and dried
- 2 tablespoon oregano, fresh leaves only
- 1 tablespoon oil, olive or avocado
- 1 teaspoon coriander, seed toasted and ground fine
- 1 teaspoon cumin, seed, toasted and ground fine
- 1 each lime, zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon salt, Himalayan Sea Salt
- 4 ounce cream cheese warmed to room temperature
- 1/2 cup White Miso Malt Vinegar Mayonnaise, recipe HERE or regular mayonnaise
- or
- 1/2 cup Hatch Green Chili Mayonnaise recipe HERE
- 8 ounce cheddar cheese, white, preferably Extra Sharp
- Begin this recipe by preparing your Hatch Green Chilies. If bought fresh, wash them and roast them over an open flame, such as a grill (gas | wood | charcoal), BBQ or even a gas burner, turning them frequently. The idea is to blister the skin of the chili pepper, roasting the flesh and not burning them to a crisp. Once evenly charred on all sides, place into a plastic bag or stainless steel bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap. This will allow the Hatch Green Chilies to sweat | steam, loosening the skin from the flesh of the peppers, making them easier to peel. If you buy jarred
or canned
versions of Hatch Chilies, then drain them of their juice.
- Place all but 2 of the roasted, peeled, and seeded Hatch Green Chilies into the bowl of a food processor. Add peeled roasted garlic, cilantro, oregano, oil (avocado or olive), ground coriander and cumin seeds (preferably toasted), freshly squeezed lime juice and salt.
- Fit the food processor with a lid and pulse the motor, chopping up all the ingredients until a medium coarse paste is made. This will give the final Green Pimento Cheese Spread some texture, instead of being super smooth, if puréed super fine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, to ensure an even chop on all the ingredients.
- Add the room temperature cream cheese, along with the White Miso Malt Vinegar Mayonnaise or Hatch Green Chili Mayonnaise ( for an extra kick of Hatch Green Chili flavor. Pulse a few more times to just incorporate the ingredients together, still keeping some texture to the spread.
- Grate the extra sharp cheddar cheese.
- I used a larger | course side of a box grater to get a better final texture to the Green Pimento Cheese Spread.
- Add the grated cheese to the bowl of the food processor. Chop the 2 remaining Hatch Green Chilies with a knife into medium size pieces, adding them to the bowl and re-lid.
- Pulse the motor, to just incorporate the extra sharp cheddar cheese, making the final spread | dip an even shade of green.
- Transfer the Green Pimento Cheese Spread to a seal-able jar, such as a quart-size Mason jar or another container, seal and refrigerate for preferably 24 hours. This will give the Green Pimento Cheese Spread time to infuse all the flavors evenly, throughout the final spread. Then it is ready to serve. This recipe will last for up to 2 weeks refrigerated.
Green Pimento Cheese Spread Recipe Variations:
- If you are not a fan of cilantro, substitute Italian Leaf Parsley in its place or just leave it out
- Not a fan of mayonnaise? Substitute equal portions of either sour cream or Greek-style plain yogurt, or a 50/50 blend of the two.
- Try using Monterrey Pepper Jack, Oaxaca cheese or a plain white cheddar for the extra sharp cheddar cheese
More Hatch Green Chili Recipes:
