Your guests will be blown away by this colorful, delicious, unique appetizer! Super flavorful and easy to make!

Marinated cheese. Yes, it's a thing. And yes, you need it right now.

Just when you think you've experienced cheese in every form available on earth, marinated cheese rolls on the scene and you're all "whaaaaa?" (At least that's how it went for me, anyway!)

I made this dish twice in one week and it was all devoured faster than I could pass out the assorted crackers. This dish is absolutely amazing for multiple reasons and will have all your guests begging for the recipe!

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MARINATED CHEESE

Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous and mouth-watering? If your mouth isn't watering right now that's probably just because you haven't tasted this yet. Or you might need to see a doctor. The marinade for this cheese is so incredibly flavorful that you're going to be digging in for more before you even finish your first bite!

Basil, pimientos, and garlic are the stars of the marinade and with a flavor trio like that you know this appetizer is going to pack a punch!

To prepare the marinated cheese, keep in mind that it has to sit for at least 8 hours, or overnight so give yourself plenty of time to marinate! You're going to start by slicing up an 8 oz block of both sharp cheddar cheese and cream cheese. First, place them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to chill and make them easier to slice. Cut each block in half lengthwise, then slice crosswise into ¼ inch thick squares. (I highly recommend a quality cheese slicer for this such as this marble cheese slicer or this wire cheese slicer!)

Pro tip: Slice the cream cheese in two separate batches, placing the second half in the freezer while you slice the first so it doesn't soften too quickly!

Arrange your cheese slices standing on edge in alternating order of cheddar cheese then cream cheese squares on your platter. The marinade is a little liquidy so make sure your platter has rounded edges to prevent a mess!

Prepare the marinade by chopping up 3 T of fresh parsley and 3 T fresh basil and mincing 3 T green onions and 3 cloves of garlic. Add to a jar (I used a recycled 12 oz jelly jar) then add in ½ C extra-virgin olive oil, ½ C white wine vinegar, 1 (2 oz) jar diced pimientos (drained), 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Shake well.

Pour the marinade over the cheese slices, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Before serving, spoon the extra marinade over the cheese. Use a small cheese spatula spreader (like this one) to serve a slice of cheddar and cream cheese on a cracker. Top with a little extra marinade, if you wish. Enjoy!

Don't worry if you don't finish all of the cheese, it actually holds up really well over the next few days! I was afraid it would turn slimy in the marinade but it never did. I had a few pieces leftover from my first batch that I experimented with and after 2 days they were still just as good as fresh!

Side Note: As I was writing this post I learned that I was only supposed to use ¾ teaspoon dried basil but I used 3 T fresh basil instead. Whoops. No one seemed to mind and I looove basil so I am keeping the recipe with my mistake but you could substitute for the dried basil if you prefer! 🙂