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Hungry Healthy Happy » Recipes » Sauces

Christmas Chutney

Nov 12, 2024 · Written by Dannii Martin · This post may contain affiliate links which earn us commissions if purchases are made · 49 Comments

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Diet: Low Carb / Low Fat / Vegetarian
Jump to Recipe
Christmas Chutney with a text title overlay.

We have combined some of our favourite festive flavours into this lower sugar Christmas Chutney, along with some hidden vegetables too. The perfect chutney to go with a Christmas cheeseboard. Ginger, cinnamon and a hint of chilli add tonnes of flavour to this tomato based chutney, to give it a festive twist.

A jar of chutney next to two crackers with cheese and a nutcracker figure.

Some kind of chutney is a must at Christmas. Once that jar gets opened, you can have it on a leftovers sandwich, stirred into Greek yogurt to make a dip, use it as a salad dressing, put it in a burger, or have it with your cheeseboard. The options are almost endless with how to use this Christmas chutney recipe.

There are so many different chutneys out there, but this festive chutney is a firm favourite in our house. We have used cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to give it a festive flavour, but also added a little bit of chilli so there is a kick of spice in there too.

We have used cranberries to bulk it out, add a vitamin boost and some more colour. What says Christmas more than cranberries?

Homemade Christmas chutney is much easier to make than you might think. You just leave everything to cook in a pan.

Looking for some other homemade sauce recipes to try? Why not try our easy Coriander Chutney, quick Fruit Dip, delicious Marie Rose Sauce (Perfect with a festive prawn cocktail), verdatile Cheddar Cheese Sauce, tasty Easy Pizza Sauce or our zingy Healthy Teriyaki Sauce?

Jump to:
  • Ingredients and Substitutions
  • Variations
  • How to Make Christmas Chutney - Step by Step
  • Serving Suggestions
  • Extra Tips
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • More Christmas Recipes
  • Recipe
  • Feedback

Ingredients and Substitutions

All the ingredients needed for this recipe with text overlay labels.

A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

  • Tomatoes - Use a good quality can of tomatoes, as the cheaper ones tend to be really watery and you want a thick chutney. We recommend Mutti Tomatoes.
  • Aubergine (eggplant) - This adds a nice chunkiness to the Christmas chutney. You could swap it for courgette (zucchini) if you prefer.
  • Onion - We used a small brown onion, but you could swap it for shallots which would be sweeter.
  • Red bell pepper - Any colour bell pepper works, but red peppers are sweeter.
  • Garlic - Freshly crushed garlic is best, but you could use a jar of crushed garlic to save time.
  • Cranberries - This is what gives it a real Christmas feel. You can use frozen cranberries if that it all you have.
  • Honey - This is how we sweetened the Christmas chutney. You can use maple syrup if you want to keep it vegan.
  • Vinegar - This isn't just for flavour, but it helps to preserve the chutney.
  • Spices - Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg give it a real Christmas flavour.
  • Salt and pepper - Generously season.

Variations

Delicious chutney usually falls into three categories - onion based, fruit based or tomato based. We went with a tomato based chutney so the bulk of it was fairly mild, and the Christmas flavours could shine through. But you could vary it depending on your tastes.

We kept things simple and just used a tin of chopped tomatoes (the best quality you can find will give the best flavour), but you could chop up fresh tomatoes and use those instead with a little extra liquid. You could also make the base mainly thinly sliced onions.

Not only is there lots of festive flavour in this chutney, but some added vegetables too. Red pepper and aubergine make this tomato chutney recipe nice and chunky, with some extra vitamins too. You could add other chunky vegetables like courgette (zucchini) too.

How to Make Christmas Chutney - Step by Step

Chopped red pepper, onion and aubergine in a saucepan.
  1. Step 1: Put the tomatoes, red pepper, aubergine (eggplant), onion and garlic into a pan.
Cooked chopped red pepper, onion and aubergine in a saucepan.
  1. Step 2: Smash the tomatoes with a back of a spoon. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add a little bit of water every 10 minutes if it gets too dry.
Spices and cranberries added to the pan.
  1. Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, stir well and bring to the boil again.
Cooked Christmas chutney in a saucepan.
  1. Step 4: Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  1. Step 5: Leave to cool and pour into a jar to store.

Serving Suggestions

The obvious way to serve this Christmas chutney is on a cheese board, which is our favourite. However it has so many other uses. We love it in a Christmas leftovers sandwich or dolloped on a burger. We even make a dip out of it by mixing it into some Greek yogurt.

Why not try adding this festive chutney to our Grazing Platter, Vegetarian Charcuterie Board or Anitpasto Platter?

A selection of cheeses on a board with Christmas chutney in the centre.

Extra Tips

  • The cayenne pepper is added for taste, so adjust it depending on how spicy you like things.
  • This chutney will keep in the fridge for 5 days. But leftovers are great in sandwiches and burgers.
  • You can swap the tinned tomatoes for fresh tomatoes, just add a bit more liquid.
  • Make this a vegan chutney by swapping the honey for maple syrup.
  • This also makes a really nice homemade Christmas gift. Add it to sterilised jars and then put a nice square of cloth on top of the jar lid and wrap string around it. You could add it to a little homemade food hamper.
A jar of chutney with a spoon in it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store Christmas chutney

This chutney will last in the fridge for about 5 days, but it honestly doesn't last that long with us at Christmas! If you are having guests over, you might want to make a bigger batch to share it around. If you are going the homemade Christmas present route this year, then these would make lovely gifts. Put it in a nice jar and put a bow round it and ta-da! Give it with a cheese board bursting with cheese too and you would be my best friend for life!

Can you freeze it?

We wouldn't recommend freezing this as the chunky vegetables aren't great once defrosted. So, try to only make as much as you could eat in 5 days so that none of it goes to waste.

Is it vegan?

No, this recipe isn't vegan because it uses honey. However, you could swap it for maple syrup to keep this recipe vegan.

More Christmas Recipes

  • A pancake decorated like the face of Santa.
    Santa Pancakes
  • Slow Cooker Mulled Wine in tumblers with cranberries and orange slices.
    Slow Cooker Mulled Wine
  • Five Christmas Tree Brownies on a wooden board.
    Christmas Tree Brownies
  • A bowl of easy Christmas salad.
    Easy Christmas Salad

If you’ve tried this Christmas Chutney recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

Recipe

Christmas Chutney in a jar. Two cheese on crackers sit in front and grapes in the background.

Christmas Chutney

By: Dannii Martin
We have combined some of our favourite festive flavours into this lower sugar Christmas Chutney, along with some hidden vegetables.
The words low carb in a white circle.
Low Carb
the words low fat in a white circle.
Low Fat
An illustration of a v-shaped plant.
Vegetarian
4.96 from 43 votes
Pin Print Save recipe Saved!
Course: Sauce/Spread
Cuisine: British, Christmas
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 35 minutes mins
Cooling time: 30 minutes mins
Total: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Servings: 20 servings
Calories: 27kcal
Allergens:
An illustration of two ears of wheat.
Gluten

Ingredients

  • 400 g (14 oz) Plum tomatoes - canned
  • 1 Red bell pepper - diced
  • 4 Garlic cloves - crushed
  • 1 Onion - diced
  • 1 Aubergine (eggplant) - small; diced
  • 20 Fresh cranberries
  • 120 ml (0.5 cups) Malt vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon Honey
  • 1 pinch Sea salt
  • 1 pinch Ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Ground coriander
  • 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger
  • 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 0.5 teaspoon Ground nutmeg

Instructions

  • Put 400 g Plum tomatoes, 1 Red bell pepper, 1 Aubergine (eggplant), 1 Onion and 4 Garlic cloves into a pan.
  • Smash the tomatoes with a back of a spoon. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add a little bit of water every 10 minutes if it gets too dry.
  • Add 20 Fresh cranberries, 120 ml Malt vinegar, 3 tablespoon Honey, 1 pinch Sea salt, 1 teaspoon Paprika, 1 teaspoon Ground coriander, 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger, 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon and 0.5 teaspoon Ground nutmeg to the pan, stir well and bring to the boil again.
  • Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  • Leave to cool and pour into a jar to store.

Recipe Tips

  • The cayenne pepper is added for taste, so adjust it depending on how spicy you like things.
  • This chutney will keep in the fridge for 5 days. But leftovers are great in sandwiches and burgers.
  • You can swap the tinned tomatoes for fresh tomatoes, just add a bit more liquid.
  • Make this a vegan chutney by swapping the honey for maple syrup.
  • This also makes a really nice homemade Christmas gift. Add it to sterilised jars and then put a nice square of cloth on top of the jar lid and wrap string around it. You could add it to a little homemade food hamper.

Nutritional Information

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 27kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 131mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 430IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.2mg

The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.

As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.

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Comments

  1. shannon ritchie says

    December 09, 2016 at 2:00 pm

    I love chutney! Definitely going to write this down since I eat so much of it this time of year!

    Reply
  2. Charlotte says

    December 09, 2016 at 10:12 am

    5 stars
    I love making jams and chutneys! I have never tried making a Christmas chutney. May have to give it a go.

    Reply
  3. Planet Jodie says

    December 08, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    5 stars
    Would you believe I've never had christmas chutney? Heard that's what the Duchess of Cambridge got the Queen for Christmas :) anyway fab post, i may have to try it ;) x

    Reply
  4. Nikki says

    December 08, 2016 at 4:56 pm

    5 stars
    mmmmm cheese and chutney! The perfect combination and we always have it at christmas!

    Reply
  5. Stephanie Merry says

    December 08, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    5 stars
    What a delicious sounding chutney, my dad loves his chutneys so I'll share this with him x

    Reply
  6. Anna @AnnaTheApple says

    December 08, 2016 at 1:17 pm

    5 stars
    Omgaaaawd I love cheese boards (OK not as much as regular pudding but I do love a cheeseboard now and again). For my dream board I'd have Stilton, goat's cheese, a baked camebert and brie. And of course that delicious chutney.

    Reply
  7. Tori says

    December 08, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    Cheese is definitely where I fall off the wagon at Christmas. But, I am not going to myself feel guilty about it this year. Everything in moderation.

    Reply
  8. Selina says

    December 08, 2016 at 1:09 pm

    I am with you on the Stilton. I don't see the point of just having cheddar. I bet this chutney is lovely with the cinnamon and ginger in it. Very festive!

    Reply
  9. Natasha Mairs says

    December 08, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    I love a good chutney and also have some at Christmas with a varity of crackers and cheeses. This one looks really good

    Reply
  10. Miracle Max says

    December 08, 2016 at 11:11 am

    5 stars
    My mouth is literally watering. I adore chutneys, any kind, and this recipe sounds just lush. Jo x

    Reply
  11. Rhian Westbury says

    December 08, 2016 at 10:23 am

    5 stars
    I never thought about making homemade chutney but my dad always has it with his cheese and crackers so I might have to give it a go x

    Reply
  12. Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says

    December 08, 2016 at 9:39 am

    Chutney is a must on any cheese board. It's become a Christmas Eve tradition for us and I love this lower in sugar chutney.

    Reply
  13. Michael says

    December 08, 2016 at 5:38 am

    5 stars
    I have only ever had mango chutney before, but a tomato and cranberry chutney sounds amazing too.

    Reply
  14. Tori says

    December 08, 2016 at 5:38 am

    5 stars
    We are hosting a Christmas party at the weekend and this is definitely being made. I never would have thought to put cranberries in it.

    Reply
  15. Melanie Edjourian says

    December 07, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    5 stars
    This sounds like a great recipe. I love food containing tomatoes and this would really work well with cheese and crackers.

    Reply
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