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Baked Jalapeño Pimento Cheese

Happy Friday, friends! It’s shaping up to be a fantastic day—Fall crispness is in the air, it’s a football weekend, and it’s my last day at work before our VACAY begins! Yep, there’s a little happy dance going on over here! 🙂

Before we head out of town, I just had to share this recipe for lightened-up Baked Jalapeño Pimento Cheese.

It’s a perfect dip for your tailgate or football party as it is delicious either warm or cold and the bonus is that this version has less fat than traditional pimento cheese.

Baked Jalapeño Pimento Cheese | Life, Love, and Good Food

If you typically shy away from spicy jalapeño recipes, don’t let that keep you from trying this dip. Roasting the jalapeños makes them really mild and adds almost a smoky flavor to this dip.

Then again, if you prefer more spice, you can adjust the heat by doubling the amount of jalapeños and leaving in a few of the seeds (that’s where most of the heat is in the pepper).

Using Greek yogurt cream cheese as a base not only saves on calories and fat, but also gives this dip some creamy goodness!

This recipe is pretty versatile, too. Mix it up by adding different cheeses, maybe a few green chilies or scallions, and if you’re not concerned about calories or fat, toss in some bacon bits!

Baked Jalapeño Pimento Cheese | Life, Love, and Good Food

Just to be fancy, I halved a jalapeño pepper lengthwise, removed the seeds, and placed it on top of the dip before baking as a garnish. Also, if you’re serving this to a group, it alerts everyone that it’s not your normal pimento cheese 😉

Baked Jalapeño Pimento Cheese | Life, Love, and Good Food

Baked Jalapeño Pimento Cheese

Adjust the heat to your taste by adding more roasted jalapeño peppers in this lightened up homemade pimento cheese.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Appetizers
Cuisine TexMex
Servings 12 servings
Calories 193 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 medium Jalapeño peppers (or more, depending on how much heat you like)
  • 8 ounces Greek yogurt cream cheese
  • 8 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese shredded
  • 4 ounces Smoky bacon cheddar cheese shredded
  • ¼ cup Olive-oil mayonnaise
  • 4 ounces diced pimento peppers drained
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Arrange 2-3 jalapeño peppers on the pan and broil for 10-12 minutes, turning until charred on all sides. (If you want more heat, add more jalapeño peppers.)
  • Remove from oven and place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 10 minutes, then remove skins. Discard the seeds and membranes and dice the peppers. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. 
  • Add the Greek yogurt cream cheese to a large bowl and beat until creamy with an electric mixer. Add the other cheeses, mayo, and garlic powder. Mix until combined. Stir in the pimentos and jalapeño peppers.
  • Spoon mixture into a one-quart baking dish and bake until heated through and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately with crackers or tortilla chips. 

Notes

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 193kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 11gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 401mgSugar: 1g

Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Keyword baked appetizer, jalapeno, pimento cheese
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