Sprig Originals's kitchen / Icebox Pimento Cheese Sandwiches with Sweet Pickles
Icebox Pimento Cheese Sandwiches with Sweet Pickles
By Sprig Originals · cooked up in Sprig
Worked out from this recipe's ingredients. If you're cooking for an allergy, always read the full ingredient list.
The Southern picnic classic, made entirely with a box grater and a bowl — not a single burner, oven or kettle involved. Hand-grated extra-sharp cheddar is folded into tangy cream cheese and mayo with sweet pimentos and a shot of hot sauce, then chilled until spreadable and piled onto soft white bread with crunchy bread-and-butter pickles. Twenty minutes of stirring, a short rest in the fridge, and dinner (or lunch, or a cooler-bag picnic) is done.
Ingredients
Pimento Cheese
- 8 oz block extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 4 oz jar diced pimentos, well drained
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
To Assemble
- 8 slices soft white sandwich bread
- 24 slices bread-and-butter pickle chips, patted dry
Instructions
- Take the cream cheese out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes while you work. Grate the block of cheddar on the large holes of a box grater into a big mixing bowl — grating it yourself is what makes the spread creamy instead of powdery.
- In a second bowl, mash the softened cream cheese with the mayonnaise, hot sauce, garlic powder, smoked paprika and black pepper using a sturdy fork or a rubber spatula, working it for about 1 minute until completely smooth with no lumps.
- Tip the drained pimentos onto a couple of sheets of kitchen paper and press to remove as much liquid as possible, then fold them and the grated cheddar into the cream cheese mixture until evenly coated. Taste and add more hot sauce or pepper if you like.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 3 days) so the spread firms up and the flavours settle.
- Spread the chilled pimento cheese thickly over 4 slices of bread, about 1/2 cup per sandwich. Lay 6 pickle chips over each, top with the remaining bread and press gently. Trim the crusts if you like, cut each sandwich in half on the diagonal and serve cold.
Chef's tips
- Never use pre-shredded cheese here — the anti-caking starch makes the spread dry and gritty. A block and a box grater takes two minutes.
- If your cream cheese is still stiff, cut it into small cubes before mashing; do not be tempted to microwave it, which would break the no-cook rule and make the spread greasy.
- Leftover pimento cheese is excellent as a dip with celery sticks, radishes and salty crackers, or spooned into halved baby peppers.
- For a sharper, more grown-up sandwich, swap the sweet pickles for dill pickle chips and add a handful of crisp lettuce.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
681calories
18gprotein
37gcarbs
51gfat
Estimates only — values vary with brands and portions.
Made with Sprig
Icebox Pimento Cheese Sandwiches with Sweet Pickles was created in Sprig — the AI chef that turns any craving into a complete recipe, plans your week, and shops with one smart list.
7 days free · cancel anytime · the app lands in the App Store soon
Not ready yet? Get the occasional recipe worth cooking.
You're on the list — check your inbox!
Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy
More from Sprig Originals
One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta
One-Pot Chicken Creole
Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock
Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem