Easy Apple Chutney Recipe
Sweet, savory, tart, and spicy, this apple chutney combines a gamut of flavors in every delicious spoonful! It a tasty, refined sugar free accompaniment to a cheese board as well as roast meats.
Whenever I used to have a hankering for chutney, I would not think twice about stopping by a grocery store I was passing by, to grab some.
But, in recent years, I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of refined sugar filled products I consume. So, I’ve been making chutneys from scratch.
Making chutney from scratch has given me the opportunity to replace white or brown sugar (that is very often the key ingredient in chutney recipes) with honey or maple syrup.
As a result, I like to think that the resulting chutney is a bit on the healthy-ish side. And, I can tailor the taste of the chutney so it pleases all tastebuds.
What are the ingredients needed to make this apple chutney?
This apple chutney recipe is an easy one. Start off by gathering your ingredients such as:
- apples
- red wine vinegar
- honey (or maple syrup)
- yellow onion
- garlic
- ginger
- lemon
- chili flakes
- coriander, and
- salt & pepper
Vinegar is an integral component of this chutney because its acidity very effectively puts a kibosh on the actions of unwanted micro-organisms. If you want to cut down on the taste of vinegar, add in a pinch (and no more than a pinch/1/8 tsp) of baking soda.
The honey or maple syrup balances off the vinegar and also plays a part as a preservative.
I love using onions + ginger + garlic in my chutneys as they add such a lovely variety and depth of flavor. And the coriander simply rounds off all the flavors. All of the ingredients in this apple chutney, no matter how small a quantity, play an important art in making this chutney so tasty!
How to make this easy apple chutney?
After you gather all the ingredients, then peel and chop the apples, onion, garlic, and ginger. Place all the ingredients – except for the chili flakes, salt, and pepper, in a heavy-bottomed pan. Set the pan over low heat and let all the ingredients jive and jam around for about 15 minutes. During this time, the mixture needs to be stirred often.
When the apple chutney is done cooking, It’s just a matter of removing the pan from the heat, adding in the chili flakes, and seasoning it with salt and pepper to taste.
As I had big chunks of apple in the pan, I used a fork and mashed it down so this chutney wasn’t too chunky. This chutney can be enjoyed immediately or placed in an air tight container to enjoy later.
We love this apple chutney as it is:
✔ so tasty
✔ so easy
✔ refined sugar free
✔ so versatile
What to eat with this chutney?
Much like this mango chutney, this apple chutney is delicious as a dip to everything from air fried salmon balls to chicken fingers. It pairs beautifully with roast meats like pork or chicken. And it is an absolute delight with crackers and cheese.
My daughter and I recently threw together a cheese board for her birthday, and this apple chutney did not lost long – paired with brie, crackers, and roasted veggies.
Ingredients
- 2 apples I used 1 granny smith & 1 pink lady
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 a medium yellow onion or 1 small yellow onion
- 1/2 inch knob of ginger approx 2 tsp
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon – zest & juice
- 1/8 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp chili flakes please use 1 teaspoon if you are not a fan of heat
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion, ginger and garlic.
- Also peel and chop the apples
- Add the apples, red wine vinegar, honey, onion, ginger, and garlic in a heavy bottomed pan and place pan over low heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. While cooking, make sure to stir often.
- Using a micro-plane grater, zest the lemon, being careful to not get any of the white part. And add the zest into the pan with the apples, etc.
- Cut the zested lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the pan.
- As the mixture cooks, the apples and onion should turn a golden brown like the honey.
- When the mixture has been simmering for 15 minutes and it is starting to thicken, remove it from the heat.
- Add in the chili flakes and season with salt and pepper to fit your taste.
- Enjoy immediately after it has cooled a bit or store in an airtight container and enjoy later.
This would be fantastic for the cheese board!
This is great. I had all these apples that I wasn’t sure what to do with so I used it to make this chutney. It’s really savory and great on a sandwich.
I love this apple chutney because it has a little bit of everything and it’s delicious!!
I’ve made applesauce plenty of times, but never apple chutney! The vinegar and chili makes for a sweet and savory treat that pairs well with crackers and so many other things.
I bet this would be amazing served alongside a pork loin roast! Yum. 🙂
This chutney sounds like its bursting with so much flavor. I can’t wait to taste it!
Is 2T the correct amount for the chili flakes?
@Mary, I made this and used 1 Tbsp and the heat just about burned my mouth….it must be a typo and should be tsps instead I think.