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Easy Cranberry Apple Chutney

Made in 20 minutes, with just 10 ingredients, this delicious cranberry apple chutney is gluten-free and refined sugar-free. It is a versatile chutney that is simply scrumptious served with crackers and cheese, roti and curry, or even as a condiment at your holiday gatherings.

Healthy Plant-based Cranberry Apple Chutney recipe

This easy cranberry apple chutney is a harmonious blend of flavors. It is tantalizingly tart, slightly spicy, and scrumptiously sweet. This chutney is a nutritious recipe that is gluten-free and refined sugar-free. You can have this chutney ready in about 20 minutes. And, you only need 10 pantry-staple ingredients to make it.

Ingredients to make the best Cranberry Apple Chutney on a wood board.

What are the ingredients needed to make this cranberry apple chutney?

You will need the following 10 ingredients to make this tasty chutney:

  • Cranberries
    I used fresh cranberries in this recipe. You could also use frozen cranberries if you like.
  • An apple
    A beautiful, peeled, Fuji apple made its way into this cranberry apple chutney. Fuji apples are one of my favorite apple varieties, and that’s why I used one in this. You could use any other apple you wish, however, if you use a granny smith apple, you might want to add in a bit more maple syrup to balance off the tartness.
  • Red wine vinegar
    I like using red wine vinegar in my chutney recipes as it is bold and tangy. If you do not have red wine vinegar on hand, you could also use white vinegar as well.
  • Maple syrup
    I prefer the subtle taste and sweetness of maple syrup. If you prefer, you can use brown sugar instead or even honey.
  • Red onion
    Half a red onion is all I used in this dish. However, if you don’t have any red onions on hand, no worries, you can use a yellow one instead.
  • Ginger
    A small knob of fresh ginger adds a bit of a kick to this dish – as well as a boat load of nutrition.
  • Garlic
    Fresh garlic is a must in this recipe. Garlic powder would not be a good substitute.
  • Orange zest
    A little bit of orange zest goes a long way in this dish.
  • Coriander
    Coriander adds a delicious smoky taste to this dish and harmoniously unites the other flavors.
  • Cayenne
    And, cayenne powder lends a bit of heat to this dish. If you do not like spicy chutneys, then do not eliminate this completely. Instead, add 1/2 the amount in.

Rounding off this dish is a pinch of salt and pepper.

Making Cranberry Apple Chutney by simmering all the ingredients together in a large pot.

Over the last 4 months, I have been slowly adjusting to life as an empty nester. For the most part, I feel I am doing a decent job. But, now and then, I forget I am a household of one.

Sometimes, that forgetfulness results in me bringing home family-size packages of paper towels and toilet paper from Costco. The last time I checked, paper towels and toilet paper don’t seem to have an expiry date, so this isn’t too bad.

But, there are other times when that forgetfulness results in me bringing home way too many veggies and fruits after wandering the produce aisles at Sprouts. And then find myself mass cooking all the things! And, this is how this cranberry apple chutney happened.

After making a batch of some apple chutney, I still had more apples than I could eat, so I decided to try out a spin on that apple chutney by adding in some cranberries and playing around with the spices.

And voilà – this scrumptious cranberry apple chutney was born.

An overhead photo of the best Cranberry Apple Chutney recipe

What do you eat cranberry apple chutney with?

You can serve this easy chutney on a cheese board along with some crackers and cheese.

This chutney also pairs well with meats and vegetables. In fact, this would be fantastic with your holiday turkey or ham or plant-based main dish. If you want to shake up your cranberry sauce this year, hey, why not replace it with this cranberry apple chutney instead?

I have also enjoyed this cranberry apple chutney with some roti and curry or as an accompaniment to this quinoa salad.

Appetizers with vegan cheese and apple cranberry chutney

Do you serve chutney warm or cold?

This cranberry apple chutney is best served at room temperature. But, it is delicious cold as well. In fact, I might have enjoyed several spoonfuls of this straight up, right out of the fridge.

Does chutney improve with age?

This cranberry apple chutney is delicious on day 1. But, it tastes even better on days 2 and 3 as all the flavors mature.

How do you store this chutney?

You can store this chutney in an airtight jar, in your fridge, for up to 2 weeks. You can even freeze some of this by storing it in an airtight container. If sealed well before freezing, this chutney can stay fresh for up to 2 months or so.

If you liked this recipe, then check out these other chutney recipes as well…

If you liked this recipe, then check out these other chutney recipes as well...

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin. For more fusion, spice-filled, recipe ideas, please subscribe and follow me on FacebookInstagram, and/or Pinterest!

Healthy Plant-based Cranberry Apple Chutney recipe

Easy Cranberry Apple Chutney Recipe

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes

Made in 20 minutes, with just 10 ingredients, this delicious cranberry apple chutney is gluten-free and refined sugar-free. It is a versatile chutney that is simply scrumptious served with crackers and cheese, roti and curry, or even as a condiment at your holiday gatherings.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 apple - I used a Fuji apple
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 a medium-sized red onion
  • 1/2 inch knob of ginger (approx 2 tsp)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1 tbsp cayenne powder (or, for less of a spicy kick, use 1 tsp)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Peel and chop the onion, ginger, and garlic.
  2. Also, peel and chop the apple.
  3. Rinse the cranberries.
  4. Add 1 tbsp oil to a heavy bottom pan and place it over medium heat.
  5. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic into the pan and saute for about 2 minutes.
  6. Then add the apple, cranberries, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, coriander, and cayenne into the pan.
  7. Grate the orange, making sure not to grate off the white parts of the orange under the outer layer, and add the orange zest to the other ingredients in the pan.
  8. Let all the ingredients simmer for 15 minutes over a low flame/heat. Stir a few times.
  9. As the mixture cooks, the liquid will cook down.
  10. When the mixture has been simmering for 15 minutes and it is starting to thicken, remove it from the heat.
  11. If you like, you could mash the ingredients with a fork so they are smaller or use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together so they are not too chunky.
  12. Let cool to room temperature and serve with cheese and crackers, roti and curry, or at your holiday gatherings.
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 88Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 40mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 2gSugar 13gProtein 1g

Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and should be considered an approximation only. Savory Spin makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. Please do consult a professional nutritionist for more accurate information. Please do keep in mind that prep times, cooking times, etc, are provided as guidelines as there are so many variables at play.

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Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas

Wednesday 1st of December 2021

[…] this dish can also be served as a side dish along with some mango chutney or cranberry apple chutney, beetroot curry, and some pan roasted spicy crispy […]

John / Kitchen Riffs

Wednesday 24th of November 2021

Gorgeous color, and I'll bet the flavor is terrific. Super nice combo of flavors -- thanks.

Ben | Havocinthekitchen

Thursday 18th of November 2021

Apples and cranberries are one of my favourite flavour combinations, and I love this sweet & savoury twist. It looks beautiful, too!

Dannii

Thursday 18th of November 2021

I love apple chutney and the addition of cranberries sounds amazing.

Anjali

Thursday 18th of November 2021

This chutney turned out to be super flavorful and complex! I liked it much better than traditional cranberry sauce - this is going to be making an appearance at our Thanksgiving table next week for sure!

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